Sponsors (119)
The bill increases choice and accommodations in school milk programs (including options for students with disabilities and procurement alignment with national-security concerns) at the cost of potential worse student diet outcomes, weakened nutrition consistency, higher procurement costs, and added administrative burden for schools.
Students (K-12) will have access to a wider variety of milk options (flavored, whole, reduced-fat, low-fat, fat-free, organic, and lactose-free), increasing choice and accommodation in school meals.
Students with diet-restricting disabilities will be able to receive milk substitutes when a written statement specifies the disability and substitute, improving access and protections for students with disabilities.
Schools and students may find it easier to meet saturated-fat meal limits if milk fat is excluded from saturated-fat calculations, allowing schools more flexibility to offer higher-fat milk options while staying within regulatory targets.
Students (K-12) could consume more added sugars and calories if flavored and higher-fat milks are allowed more broadly, worsening diet quality compared with lower-fat and unsweetened defaults.
Students and school meal programs may face weakened nutrition consistency because changing how milk fat is counted for saturated-fat compliance can undermine existing nutrition standards and complicate uniform application of meal rules.
Schools, local governments, and taxpayers may face higher procurement costs or reduced vendor options if purchases from China state-owned enterprises are banned, increasing budgetary pressure or administrative sourcing challenges.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced January 23, 2025 by Glenn Thompson · Last progress January 23, 2025
Changes school lunch program rules to allow a wide range of fluid milks on school menus — including flavored and unflavored whole milk, reduced-fat, low-fat, fat-free, organic or non-organic, and lactose-free options — and requires documented substitutions for students with diet-related disabilities. It also instructs the USDA to exclude milk fat from saturated-fat calculations for meal compliance, bans program schools from buying milk produced by China state-owned enterprises, and prevents the USDA from prohibiting schools from offering the specified milk types. These changes apply to schools in the National School Lunch Program and to the Secretary of Agriculture’s regulatory responsibilities. The bill does not specify new funding or an effective date in the provided text.