Grants and cooperative agreements; availability, etc.: School Breakfast Program; School Breakfast Pilot Project,

[Federal Register: December 6, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 233)]

[Notices]

[Page 68077-68078]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr06de99-32]

Notices Federal Register

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings and investigations, committee meetings, agency decisions and rulings, delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency statements of organization and functions are examples of documents appearing in this section.

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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service

School Breakfast Program: School Breakfast Pilot Project

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: This notice announces the Department's intention to initiate a School Breakfast Pilot Project that would make available, in a limited number of elementary schools, nutritious breakfasts free to all students regardless of family income. This notice also requests that School Food Authorities (SFAs) wishing to participate in the pilot project submit applications by January 31, 2000. The results of the evaluation of this pilot project will enable the Department to rigorously assess the effects of a universal-free school breakfast program on meal participation and a broad range of student outcomes, including academic achievement, school attendance and tardiness, classroom behavior and attentiveness, and dietary status.

DATES: Applications to participate in this pilot project must be submitted to respective State Child Nutrition Directors on or before January 31, 2000. The Department will conclude its selection of school food authorities to participate in the pilot project by April 1, 2000.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This action is not a rule as defined by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612) and thus is exempt from the provisions of the Act. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507), no new recordkeeping or reporting requirements have been included that are subject to approval from the Office of Management and Budget.

This program is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance under No. 10.555. For the reasons set forth in the final rule in 7 CFR Part 3015, Subpart V and related Notice (48 FR 29115), this program is included in the scope of Executive Order 12372, which requires intergovernmental consultation with State and local officials.

Background

The School Breakfast Program (SBP), authorized by the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, started as a pilot program to provide funding for school breakfasts in poor areas and areas where children had to travel a great distance to school. The intent was to provide a nutritious breakfast to children who might otherwise not receive one. The importance of a nutritious breakfast is supported by several studies that appear to have linked it to improved dietary status and enhanced school performance. Most recent research suggests that providing schools breakfasts to low-income children is associated with greater likelihood of eating a substantial breakfast and significant improvements in children's cognitive, emotional, and psychological behavior, as well as in their school attendance and academic achievement.

In response to the growing body of evidence suggesting educational and dietary benefits from school breakfasts, many observers have urged that the availability of school breakfasts be expanded. Despite an increase in the number of schools offering the SBP, the percentage of students eating school breakfasts is considerably lower than the comparable percentage eating school lunch. The disparity in participation rates between breakfast and lunch programs is due, in part, to the timing of the meal, with breakfast typically served prior to the start of school, and lunch provided during school hours. Those eating school breakfasts are significantly more likely than typical school students to be poor, and to qualify for free or reduced-price breakfasts. It is possible that there is reduced participation in the SBP in part due to students' perceived stigma associated with the use of free and reduced-price school meals. One approach to increasing participation in the SBP is to offer breakfast free to all students, regardless of their ability to pay for meals. This would remove the perceived stigma often associated with school breakfast, and result in more children (both poor and non-poor) participating. It is believed that a universal-free program would result in more children consuming a nutritious breakfast and beginning the school day ready to learn.

However, expanding the SBP so that breakfasts are free to all students could substantially increase the cost to the federal government of subsidizing school breakfasts, should participation increase, as proponents of universal-free breakfast believe. In a climate where public resources are constrained, it is critical to know whether these expenditures are worthwhile. Does the increase in participation in the SBP result in improved dietary intake, academic performance, and related classroom behaviors? Would these free breakfasts simply substitute for meals that students--particularly students from nonpoor households--would otherwise eat in the absence of the universal-free breakfast program?

Within this context, Congress enacted Section 109 of the William F. Goodling Child Nutrition Act of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-336), which amended Section 18 of the National School Lunch Act, 42 U.S.C. 1769(e), to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture, through the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), to conduct a pilot study that provides free school breakfasts to all students regardless of family income. The evaluation of the results obtained from the pilot study will rigorously assess the effects of this universal-free school breakfast program on program participation and a broad range of student outcomes, including academic achievement, school attendance and tardiness, classroom behavior and attentiveness, and dietary status.

Solicitation of Requests To Participate

The Department is issuing this notice to solicit requests from school food authorities (SFAs) wishing to participate in this pilot project. The Department envisions this project as a three-year pilot and anticipates admitting a limited number of SFAs into the pilot project. To ensure as broad a base as possible, the Department intends that the pool of selected school districts will be diverse in terms of size, geographic location, and economic conditions. Availability

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of school district records including attendance and student achievement records may enter into the selection process. Participation in USDA's School Breakfast Program is a necessary prerequisite to participate in the demonstration. Selected school districts will be expected to implement a universal-free school breakfast program in a limited number of elementary schools while maintaining the regular school breakfast program in the remaining elementary schools.

Submission of Requests to Participate

SFAs wishing to participate in this pilot project should request an information packet and application by contacting Alberta C. Frost, Director, Office of Analysis, Nutrition and Evaluation, 3101 Park Center Drive, Room 503, Alexandria, VA 22302, (703) 305-2017. SFAs may also download the information package and application from the USDA/FNS Internet website at http://www.fns.usda.gov. This packet will include information about the pilot project and instructions for completing and submitting applications. The information will include the criteria the Department will use in its evaluation of applicants. Applications must be submitted in writing to respective State Child Nutrition Directors not later than January 31, 2000. State Child Nutrition Directors will review applications and forward recommendations and all applications to the Office of Analysis and Evaluation, Food and Nutrition Service by February 15, 2000 for further consideration. The Department will select SFAs by April 1, 2000 and will work with these sites to implement the pilot project during the fall/winter of School Year 2000/01.

Dated: November 26, 1999. Samuel Chambers, Jr., Administrator, Food and Nutrition Service.

[FR Doc. 99-31457Filed12-3-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-3-0-P