[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 233 (Monday, December 6, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68077-68078]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-31457]


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 Notices
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 233 / Monday, December 6, 1999 / 
Notices  

[[Page 68077]]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service


School Breakfast Program: School Breakfast Pilot Project

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces the Department's intention to initiate a 
School Breakfast Pilot Project that would make available, in a limited 
number of elementary schools, nutritious breakfasts free to all 
students regardless of family income. This notice also requests that 
School Food Authorities (SFAs) wishing to participate in the pilot 
project submit applications by January 31, 2000. The results of the 
evaluation of this pilot project will enable the Department to 
rigorously assess the effects of a universal-free school breakfast 
program on meal participation and a broad range of student outcomes, 
including academic achievement, school attendance and tardiness, 
classroom behavior and attentiveness, and dietary status.

DATES: Applications to participate in this pilot project must be 
submitted to respective State Child Nutrition Directors on or before 
January 31, 2000. The Department will conclude its selection of school 
food authorities to participate in the pilot project by April 1, 2000.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This action is not a rule as defined by the 
Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612) and thus is exempt from 
the provisions of the Act. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507), no new recordkeeping or reporting 
requirements have been included that are subject to approval from the 
Office of Management and Budget.
    This program is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance under No. 10.555. For the reasons set forth in the final 
rule in 7 CFR Part 3015, Subpart V and related Notice (48 FR 29115), 
this program is included in the scope of Executive Order 12372, which 
requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local officials.

Background

    The School Breakfast Program (SBP), authorized by the Child 
Nutrition Act of 1966, started as a pilot program to provide funding 
for school breakfasts in poor areas and areas where children had to 
travel a great distance to school. The intent was to provide a 
nutritious breakfast to children who might otherwise not receive one. 
The importance of a nutritious breakfast is supported by several 
studies that appear to have linked it to improved dietary status and 
enhanced school performance. Most recent research suggests that 
providing schools breakfasts to low-income children is associated with 
greater likelihood of eating a substantial breakfast and significant 
improvements in children's cognitive, emotional, and psychological 
behavior, as well as in their school attendance and academic 
achievement.
    In response to the growing body of evidence suggesting educational 
and dietary benefits from school breakfasts, many observers have urged 
that the availability of school breakfasts be expanded. Despite an 
increase in the number of schools offering the SBP, the percentage of 
students eating school breakfasts is considerably lower than the 
comparable percentage eating school lunch. The disparity in 
participation rates between breakfast and lunch programs is due, in 
part, to the timing of the meal, with breakfast typically served prior 
to the start of school, and lunch provided during school hours. Those 
eating school breakfasts are significantly more likely than typical 
school students to be poor, and to qualify for free or reduced-price 
breakfasts. It is possible that there is reduced participation in the 
SBP in part due to students' perceived stigma associated with the use 
of free and reduced-price school meals. One approach to increasing 
participation in the SBP is to offer breakfast free to all students, 
regardless of their ability to pay for meals. This would remove the 
perceived stigma often associated with school breakfast, and result in 
more children (both poor and non-poor) participating. It is believed 
that a universal-free program would result in more children consuming a 
nutritious breakfast and beginning the school day ready to learn.
    However, expanding the SBP so that breakfasts are free to all 
students could substantially increase the cost to the federal 
government of subsidizing school breakfasts, should participation 
increase, as proponents of universal-free breakfast believe. In a 
climate where public resources are constrained, it is critical to know 
whether these expenditures are worthwhile. Does the increase in 
participation in the SBP result in improved dietary intake, academic 
performance, and related classroom behaviors? Would these free 
breakfasts simply substitute for meals that students--particularly 
students from nonpoor households--would otherwise eat in the absence of 
the universal-free breakfast program?
    Within this context, Congress enacted Section 109 of the William F. 
Goodling Child Nutrition Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-336), which amended 
Section 18 of the National School Lunch Act, 42 U.S.C. 1769(e), to 
authorize the Secretary of Agriculture, through the Food and Nutrition 
Service (FNS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), to conduct a 
pilot study that provides free school breakfasts to all students 
regardless of family income. The evaluation of the results obtained 
from the pilot study will rigorously assess the effects of this 
universal-free school breakfast program on program participation and a 
broad range of student outcomes, including academic achievement, school 
attendance and tardiness, classroom behavior and attentiveness, and 
dietary status.

Solicitation of Requests To Participate

    The Department is issuing this notice to solicit requests from 
school food authorities (SFAs) wishing to participate in this pilot 
project. The Department envisions this project as a three-year pilot 
and anticipates admitting a limited number of SFAs into the pilot 
project. To ensure as broad a base as possible, the Department intends 
that the pool of selected school districts will be diverse in terms of 
size, geographic location, and economic conditions. Availability

[[Page 68078]]

of school district records including attendance and student achievement 
records may enter into the selection process. Participation in USDA's 
School Breakfast Program is a necessary prerequisite to participate in 
the demonstration. Selected school districts will be expected to 
implement a universal-free school breakfast program in a limited number 
of elementary schools while maintaining the regular school breakfast 
program in the remaining elementary schools.

Submission of Requests to Participate

    SFAs wishing to participate in this pilot project should request an 
information packet and application by contacting Alberta C. Frost, 
Director, Office of Analysis, Nutrition and Evaluation, 3101 Park 
Center Drive, Room 503, Alexandria, VA 22302, (703) 305-2017. SFAs may 
also download the information package and application from the USDA/FNS 
Internet website at http://www.fns.usda.gov. This packet will include 
information about the pilot project and instructions for completing and 
submitting applications. The information will include the criteria the 
Department will use in its evaluation of applicants. Applications must 
be submitted in writing to respective State Child Nutrition Directors 
not later than January 31, 2000. State Child Nutrition Directors will 
review applications and forward recommendations and all applications to 
the Office of Analysis and Evaluation, Food and Nutrition Service by 
February 15, 2000 for further consideration. The Department will select 
SFAs by April 1, 2000 and will work with these sites to implement the 
pilot project during the fall/winter of School Year 2000/01.

    Dated: November 26, 1999.
Samuel Chambers, Jr.,
Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.
[FR Doc. 99-31457 Filed 12-3-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-3-0-P