Bill Text: IL HB2471 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Enrolled

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Amends the School Breakfast and Lunch Program Act. In provisions concerning reimbursement of sponsors, provides that the State Board of Education shall reimburse not less than $0.15 or the actual cost, whichever is less, to non-profit welfare centers for each free breakfast and lunch. Provides that the State Board of Education shall establish the Healthy School Meals for All Program to begin on July 1, 2023. Provides that each school board of a school district or governing body of a nonpublic school that chooses to participate in the Healthy School Meals for All Program shall offer eligible meals, without charge, to all students enrolled in schools that participate in the National School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program. Sets forth provisions regarding eligibility for the Healthy School Meals for All Program, program requirements, reimbursement (subject to appropriation), federal and other funding, State Board support and technical assistance, and the federal Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program. Provides that if the United States Department of Agriculture creates the option for the State, as a whole, to participate in the Community Eligibility Provision, then the State Board of Education shall evaluate whether that option is anticipated to require less State funding than the Healthy School Meals for All Program and provide at least as many free meals to students. Sets forth requirements concerning that option. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 20-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-08-11 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 103-0532 [HB2471 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB2471-Enrolled.html

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AN ACT concerning education.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. Findings.
(a) The General Assembly finds that:
(1) no Illinois child should experience hunger, and
every student should benefit from access to healthy,
locally procured, and freshly prepared meals during the
school day;
(2) healthy school meals are necessary for all
students for effective learning, and the State's
investment in education should include healthy school
meals for all students to support the nourishment students
need to achieve academic success;
(3) access to healthy school meals should not cause
stigma or stress for any student seeking an education;
(4) Illinois' healthy school meals program should
support Illinois' food systems, including historically
underserved producers and processors;
(5) Illinois' healthy school meals program must
support students' nutrition and provide quality meals to
boost the health and well-being of Illinois students;
(6) during the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States
Department of Agriculture allowed schools to serve free

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meals to all students via a waiver, ensuring that all
students facing hunger had access to food while in school;
and
(7) now that the waiver is no longer in place, but
strategies exist to prevent hunger for all students during
the school day, it is imperative that the State embrace
these strategies to move toward the goal of ending child
hunger.
(b) The General Assembly finds that it is in the best
interests of the students of Illinois and their families to
implement the Healthy School Meals for All Program to provide
free breakfast and lunch in schools for all students.
Section 10. The School Breakfast and Lunch Program Act is
amended by changing Section 2 and by adding Section 2.3 as
follows:
(105 ILCS 125/2) (from Ch. 122, par. 712.2)
Sec. 2. Reimbursement of sponsors. The State Board of
Education is authorized to reimburse school boards and welfare
centers that operate free breakfast programs, school breakfast
programs, free lunch programs, or school lunch programs for a
portion of the costs of food served in balanced, nutritious
breakfasts or lunches and served to students in non-profit
public or private schools and non-profit welfare centers.
The State Board of Education shall reimburse not less than

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$0.15 or the actual cost, whichever is less, to School Boards
and non-profit welfare centers for each free lunch and not
less than $0.15 or the actual cost, whichever is less, for each
free breakfast supplied by them. This appropriation shall be
in addition to any federal contributions.
(Source: P.A. 91-843, eff. 6-22-00.)
(105 ILCS 125/2.3 new)
Sec. 2.3. Healthy School Meals for All Program.
(a) In this Section:
"Community Eligibility Provision" means the federal
program created in 42 U.S.C. 1759a(a)(1)(F) that allows school
districts to choose to receive federal special assistance
payments for school meals in exchange for providing free
school meals to all students enrolled in all or selected
schools of the school district.
"Eligible meal" means a lunch or breakfast that meets the
nutritional requirements specified in 7 CFR 210.10 or
successor regulations for the National School Lunch Program or
the National School Breakfast Program.
"Federal free reimbursement rate" means the free
reimbursement rate set by the United States Department of
Agriculture for meals that qualify for reimbursement under the
National School Breakfast Program and the National School
Lunch Program.
"Identified student percentage" means the percentage of a

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school's, group of schools', or local education agency's
enrolled students who are certified as eligible for free meals
based on documentation of benefit receipt or categorical
eligibility as described in 7 CFR 245.6 and 7 CFR 245.9 or
successor regulations.
"National School Breakfast Program" means the federal
school breakfast program created in 42 U.S.C. 1773.
"National School Lunch Program" means the federal school
lunch program created in the Richard B. Russell National
School Lunch Act.
"Participating school board" means the school board of a
school district or the governing body of a nonpublic school
that chooses to participate in the Healthy School Meals for
All Program.
"Special assistance alternative" means a special nutrition
assistance alternative federal reimbursement method that is
authorized by the United States Department of Agriculture,
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1759a and 7 CFR Part 245, for eligible
schools that serve free meals to all enrolled students.
"Special assistance alternative" includes the Community
Eligibility Provision.
(b) Subject to appropriation, the State Board of Education
shall establish the Healthy School Meals for All Program to
begin on July 1, 2023. Each participating school board that
chooses to participate in the Healthy School Meals for All
Program shall offer eligible meals, without charge, to all

