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1 STATE OF OKLAHOMA
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2 2nd Session of the 60th Legislature (2026)
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3 SENATE BILL 1373 By: Reinhardt
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6 AS INTRODUCED
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7 An Act relating to schools; creating the Healthy
7 Meals for Healthy Kids Act; providing short title;
8 defining terms; requiring certain schools and
8 allowing certain schools to establish certain program
9 to offer meals at no charge; requiring school food
9 authorities that establish certain program to offer
10 certain meals at no cost to certain students and
10 provide certain amount of seated lunch time;
11 directing the State Department of Education to award
11 funding to school food authorities that establish
12 certain program; providing for calculation of funding
12 amount; providing for use of funding; requiring the
13 Department to inform certain school food authorities
13 of certain funding amount by certain date; directing
14 school food authorities to maximize access to certain
14 federal funds; requiring participation in certain
15 eligibility provision; requiring school food
15 authorities that do not participate in certain
16 provision to collect certain applications; directing
16 school food authorities to directly certify students
17 for certain status; directing the Department, in
17 certain collaboration, to electronically submit
18 certain report by certain date every three years;
18 providing for promulgation of rules; directing the
19 Department to establish certain grant program;
19 providing for calculation of grant amount, subject to
20 available funding; providing for use of grant funds;
20 providing for establishment of grant application
21 process; providing for codification; providing an
21 effective date; and declaring an emergency.
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Req. No. 3306 Page 1
1 BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
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2 SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
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3 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 5-147.3 of Title 70, unless
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4 there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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5 A. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Healthy
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6 Meals for Healthy Kids Act".
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7 B. As used in this act:
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8 1. "Community eligibility provision" means the federal
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9 provision created pursuant to 42 U.S.C., Section 1759a that allows
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10 public school districts to choose to receive federal special
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11 assistance payments for school meals in exchange for providing free
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12 school meals to all students enrolled in all or selected school
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13 sites within the district;
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14 2. "Direct certification" means the process by which eligible
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15 students are certified for free meals without the need for a
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16 household application based on household participation in one or
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17 more means-tested federal assistance programs;
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18 3. "Eligible meals" means meals served to full-price-paying
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19 students that qualify for reimbursement pursuant to the National
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20 School Lunch Act;
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21 4. "Federal free meal reimbursement" means the free meal
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22 reimbursement paid by the United States Department of Agriculture
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23 for meals that qualify for reimbursement pursuant to the National
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24 School Lunch Act;
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Req. No. 3306 Page 2
1 5. "Federal paid meal reimbursement rate" means the paid
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2 reimbursement rate set annually by the United States Department of
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3 Agriculture for meals that qualify for reimbursement pursuant to the
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4 National School Lunch Act;
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5 6. "Identified student percentage" means the percentage of a
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6 school food authority's student enrollment that is certified as
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7 eligible for free meals based on a documentation of benefit of
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8 receipt or categorical eligibility as provided for in 7 C.F.R.,
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9 Section 245.6;
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10 7. "Meal application" means an application for free- or
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11 reduced-price meals pursuant to the National School Lunch Act;
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12 8. "Paid meal rate" means the paid student rate reported by the
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13 State Department of Education to the United States Department of
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14 Agriculture based on the average paid meal rate charged by school
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15 food authorities in the prior school year;
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16 9. "School food authority" means school districts, public
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17 charter schools, schools operated under the authority of the Bureau
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18 of Indian Affairs, schools operated under the authority of federally
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19 recognized Indian tribes, and private schools operating under the
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20 National School Lunch Act;
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21 10. "Unprocessed and minimally processed products" means raw or
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22 frozen products; products that retain their inherent character
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23 including, but not limited to, shredded carrots or ground beef; and
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24 dried products including, but not limited to, beans. Unprocessed
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Req. No. 3306 Page 3
1 and minimally processed products do not include products that are
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2 heated, cooked, or canned; and
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3 11. "Value-added processed products" means products that are
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4 altered from their unprocessed or minimally processed state through
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5 preservation techniques including cooking, baking, or canning.
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6 C. 1. Public school districts and public charter schools in
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7 this state shall, and schools operated under the authority of the
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8 Bureau of Indian Affairs, schools operated under the authority of
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9 federally recognized Indian tribes, and private schools may,
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10 establish a program to offer high-quality meals at no charge to all
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11 students attending schools operating under the National School Lunch
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12 Act.
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13 2. All school food authorities that establish such a program
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14 shall:
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15 a. offer one breakfast and one lunch at no cost to
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16 students during each school day to any student who
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17 requests a meal without consideration of the student's
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18 eligibility for a free- or reduced-price meal, with a
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19 maximum of one free meal for each meal service period,
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20 and
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21 b. provide students in grades kindergarten through five
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22 with at least twenty (20) minutes of seated lunch time
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23 each school day to provide lunch periods that are long
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24 enough to give all students time to eat. To the
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Req. No. 3306 Page 4
1 extent possible, participating school food authorities
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2 shall provide recess prior to seated lunch time.
