H.R. 6795 · 119th Congress
School MEALS Act of 2025
Key: what the circles and colors mean
Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:
Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.
Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.
Not yet voted on. This bill is still a proposal: it hasn't reached a floor vote, and its text can change in committee or on the floor before any vote.
D
HayesSponsor1 cosponsor · 1 D
1 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
School Modernization and Efficient Access to Lunches for Students Act of 2025 or the School MEALS Act of 2025
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · Dec 17, 2025
School Modernization and Efficient Access to Lunches for Students Act of 2025 or the School MEALS Act of 2025
This bill establishes programs and revises requirements relating to direct certification processes for the National School Lunch Program. Direct certification allows schools to use data matching procedures to approve school meals without the need for applications for children who receive assistance under other programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
Specifically, the bill directs the Department of Agriculture to provide grants and technical assistance for states and tribal organizations to improve their direct certification processes, including with respect to children who receive assistance under a food distribution program on Indian reservations.
The bill also expands the time frame for schools to elect and gather eligibility data for the Community Eligibility Provision. This provision permits schools in high-poverty areas to serve free meals to all enrolled students without the need for applications.
Further, the bill specifies that a state subject to a continuous improvement plan (for not directly certifying at least 95% of children eligible for direct certification because they receive SNAP benefits) must implement the improvement measures within three years.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: School MEALS Act of 2025
Also known as: School Modernization and Efficient Access to Lunches for Students Act of 2025
Latest action (Dec 17, 2025): Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Policy area: Agriculture and Food · Origin: House · Introduced: Dec 17, 2025
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.