# 119-hr-6795: School MEALS Act of 2025

119-hr-6795, School MEALS Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Hayes, Jahana [D-CT-5] (D-CT); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6795
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-6795
- Congress: 119
- Title: School MEALS Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-12-17
- Sponsor: Rep. Hayes, Jahana [D-CT-5] (D-CT)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Policy area: Agriculture and Food
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**This bill would strengthen direct certification** so more children could be automatically enrolled for free school meals. It would create grants and technical assistance, adjust the Community Eligibility Option timing and counts, raise a direct-certification threshold from 10 to 20, and require clearer state reporting on progress. - Families and students: More children would be directly certified for free school meals, reducing paperwork for families and making school meals easier to access. - State agencies and Tribal organizations: Establishes Direct Certification Improvement Grants and Secretary-provided technical assistance for States and Tribal organizations. On October 1, 2025, $28.0 million would be transferred from Treasury to fund the program, with at least $2.0 million for reservation food distribution grants and up to $3.0 million for technical assistance. - Schools and local educational agencies: Changes Community Eligibility Option timing so eligible student counts begin April 1 for the prior year through the school year end. Raises an applicable direct-certification metric from 10 to 20 and adds requirements that States report the technical assistance received and progress toward implementation. *Provides a $28.0 million Treasury transfer to fund the grant and assistance program, including specified set asides for reservation grants and technical help.*

## Cosponsors (1)

- Rep. Omar, Ilhan [D-MN-5] (D-MN), 2025-12-17T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- More free school meal access, new rules: mixed, medium. This bill would push States and Tribal organizations to finish direct-certification improvements within 3 school years after the measures are described. It would create a $28 million grant program (transferred Oct 1, 2025) to help States and Tribes upgrade technology, give technical help, and coord…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-10421: Transforming Education for the Future Act
- 119-hr-3971: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-6795 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/6795)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-10421: Transforming Education for the Future Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10421)
- [119-hr-3971: Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3971)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-6795 (as of 2026-04-21).