School Breakfast Program: Severe Need Assistance

The Department is adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that amended the regulations for the School Breakfast Program. The interim rule addresses and implements amendments made by Section 201 of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 and amends the School Breakfast Program (SBP) regulations to eliminate the requirement that a school's costs exceed the rate of reimbursement as a criterion for receiving the higher severe need funding available in the SBP. The rule also allows State agencies to provide severe need reimbursements to certain new schools that are beginning participation in the school feeding programs and therefore have no historical second preceding year participation information, as was previously required. The rule is intended to simplify eligibility for severe need reimbursements by removing previous restrictions on receipt of those payments. This rule does not impose new administrative requirements on State or local governmental entities.