Appendix 9 The 2004 Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act

Supporting Statement for OMB Clearance for the Study of Non-Response to the
School Meals Application Verification Process
Appendix 9
The 2004 Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act

S. 2507—5
SEC. 104. DIRECT CERTIFICATION.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9(b) of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)) is amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (7) as paragraphs (9) through (13), respectively; and
(2) in paragraph (2)—
(A) in subparagraph (B)—
(i) by striking ‘‘(B) Applications’’ and inserting the
following:
‘‘(B) APPLICATIONS AND DESCRIPTIVE MATERIAL.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Applications’’;
(ii) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘Such forms
and descriptive material’’ and inserting the following:
‘‘(ii) INCOME ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES.—Forms and
descriptive material distributed in accordance with
clause (i)’’; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(iii) CONTENTS OF DESCRIPTIVE MATERIAL.—
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Descriptive material distributed in accordance with clause (i) shall contain
a notification that—
‘‘(aa) participants in the programs listed
in subclause (II) may be eligible for free or
reduced price meals; and
‘‘(bb) documentation may be requested for
verification of eligibility for free or reduced
price meals.
‘‘(II) PROGRAMS.—The programs referred to in
subclause (I)(aa) are—
‘‘(aa) the special supplemental nutrition
program for women, infants, and children
established by section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786);
‘‘(bb) the food stamp program established
under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.
2011 et seq.);
‘‘(cc) the food distribution program on
Indian reservations established under section
4(b) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.
2013(b)); and
‘‘(dd) a State program funded under the
program of block grants to States for temporary assistance for needy families established under part A of title IV of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘(C)(i)’’ and inserting ‘‘(3)’’; and
(C) by striking clause (ii) of subparagraph (C) (as it
existed before the amendment made by subparagraph (B))
and all that follows through the end of subparagraph (D)
and inserting the following:
‘‘(4) DIRECT CERTIFICATION FOR CHILDREN IN FOOD STAMP
HOUSEHOLDS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subparagraph (D), each
State agency shall enter into an agreement with the State
agency conducting eligibility determinations for the food
stamp program established under the Food Stamp Act of
1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.).

S. 2507—6
‘‘(B) PROCEDURES.—Subject to paragraph (6), the agreement shall establish procedures under which a child who
is a member of a household receiving assistance under
the food stamp program shall be certified as eligible for
free lunches under this Act and free breakfasts under the
Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.), without further application.
‘‘(C) CERTIFICATION.—Subject to paragraph (6), under
the agreement, the local educational agency conducting
eligibility determinations for a school lunch program under
this Act and a school breakfast program under the Child
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) shall certify
a child who is a member of a household receiving assistance
under the food stamp program as eligible for free lunches
under this Act and free breakfasts under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.), without further
application.
‘‘(D) APPLICABILITY.—This paragraph applies to—
‘‘(i) in the case of the school year beginning July
2006, a school district that had an enrollment of 25,000
students or more in the preceding school year;
‘‘(ii) in the case of the school year beginning July
2007, a school district that had an enrollment of 10,000
students or more in the preceding school year; and
‘‘(iii) in the case of the school year beginning July
2008 and each subsequent school year, each local educational agency.’’.
(b) ADMINISTRATION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 9(b) of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)) (as amended
by subsection (a)) is amended by inserting after paragraph
(4) the following:
‘‘(5) DISCRETIONARY CERTIFICATION.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (6), any local
educational agency may certify any child as eligible for
free lunches or breakfasts, without further application, by
directly communicating with the appropriate State or local
agency to obtain documentation of the status of the child
as—
‘‘(i) a member of a family that is receiving assistance under the temporary assistance for needy families
program funded under part A of title IV of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) that the Secretary
determines complies with standards established by the
Secretary that ensure that the standards under the
State program are comparable to or more restrictive
than those in effect on June 1, 1995;
‘‘(ii) a homeless child or youth (defined as 1 of
the individuals described in section 725(2) of the
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
11434a(2));
‘‘(iii) served by the runaway and homeless youth
grant program established under the Runaway and
Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5701 et seq.); or
‘‘(iv) a migratory child (as defined in section 1309
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 6399)).’’.

