Official Summaries

Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025

This bill revises requirements for milk provided by the National School Lunch Program of the Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Currently, schools participating in the program must provide milk that is consistent with the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans; USDA regulations require milk to be fat-free or low-fat and allow milk to be flavored or unflavored. The bill modifies these restrictions and instead permits schools to offer students whole, reduced-fat, low-fat, and fat-free flavored and unflavored milk. The milk that is offered may be organic or nonorganic.

Further, schools currently must provide a substitute for fluid milk, on receipt of a written statement from a licensed physician, for students whose disability restricts their diet. Under the bill, a parent or legal guardian may also provide the written statement.

In addition, schools currently participating in the program must provide meals that meet certain nutrition requirements; USDA regulations require that the average saturated fat content of the meals offered must be less than 10% of the total calories. Under the bill, fluid milk is excluded from the saturated fat content calculation; milk fat included in any fluid milk provided by the program must not be considered saturated fat for the purposes of measuring compliance with USDA regulations.

Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025

This act revises requirements for milk provided by the National School Lunch Program of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to allow schools to offer students whole and reduced-fat milk. The act also requires that local school food service personnel receive annual training and certification on food allergies.

The act permits schools to offer students whole, reduced-fat (2%), low-fat (1%), and fat-free flavored and unflavored milk. The milk that is offered may be organic or nonorganic. Currently, USDA regulations require milk to be fat-free or low-fat and allow milk to be flavored or unflavored. The act also removes the requirement that schools participating in the program must provide milk that is consistent with the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The act also expands the nondairy beverages that are included in the program by allowing schools to offer all students nondairy beverages that are nutritionally equivalent to fluid milk and that meet nutritional standards established by USDA.

Further, schools currently must provide a substitute for fluid milk, on receipt of a written statement from a licensed physician, for students whose disability restricts their diet. Under the act, a parent or legal guardian may also provide the written statement.

In addition, the act excludes fluid milk from the saturated fat content calculation for school meals. Currently, schools participating in the program must provide meals that meet certain nutrition requirements; USDA regulations require that the average saturated fat content of the meals offered must be less than 10% of the total calories. Under the act, milk fat included in any fluid milk provided by the program must not be considered saturated fat for the purposes of measuring compliance with USDA regulations.

Finally, the program's mandatory training and certification for local school food service personnel must include a module on food allergies, including information on the best practices to prevent, recognize, and respond to food-related allergic reactions. Food service personnel must receive an annual certification to demonstrate competence in the food allergies training and other training modules that are provided.

Current Full Text

[119th Congress Public Law 69]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



[[Page 139 STAT. 1997]]

Public Law 119-69
119th Congress

                                 An Act


 
   To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to allow 
  schools that participate in the school lunch program to serve whole 
   milk, and for other purposes. <<NOTE: Jan. 14, 2026 -  [S. 222]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Whole Milk for 
Healthy Kids Act of 2025.>> 
SECTION 1. <<NOTE: 42 USC 1751 note.>> SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 
2025''.
SEC. 2. ORGANIC OR NON-ORGANIC WHOLE MILK PERMISSIBLE.

    (a) In General.--Section 9(a)(2) of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(a)(2)) is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A)--
                    (A) by striking clauses (i) and (ii) and inserting 
                the following:
                          ``(i) shall offer students a variety of fluid 
                      milk;
                          ``(ii) may offer students options which may 
                      include flavored and unflavored organic or 
                      nonorganic whole, reduced-fat, low-fat, and fat-
                      free fluid milk and lactose-free fluid milk, and 
                      nondairy beverages that are nutritionally 
                      equivalent to fluid milk and meet the nutritional 
                      standards established by the Secretary (which 
                      shall, among other requirements to be determined 
                      by the Secretary, include fortification of 
                      calcium, protein, vitamin A, and vitamin D to 
                      levels found in cow's milk); and''; and
                    (B) in clause (iii), by striking ``physician'' and 
                inserting ``physician, parent, or legal guardian'';
            (2) in subparagraph (C), in the matter preceding clause (i), 
        by striking ``fluid milk products'' and inserting ``products 
        described in subparagraph (A)(ii)''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) Saturated fat.--Milk fat included in any fluid 
                milk provided under subparagraph (A) shall not be 
                considered saturated fat for purposes of measuring 
                compliance with the allowable average saturated fat 
                content of a meal under section 210.10 of title 7, Code 
                of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations).
                    ``(E) Application.--Subparagraph (B)(ii) is not 
                applicable to a school that offers nondairy beverages 
                under subparagraph (A)(ii).''.

    (b) Conforming Amendments.--

[[Page 139 STAT. 1998]]

            (1) Section 14(f) of the Richard B. Russell National School 
        Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1762a(f)) is amended in the third sentence 
        by inserting ``or a nondairy beverage that meets the nutritional 
        standards described in section 9(a)(2)(B)'' after ``milk''.
            (2) Section 20(c) of the Richard B. Russell National School 
        Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769b(c)) is amended by striking ``patterns 
        and fluid milk requirements'' and inserting ``patterns, fluid 
        milk requirements, and nutritional standards for nondairy 
        beverages''.
SEC. 3. INCLUDING FOOD ALLERGY INFORMATION IN EXISTING TRAINING 
                    MODULES FOR LOCAL FOOD SERVICE PERSONNEL.

    (a) Food Allergy Training Module.--Section 7(g)(2)(B)(iii) of the 
Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1776(g)(2)(B)(iii)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subclauses (II) and (III) as subclauses 
        (III) and (IV), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subclause (I) the following:
                                    ``(II) food allergies, including 
                                information on the best practices to 
                                prevent, recognize, and respond to food-
                                related allergic reactions;''.

    (b) Certification.--Section 7(g)(2)(B)(ii)(II) of the Child 
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1776(g)(2)(B)(ii)(II)) is amended by 
striking ``clause (i)'' and inserting ``clauses (i) and (iii)''.

    Approved January 14, 2026.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 222:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 171 (2025):
            Nov. 20, considered and passed Senate.
            Dec. 15, considered and passed House.
DAILY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS (2026):
            Jan. 14, Presidential remarks.

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