[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2143 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2143

  To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to establish a 
program to improve the health and education of children through grants 
      to expand school breakfast programs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 4, 2007

   Mr. Kohl (for himself, Mr. Feingold, Mr. Tester, Mr. Sanders, Mr. 
     Kerry, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Obama, Mr. Bingaman, and Mr. Domenici) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
           Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to establish a 
program to improve the health and education of children through grants 
      to expand school breakfast programs, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Student Breakfast and Education 
Improvement Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) approximately 60 percent of students in the United 
        States are eligible to receive free or reduced-price school 
        lunches under the school lunch program established under the 
        Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et 
        seq.);
            (2) in fiscal year 2006, 7,700,000 students in the United 
        States consumed free or reduced-price school breakfasts 
        provided under the school breakfast program established by 
        section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773);
            (3) as of the date of enactment of this Act, approximately 
        83 percent of all public schools in the United States provide 
        9,500,000 school breakfasts each year under the program 
        established by section 4 of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1773) to at 
        least 130,000 students;
            (4) less than \1/2\ of the low-income students who 
        participate in the school lunch program also participate in the 
        school breakfast program;
            (5) many students who are eligible for reduced-price 
        breakfasts and lunches can afford only 1 of those meals per 
        day;
            (6) almost 17,000 schools that participate in the school 
        lunch program do not participate in the school breakfast 
        program;
            (7) as of January 1, 2005, over 13,000,000 children, or 
        18.5 percent of all children, in the United States were living 
        in poverty and 11 percent of the households in the United 
        States were food insecure;
            (8) missing breakfast and the resulting hunger has been 
        shown to lower the ability of children to learn and hinder 
        academic performance;
            (9) Provision 2 as established under subsections (b) 
        through (k) of section 245.9 of title 7, Code of Federal 
        Regulations (or successor regulations), reduces application and 
        administrative burdens for schools that provide universal free 
        meals;
            (10) schools electing to implement school breakfast 
        programs face significant hurdles, such as start-up costs and 
        lack of participation, that require various additional 
        resources for the best solution;
            (11) school districts that are participating in the 
        Provision 2 option described in paragraph (9) have found that 
        the school districts can often provide universal free breakfast 
        in schools with as little as 60 to 75 percent of students who 
        are eligible for free and reduced-price school meals due to the 
        savings realized from reduced administrative costs and improved 
        economies of scale;
            (12) studies suggest that eating breakfast closer to class 
        and test-taking time improves student performance on 
        standardized tests relative to students who skip breakfast or 
        have breakfast at home;
            (13) studies show that children experiencing hunger are 
        more likely to be hyperactive, absent, tardy, or have 
        behavioral or attention problems;
            (14) students who eat a complete breakfast have been shown 
        to make fewer mistakes and work faster in math exercises than 
        those who eat a partial breakfast;
            (15) eating school breakfast has been shown to improve math 
        grades, attendance, and punctuality;
            (16) providing breakfast in the classroom has been shown in 
        several instances to improve attentiveness and academic 
        performance, while reducing tardiness and disciplinary 
        referrals;
            (17) providing universal free breakfast, especially in the 
        classroom, has been shown to significantly increase school 
        breakfast participation rates and decrease absences and 
        tardiness;
            (18) studies suggest that children who eat breakfast have 
        more adequate nutrition and intake of nutrients, such as 
        calcium, fiber, protein, and vitamins A, E, D, and B6;
            (19) studies suggest that some students who participate in 
        the school breakfast program or other nutrition programs have a 
        lower body mass index and risk of being overweight;
            (20) local produce (as compared to transported produce)--
                    (A) is often harvested closer to full ripeness;
                    (B) can have higher nutritional quality;
                    (C) can have improved ripeness, taste, or 
                selection, which can increase rates of consumption of 
                fruits and vegetables; and
                    (D) is more efficient to store, distribute, and 
                package; and
            (21) use of local produce--
                    (A) reduces dependence on foreign oil by reducing 
                fuel consumption rates associated with the production 
                or transportation of fruits and vegetables; and
                    (B) can help to improve the ability of individuals 
                using the procurement system to provide education on 
                nutrition, farming, sustainability, energy efficiency, 
                and the importance of local purchases to the local 
                economy.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to improve student 
learning and the classroom environment through expanded and improved 
school breakfast programs, particularly universal programs provided 
during the school day.

SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR EXPANSION OF SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAMS TO IMPROVE 
              HEALTH AND EDUCATION OF CHILDREN.

    Part D of title V of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 7241 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

   ``Subpart V--Grants for Expansion of School Breakfast Programs to 
                Improve Health and Education of Children

``SEC. 5621. GRANTS FOR EXPANSION OF SCHOOL BREAKFAST PROGRAMS TO 
              IMPROVE HEALTH AND EDUCATION OF CHILDREN.