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‘‘(B) CHILDREN
STAMPS.—Subject to

OF

HOUSEHOLDS

RECEIVING

FOOD

paragraph (6), any local educational
agency may certify any child as eligible for free lunches
or breakfasts, without further application, by directly
communicating with the appropriate State or local agency
to obtain documentation of the status of the child as a
member of a household that is receiving food stamps under
the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.).
‘‘(6) USE OR DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The use or disclosure of any
information obtained from an application for free or reduced
price meals, or from a State or local agency referred to
in paragraph (3)(F), (4), or (5), shall be limited to—
‘‘(i) a person directly connected with the administration or enforcement of this Act or the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) (including
a regulation promulgated under either Act);
‘‘(ii) a person directly connected with the administration or enforcement of—
‘‘(I) a Federal education program;
‘‘(II) a State health or education program
administered by the State or local educational
agency (other than a program carried out under
title XIX or XXI of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 1396 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.));
or
‘‘(III) a Federal, State, or local means-tested
nutrition program with eligibility standards comparable to the school lunch program under this
Act;
‘‘(iii)(I) the Comptroller General of the United
States for audit and examination authorized by any
other provision of law; and
‘‘(II) notwithstanding any other provision of law,
a Federal, State, or local law enforcement official for
the purpose of investigating an alleged violation of
any program covered by this paragraph or paragraph
(3)(F), (4), or (5);
‘‘(iv) a person directly connected with the administration of the State medicaid program under title XIX
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.)
or the State children’s health insurance program under
title XXI of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.) solely
for the purposes of—
‘‘(I) identifying children eligible for benefits
under, and enrolling children in, those programs,
except that this subclause shall apply only to the
extent that the State and the local educational
agency or school food authority so elect; and
‘‘(II) verifying the eligibility of children for
programs under this Act or the Child Nutrition
Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.); and
‘‘(v) a third party contractor described in paragraph
(3)(G)(iv).
‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON INFORMATION PROVIDED.—Information provided under clause (ii) or (v) of subparagraph (A)
shall be limited to the income eligibility status of the

S. 2507—8
child for whom application for free or reduced price meal
benefits is made or for whom eligibility information is
provided under paragraph (3)(F), (4), or (5), unless the
consent of the parent or guardian of the child for whom
application for benefits was made is obtained.
‘‘(C) CRIMINAL PENALTY.—A person described in
subparagraph (A) who publishes, divulges, discloses, or
makes known in any manner, or to any extent not authorized by Federal law (including a regulation), any information obtained under this subsection shall be fined not more
than $1,000 or imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.
‘‘(D) REQUIREMENTS FOR WAIVER OF CONFIDENTIALITY.—A State that elects to exercise the option
described in subparagraph (A)(iv)(I) shall ensure that any
local educational agency or school food authority acting
in accordance with that option—
‘‘(i) has a written agreement with 1 or more State
or local agencies administering health programs for
children under titles XIX and XXI of the Social Security
Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq. and 1397aa et seq.) that
requires the health agencies to use the information
obtained under subparagraph (A) to seek to enroll children in those health programs; and
‘‘(ii)(I) notifies each household, the information of
which shall be disclosed under subparagraph (A), that
the information disclosed will be used only to enroll
children in health programs referred to in subparagraph (A)(iv); and
‘‘(II) provides each parent or guardian of a child
in the household with an opportunity to elect not to
have the information disclosed.
‘‘(E) USE OF DISCLOSED INFORMATION.—A person to
which information is disclosed under subparagraph
(A)(iv)(I) shall use or disclose the information only as necessary for the purpose of enrolling children in health programs referred to in subparagraph (A)(iv).
‘‘(7) FREE AND REDUCED PRICE POLICY STATEMENT.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After the initial submission, a local
educational agency shall not be required to submit a free
and reduced price policy statement to a State educational
agency under this Act unless there is a substantive change
in the free and reduced price policy of the local educational
agency.
‘‘(B) ROUTINE CHANGE.—A routine change in the policy
of a local educational agency (such as an annual adjustment
of the income eligibility guidelines for free and reduced
price meals) shall not be sufficient cause for requiring
the local educational agency to submit a policy statement.
‘‘(8) COMMUNICATIONS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any communication with a household under this subsection or subsection (d) shall be in
an understandable and uniform format and, to the maximum extent practicable, in a language that parents and
legal guardians can understand.
‘‘(B) ELECTRONIC AVAILABILITY.—In addition to the distribution of applications and descriptive material in paper
form as provided for in this paragraph, the applications

