Expanding Access to School Meals Act of 2025

This bill expands access to school meals and ends the “reduced-price” category. It raises the cut-off for free meals so more families qualify, and it makes it easier for schools to approve kids for free meals without extra forms. It also updates funding rules so more schools can offer free meals to all students. It includes back pay for meals from the start of the school year once a child is approved.

Key points

• What changes: The reduced-price breakfast and lunch programs are eliminated; students either get free meals or pay full price. The income limit for free meals increases from 130% to 224% of the federal poverty level; this applies to free lunches and, as stated in the bill’s description, free breakfasts as well .
• Who is affected: More families will qualify for free school meals. Children on Medicaid can be directly certified for free meals without a separate application if their family income (as measured by Medicaid) is at or below 224% of poverty. Foster children, homeless and runaway youth, and migratory children can also be directly certified.
• When: The new Medicaid direct certification process and the higher funding multiplier for the community eligibility program start with school years beginning on or after July 1, 2025. The multiplier is set to 2.5 to help more schools offer free meals to all students .
• Back pay: Schools must revise past meal claims so kids approved for free meals are covered back to the first day of the current school year.