    ``(a) Definition of Qualifying School.--In this section the term 
`qualifying school' means a school providing elementary or secondary 
education (kindergarten through grade 12) at least 65 percent of the 
students of which are eligible for free or reduced-price school lunches 
under the school lunch program established under the Richard B. Russell 
National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.).
    ``(b) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a program under 
which the Secretary shall provide grants, on a competitive basis, to 
local education agencies or State departments of education for use in 
accordance with this section.
    ``(c) Coordination.--The Secretary shall consult and coordinate, as 
appropriate, with the Secretary of Agriculture with respect to grant 
elements, application review criteria, and analyses of grant impacts 
that relate to or overlap with Department of Agriculture activities or 
expertise, such as nutrition and school meal program rules.
    ``(d) Grants to Local Education Agencies or State Departments of 
Education.--The amount of grants provided by the Secretary to local 
education agencies or State departments of education for a fiscal year 
under this section shall not exceed the lesser of--
            ``(1) the product obtained by multiplying--
                    ``(A) the number of qualifying schools receiving 
                subgrants or other benefits under subsection (e) for 
                the fiscal year; and
                    ``(B) the maximum amount of a subgrant provided to 
                a qualifying school under subsection (e)(3)(B); or
            ``(2) $2,000,000.
    ``(e) Subgrants to Qualifying Schools.--
            ``(1) In general.--A local education agency or State 
        department of education receiving a grant under this section 
        shall use funds made available under the grant to award 
        subgrants to individual or groups of qualifying schools to 
        carry out activities in accordance with this section.
            ``(2) State and district support.--A local education agency 
        or State department of education may allocate a portion of each 
        subgrant to support State or local education agency activities 
        in support of qualified schools for which it is more efficient 
        or appropriate to support the activities in a centralized 
        manner.
            ``(3) Amount; term.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in 
                this paragraph, a subgrant provided by a local 
                education agency or State department of education to a 
                qualifying school under this section shall be in such 
                amount, and shall be provided for such term, as the 
                local education agency or State department of 
                education, respectively, determines appropriate.
                    ``(B) Maximum amount.--The amount of a subgrant 
                provided by a local education agency or State 
                department of education to a qualifying school under 
                this subsection shall not exceed--
                            ``(i) $50,000 for a single fiscal year; or
                            ``(ii) $100,000 for all fiscal years.
                    ``(C) Maximum grant term.--A local education agency 
                or State department of education shall not provide 
                subgrants to a qualifying school under this subsection 
                for more than 5 fiscal years.
    ``(f) Preference.--In providing grants and subgrants under this 
section, the Secretary, a local education agency, and a State 
department of education shall give priority to qualifying schools--
            ``(1) in which 75 percent or more of the students of which 
        are eligible for free or reduced-price school lunches under the 
        school lunch program established under the Richard B. Russell 
        National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.); and
            ``(2) that demonstrate--
                    ``(A) an intent to use the grants or subgrants to 
                establish or support connections between the qualifying 
                schools and local agricultural producers and food 
                providers;
                    ``(B) that the qualifying schools have established, 
                or intend to establish, a universal free breakfast 
                program; or
                    ``(C) that the qualifying schools have considered, 
                or intend to establish, service methods that make 
                breakfast a part of the school day.
    ``(g) Application.--
            ``(1) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        this section, a local education agency or State department of 
        education shall submit to the Secretary an application at such 
        time, in such manner, and containing such information as the 
        Secretary may require.
            ``(2) Administration.--In carrying out this section, the 
        Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) develop an appropriate application process; 
                and
                    ``(B) advertise the availability of funds under 
                this section to qualified schools, local education 
                agencies, and State departments of education.
    ``(h) Use of Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--A qualifying school may use a grant 
        provided under this section--
                    ``(A) to establish, promote, or expand a school 
                breakfast program of the qualifying school under this 
                section, which shall include a nutritional education 
                component;
                    ``(B) to increase the quantity of local or fresh 
                food available under the school breakfast program of 
                the qualifying school under this section;
                    ``(C) to provide nutritional education materials to 
                students;
                    ``(D) to extend the period during which school 
                breakfast is available at the qualifying school;
                    ``(E) to provide school breakfast to students of 
                the qualifying school during the school day;
                    ``(F) to increase participation in the school 
                breakfast program, including through a universal free 
                breakfast program;
                    ``(G) to compensate for receipts no longer 
                collected from reduced and paid breakfasts when 
                operating a universal free breakfast program;
                    ``(H) to provide to students first-hand knowledge 
                of food systems, including through--
                            ``(i) occasional activities, such as 
                        inviting agricultural producers to speak at the 
                        qualifying school or offering student field 
                        trips to local agricultural projects; or
                            ``(ii) integrating food system information 
                        into the curriculum (including mathematics and 
                        science classes) of the qualifying school; or
                    ``(I) to collaborate with local colleges, 
                universities, or other research entities (including 
                hunger advocacy entities)--
                            ``(i) to compile data and reports relating 
                        to the school breakfast program of the 
                        qualifying school; and
                            ``(ii) to submit the data and reports to 
                        the Secretary.
            ``(2) Requirement.--Each activity of a qualifying school 
        under this subsection shall be carried out in accordance with 
        applicable nutritional guidelines and regulations issued by the 
        Secretary of Agriculture.
    ``(i) Maintenance of Effort.--Grants made available under this 
subsection shall not diminish or otherwise affect the expenditure of 
funds from State and local sources for the maintenance of the school 
breakfast program.
    ``(j) Reports.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
        Secretary of Agriculture, local education agencies, State 
        departments of education, and qualifying schools that receive 
        grants and subgrants under this section, shall submit to 
        Congress an annual report describing the impact of the school 
        breakfast programs of the qualifying schools on and classroom 
        performance and environment.
            ``(2) Data collection.--The Secretary shall provide 
        guidance and minimum standards for data collection to grant 
        recipients and any collaborating local colleges, universities, 
        or research entities as necessary to ensure that annual reports 
        under this section are able to provide an adequate qualitative 
        and quantitative evaluation of the grant impacts.
    ``(k) Evaluation.--Not later than 180 days before the end of a 
grant term under this section, a local education agency or State 
department of education that receives a grant under this section 
shall--
            ``(1) evaluate whether electing to provide universal free 
        breakfasts under the school breakfast program in accordance 
        with Provision 2 as established under subsections (b) through 
        (k) of section 245.9 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations 
        (or successor regulations), would be cost-effective for the 
        qualified schools based on estimated administrative savings and 
        economies of scale; and
            ``(2) submit the results of the evaluation to the 
        Secretary.
    ``(l) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section for 
each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012.''.
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