School Meal Modernization and Hunger Elimination Act

This bill makes it easier for kids to get free or low‑cost school breakfast and lunch, with less paperwork for families. States must use Medicaid data to automatically sign up eligible children starting with the 2025–26 school year, and schools can also use Social Security (SSI) data to certify kids without an application . It applies to all schools, including those run by the Bureau of Indian Education. Children placed with caregivers through child welfare, those receiving adoption or kinship‑guardianship support, and some living with grandparents or in Native American housing assistance are also treated as automatically eligible. If a student moves to a new district, their meal status follows them, and it can be extended by one year if they move in with a grandparent or other relative under certain conditions; if a child’s status changes during the year, schools must refile meal claims back to the first day of the school year and families get refunds for any fees they paid after that date .

The bill also helps more schools feed every student at no charge. It raises the formula used in the Community Eligibility option and updates how schools count eligible students, starting July 1, 2025. Up to five states can pilot statewide free school meals by July 1, 2026; in those states, all students eat for free and schools don’t collect applications, with federal support and required state funding, and the results will be studied by 2030 . States and Tribal organizations can get grants in 2025 to improve data systems and direct certification, including support for the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, with $28 million provided for this work. The bill also tracks how well states are enrolling eligible kids and the help they receive to improve.

• Who is affected: Students on Medicaid or SSI; children placed with caregivers through child welfare; children receiving adoption or kinship‑guardianship support; some children living with grandparents or in Native American housing; families; schools and Tribal organizations .
• What changes: Automatic sign‑up without applications; meal eligibility follows students who transfer; refunds when status changes mid‑year; improved community eligibility funding rules; statewide “free meals for all” pilots; grants and technical help; performance tracking .
• When: School year starting July 1, 2025 for Medicaid auto sign‑up and community eligibility changes; October 1, 2025 for state/Tribal grants; by July 1, 2026 for statewide pilots; refunds apply back to the first day of the current school year if a child’s status changes .