S. 2507—9
and material may be made available electronically via the
Internet.’’.
(2) AGREEMENT FOR DIRECT CERTIFICATION AND COOPERATION.—Section 11 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.
2020) is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(u) AGREEMENT FOR DIRECT CERTIFICATION AND COOPERATION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State agency shall enter into an
agreement with the State agency administering the school lunch
program established under the Richard B. Russell National
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.).
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The agreement shall establish procedures
that ensure that—
‘‘(A) any child receiving benefits under this Act shall
be certified as eligible for free lunches under the Richard
B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751
et seq.) and free breakfasts under the Child Nutrition
Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.), without further
application; and
‘‘(B) each State agency shall cooperate in carrying out
paragraphs (3)(F) and (4) of section 9(b) of the Richard
B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)).’’.
(c) FUNDING.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—On October 1, 2005, out of any funds
in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the Secretary of
the Treasury shall transfer to the Secretary of Agriculture
to assist States in carrying out the amendments contained
in this section and the provisions of section 9(b)(3) of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (as amended
by section 105(a)) $9,000,000, to remain available until
expended.
(2) RECEIPT AND ACCEPTANCE.—The Secretary shall be entitled to receive, shall accept, and shall use to assist States
in carrying out the amendments made by this section and
the provisions of section 9(b)(3) of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (as amended by section 105(a))
the funds transferred under paragraph (1), without further
appropriation.
(d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) Effective July 1, 2008, paragraph (5) of section 9(b)
of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C.
1758(b)) (as added by subsection (b)(1)) is amended—
(A) by striking subparagraph (B);
(B) by striking ‘‘CERTIFICATION.—’’ and all that follows
through ‘‘IN GENERAL.—’’ and inserting ‘‘CERTIFICATION.—
’’; and
(C) by redesignating clauses (i) through (iv) as subparagraphs (A) through (D), respectively, and indenting appropriately.
(2) Section 9 of the Richard B. Russell National School
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758) (as amended by subsection (a)(1))
is amended—
(A) in subsection (b)(12)(B), by striking ‘‘paragraph
(2)(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘this subsection’’; and
(B) in the second sentence of subsection (d)(1), by
striking ‘‘subsection (b)(2)(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection
(b)(3)(G)’’.

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(3) Section 11(e) of the Richard B. Russell National School
Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1759a(e)) is amended in the first sentence
by striking ‘‘section 9(b)(3)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 9(b)(9)’’.
SEC. 105. HOUSEHOLD APPLICATIONS.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9(b) of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)) (as amended by
section 104(a)(2)(B)) is amended by striking paragraph (3) and
inserting the following:
‘‘(3) HOUSEHOLD APPLICATIONS.—
‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF HOUSEHOLD APPLICATION.—In this
paragraph, the term ‘household application’ means an
application for a child of a household to receive free or
reduced price school lunches under this Act, or free or
reduced price school breakfasts under the Child Nutrition
Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.), for which an eligibility
determination is made other than under paragraph (4)
or (5).
‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An eligibility determination
shall be made on the basis of a complete household
application executed by an adult member of the household or in accordance with guidance issued by the
Secretary.
‘‘(ii) ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES AND APPLICATIONS.—
A household application may be executed using an
electronic signature if—
‘‘(I) the application is submitted electronically;
and
‘‘(II) the electronic application filing system
meets confidentiality standards established by the
Secretary.
‘‘(C) CHILDREN IN HOUSEHOLD.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The household application shall
identify the names of each child in the household for
whom meal benefits are requested.
‘‘(ii) SEPARATE APPLICATIONS.—A State educational
agency or local educational agency may not request
a separate application for each child in the household
that attends schools under the same local educational
agency.
‘‘(D) VERIFICATION OF SAMPLE.—
‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this subparagraph:
‘‘(I) ERROR PRONE APPLICATION.—The term
‘error prone application’ means an approved household application that—
‘‘(aa) indicates monthly income that is
within $100, or an annual income that is
within $1,200, of the income eligibility limitation for free or reduced price meals; or
‘‘(bb) in lieu of the criteria established
under item (aa), meets criteria established by
the Secretary.
‘‘(II) NON-RESPONSE RATE.—The term ‘nonresponse rate’ means (in accordance with guidelines established by the Secretary) the percentage
of approved household applications for which