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Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jun 10, 2009
Paperless Enrollment for School Meals Act of 2009 - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to allow schools and local educational agencies (LEAs) to receive special assistance payments for free or reduced price meals under the school lunch or breakfast programs that are based not on applications for such meals, but on estimates of the number of children eligible for such meals.
Requires such estimates to be derived from recent data, such as survey, welfare, or tax data.
Permits schools and LEAs from high poverty areas to receive special assistance payments for free or reduced price meals that are not based on applications, if they directly certify a specified minimum percentage of their students as eligible for free meals due to such students' eligibility for certain other public assistance. Reimburses such schools and LEAs pursuant to a formula that factors in the percentage of students directly certified as eligible for free meals.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Requires schools and LEAs reimbursed on the basis of estimates or certifications to provide free meals to all their students under the school lunch and breakfast programs and cover, from nonfederal sources, the costs of serving such meals that exceed the assistance received under such programs.
People & committees
Rep. Fattah, Chaka [D-PA-2] · D–PA
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Dec 5, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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