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students enrolled in schools that participate in the National
School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program.
A participating school board shall receive reimbursement
for the meals set forth in subsection (c) of this Section.
Reimbursement from State funds shall be available only to
participating school boards that maximize access to federal
funds for the cost of the National School Breakfast Program
and National School Lunch Program by participating in the
Community Eligibility Provision or another special assistance
alternative, if eligible, and operate the National School
Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program in a way
that in the opinion of the State Board of Education draws down
the most possible federal funding for meals served in the
National School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch
Program.
(c) It is the intent of the General Assembly that this
State, participating school boards, and participating schools
use all federal funds, federal programs, and federal
provisions in carrying out the Healthy School Meals for All
Program. The amount of the State reimbursement provided
through the Program to each participating school board for
each budget year shall be equal to the federal free
reimbursement rate multiplied by the total number of eligible
meals that the participating schools serve during the
applicable budget year, minus the total amount of
reimbursement for eligible meals served during the applicable

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budget year that the participating school board receives
pursuant to the National School Breakfast Program and the
National School Lunch Program.
If at any time the appropriation is insufficient to cover
all school boards interested in participating in the Healthy
School Meals for All Program as described in this subsection,
the State Board of Education shall reimburse school boards
participating in the community eligibility provision with
higher priority for schools with higher identified student
percentages that would not otherwise receive the federal free
reimbursement rate for all meals served, and then distribute
any remaining appropriation in an equitable manner as
determined by the State Board of Education among remaining
schools interested in participating in the Healthy School
Meals for All Program. If at any time the appropriation is
insufficient to cover all school boards interested in
participating in the Healthy School Meals for All Program, the
State Board of Education shall communicate the implications of
the insufficient appropriation with eligible schools in a
timely manner to allow schools sufficient time to make
informed decisions about their food service administration.
(d) The State Board of Education shall develop procedures
to allocate and disburse the money appropriated for
reimbursements pursuant to this Section throughout each budget
year, in a schedule determined by the State Board of
Education, among participating school boards in an equitable

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manner and in compliance with the requirements of the National
School Breakfast Program and the National School Lunch
Program.
(e) A participating school board shall annually give
notice to the State Board of Education of the intention to
participate in the Healthy School Meals for All Program. At a
minimum, if it is eligible to participate, the notice must
include evidence that it is participating in the Community
Eligibility Provision or another special assistance
alternative, as set forth in subsection (b) of this Section.
(f) If the United States Department of Agriculture creates
the option for the State, as a whole, to participate in the
Community Eligibility Provision, the State Board of Education
shall evaluate whether that option would be anticipated to
require less State funding than the Healthy School Meals for
All Program and provide at least as many free meals to students
in this State. If that option is anticipated to require less
State funding and provide at least as many free meals as the
Healthy School Meals for All Program, then the State Board of
Education shall elect that option and work with participating
school boards and necessary State and local agencies to
collect data and implement the Community Eligibility Provision
statewide, and participating school boards shall be reimbursed
as set forth in subsection (c) of this Section. Until the State
participates in the Community Eligibility Provision as a
State, each participating school board, as a condition of

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participating in the Healthy School Meals for All Program,
must maximize the amount of federal reimbursement it receives
as set forth in subsection (b) of this Section.
(g) The State Board of Education shall notify each
participating school board that is eligible for participation
in the Community Eligibility Provision or another special
assistance alternative of its eligibility and that, through
the Healthy School Meals for All Program, it will receive a
supplemental, State-funded meal reimbursement in addition to
any federal meal reimbursement received as set forth in
subsection (c) of this Section. The State Board of Education
shall support and provide technical assistance to schools and
school districts as needed to support their enrollment in the
Community Eligibility Program or another special assistance
alternative. The Healthy School Meals for All Program shall be
open to all eligible schools and school districts.
(h) The State Board of Education shall support schools and
school districts to achieve the highest level of student
participation in operating their school breakfast and lunch
programs, which may include any or all of the following:
(1) providing breakfast meals that can be picked up by
students;
(2) making breakfast available to students in
classrooms after the start of the school day; and
(3) collaborating with a school's wellness or similar
committee in planning school meals.

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(i) If the State Board of Education no longer receives
federal funding for the United States Department of
Agriculture's Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement
Program, the State Board of Education shall sustain the
program, subject to appropriation. The State Board of
Education shall use the infrastructure, systems, and
eligibility criteria created through the Local Food for
Schools Cooperative Agreement Program to sustain school food
authorities' ability to purchase and serve local foods.