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3 D. The State Department of Education shall award funding to
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4 each school food authority that establishes a program pursuant to
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5 the provisions of subsection G of this section as follows:
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6 1. For school food authorities that meet the meal quality
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7 improvement requirements established pursuant to subsection G of
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8 this section, the Department shall distribute to each such school
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9 food authority an amount that is equal to the federal free meal
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10 reimbursement rate multiplied by the total number of eligible meals
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11 served during the applicable school year, minus an amount equal to
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12 the federal paid meal reimbursement for eligible meals served during
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13 the applicable school year; or
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14 2. For school food authorities that do not meet the meal
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15 quality improvement requirements established pursuant to subsection
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16 G of this section, the Department shall distribute to each such
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17 school food authority an amount that is equal to the paid meal rate
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18 multiplied by the total number of eligible meals served during the
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19 applicable school year.
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20 E. School food authorities shall use the funds received
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21 pursuant to subsection D of this section to purchase commodities
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22 necessary to improve meal quality including food and other
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23 consumables, equipment, staffing, training, and technical
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24 assistance.
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Req. No. 3306 Page 5
1 F. By August 1 of each year, the State Department of Education
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2 shall inform eligible school food authorities of the amount of
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3 program funding they will receive during the upcoming school year.
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4 When calculating the amount of program funding that is due to a
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5 school food authority, the Department shall assume that student
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6 participation will remain at the same level as the previous school
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7 year.
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8 G. School food authorities shall maximize access to federal
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9 funds for the cost of breakfast and lunch programs by adopting the
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10 United States Department of Agriculture's community eligibility
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11 provision or any other federal provision that, in the opinion of the
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12 United States Department of Agriculture, results in the maximum
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13 possible federal funding for meals served in that program. Each
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14 school food authority that has a school site with an identified
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15 student percentage of at least forty percent (40%), or the
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16 identified student percentage authorized by federal law, as
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17 determined annually by the deadline set by the United States
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18 Department of Agriculture, shall participate in the federal
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19 community eligibility provision in the subsequent school year and
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20 throughout the duration of the community eligibility provision's
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21 four-year cycle. School food authorities, to the extent
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22 practicable, shall group public schools for purposes of maximizing
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23 the number of schools eligible to participate in the community
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24 eligibility provision.
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Req. No. 3306 Page 6
1 H. If a school food authority does not participate in the
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2 community eligibility provision or any other federal provision that,
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3 in the opinion of the State Department of Education, results in the
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4 maximum possible federal funding for meals served in that program,
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5 school meal applications shall be collected and direct certification
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6 shall be used to identify students receiving free- or reduced-price
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7 meals and paid meals based on guidance provided by the United States
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8 Department of Agriculture.
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9 I. A school food authority shall take steps to maximize federal
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10 revenues and minimize debt on the families of students enrolled in
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11 schools served by the authority by, at least monthly, taking steps
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12 to directly certify students for free school meal status.
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13 J. By July 1, 2027, and by July 1 every three (3) years
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14 thereafter, the State Department of Education, in collaboration with
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15 the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry and an
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16 institution of higher education within The Oklahoma State System of
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17 Higher Education, shall evaluate the impact of the provisions of
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18 this section and shall electronically submit a report of findings
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19 and recommendations to the Governor, the President Pro Tempore of
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20 the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
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21 K. The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules to
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22 implement the provisions of this section including rules providing
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23 for:
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Req. No. 3306 Page 7
1 1. Meal quality improvement requirements including purchasing
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2 Oklahoma-produced food, freshly preparing scratch-cooked foods, and
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3 engaging student and family voices and choices in menu development;
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4 and
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5 2. Procedures for annual certification.
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6 SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
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7 in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 5-147.4 of Title 70, unless
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8 there is created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
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9 A. The State Department of Education shall establish a grant
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10 program to encourage school food authorities to purchase Oklahoma-
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11 grown, -raised, and -processed products. By August 1 of each year,
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12 subject to the availability of funding, the Department shall
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13 distribute to each participating school food authority the greater
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14 of One Thousand Dollars ($1,000.00) or an amount equal to ten cents
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15 ($0.10) multiplied by the number of meals that qualified for federal
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16 reimbursement that the participating school food authority served to
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17 students in the preceding school year. When calculating the amount
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18 of program funding that is due to a school food authority, the
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19 Department shall assume that student participation will remain at
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20 the same level as the previous year.
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21 B. A school food authority that receives a grant pursuant to
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22 subsection A of this section shall use the funds to purchase
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23 Oklahoma-grown, -raised, or -processed products whenever possible.
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24 Seventy-five percent (75%) of the funds shall be used for the
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Req. No. 3306 Page 8
1 purchase of minimally processed products, and the remaining twenty-
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2 five percent (25%) of the funds may be used to purchase value-added
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3 processed products.
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4 C. The State Department of Education shall establish an
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5 incentive grant application process. Grants shall be awarded on a
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6 first-come, first-served basis. Grants shall be provided without
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7 any limitation other than the amount of funds available and the
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8 number of eligible school food authorities that apply.
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9 SECTION 3. This act shall become effective July 1, 2026.
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10 SECTION 4. It being immediately necessary for the preservation
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11 of the public peace, health, or safety, an emergency is hereby
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12 declared to exist, by reason whereof this act shall take effect and
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13 be in full force from and after its passage and approval.
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Req. No. 3306 Page 9Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.