,i #aagth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #hdhf ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #bb1 #bjbb,mr4 ,mrvan introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,education and ,labor ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,richard ,b4 ,russell ,national ,school ,lunch ,act to provide for technical assistance relating to nutrition standards for school meal programs1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,child ,nutrition ,technical ,assistance ,act of #bjbb4 #b4 ,technical assistance for school food service 7a7 ,in general ,the ,richard ,b4 ,russell ,national ,school ,lunch ,act is amended by inserting after section #ba 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #agfi;b-#a7 the following3 #ba;,a4 ,technical assistance for school food service 7a7 ,third party technical assistance grants 7#a7 ,establishment ,the ,secretary shall award grants1 on a competitive basis1 to eligible entities to provide technical assistance to food service personnel to assist such personnel in meeting the nutrition standards for the school lunch program under this ,act and the school breakfast program established by section #d of the ,child ,nutrition ,act of #aiff 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aggc74 7#b7 ,eligible entity defined ,in this subsection1 the term eligible entity means an entity that-- 7,a7 is-- 7i7 a nonprofit organization2 7ii7 a land-grant college and university or cooperative extension service 7as such terms are defined in section #adjd of the ,national ,agricultural ,research1 ,extension1 and ,teaching ,policy ,act of #aigg 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #cajc772 7iii7 a technical or vocational school2 or 7iv7 an institution of higher education 7as such term is defined in section #aja7;a7 of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajja7;a7772 7,b7 has demonstrated success in providing1 or has capacity for1 teaching through online learning1 including by-- 7i7 providing online courses2 7ii7 using online forums for participant interaction2 7iii7 using online teaching tools2 and 7iv7 providing online educational content2 and 7,c7 has experience working with food service personnel that are participating in the school lunch program under this ,act and the school breakfast program established by section #d of the ,child ,nutrition ,act of #aiff 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aggc74 7#c7 ,regional requirement ,in awarding grants to eligible entities under subsection 7a71 the ,secretary shall select at least #a eligible entity located in a ,state in each of the following regions3 7,a7 ,the ,mid-,atlantic ,region4 7,b7 ,the ,midwest ,region4 7,c7 ,the ,mountain ,plains ,region4 7,d7 ,the ,northeast ,region4 7,e7 ,the ,southern ,region4 7,f7 ,the ,southwest ,region4 7,g7 ,the ,western ,region4 7#d7 ,grant uses 7,a7 ,in general ,an eligible entity that receives a grant under this subsection shall use such grant funds to provide technical assistance to food service personnel in accordance with subparagraph 7,b74 7,b7 ,technical assistance provided ,technical assistance provided by such eligible entity shall-- 7i7 assist food service personnel with meeting the quantitative recommendations from the most recent ,dietary ,guidelines for ,americans published under section #cja of the ,national ,nutrition ,monitoring and ,related ,research ,act of #aiij 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #ecda72 7ii7 emphasize meeting the nutrition requirements relating to-- 7,i7 sodium2 7,,ii7 whole grains2 and 7,,iii7 added sugars2 and 7iii7 provide-- 7,i7 standardized recipes and menus and assistance with menu planning2 7,,ii7 information on procurement of products that meet the nutrition standards1 including assistance with vendors1 food companies1 and bid preparation2 7,,iii7 culinary training1 food presentation1 and the promotion and marketing of menu items that support selection and consumption of such menu items2 and 7,,iv7 best practices1 trainings 7including peer-to-peer trainings71 and other resources4 7b7 ,evaluation grants 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall award grants to eligible entities to evaluate the effectiveness of the technical assistance grants awarded under subsection 7a74 7#b7 ,eligible entity defined ,in this subsection1 the term eligible entity means an entity that-- 7,a7 is-- 7i7 a land-grant college and university or cooperative extension service 7as such terms are defined in section #adjd of the ,national ,agricultural ,research1 ,extension1 and ,teaching ,policy ,act of #aigg 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #cajc772 or 7ii7 an institution of higher education 7as such term is defined in section #aja7;a7 of the ,higher ,education ,act of #aife 7#bj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajja7;a7772 and 7,b7 has not received funds under subsection 7a74 7#c7 ,application ,an eligible entity seeking a grant under this subsection shall submit to the ,secretary an application in such form1 at such time1 and containing such information as the ,secretary determines appropriate4 7#d7 ,evaluations ,not later than #f months after the date on which an eligible entity receives a grant under this subsection1 such eligible entity shall submit to the ,secretary the evaluation described in paragraph 7#a74 7#e7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there are authorized to be appropriated to the ,secretary to carry out this subsection #ce1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjbc through #bjbg4 7c7 ,department of agriculture technical assistance 7#a7 ,department of agriculture technical assistance ,the ,secretary shall-- 7,a7 provide technical assistance required under section #i7;a77#a77;,b7 and section #ba7;b7 to schools administering the school lunch program under this ,act and the school breakfast program established by section #d of the ,child ,nutrition ,act of #aiff 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aggc71 including by-- 7i7 developing and distributing training and technical assistance material2 and 7ii7 working with the school food industry in meeting the nutrition standards2 7,b7 provide technical assistance that conforms with the quantitative recommendations in the most recent ,dietary ,guidelines for ,americans published under section #cja of the ,national ,nutrition ,monitoring and ,related ,research ,act of #aiij 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #ecda7 and that-- 7i7 provides-- 7,i7 standardized recipes1 menu cycles1 information regarding nutrient standard menu planning1 assisted nutrient standard menu planning1 and food-based menu planning2 7,,ii7 information on strong procurement practices that allow schools to bid or write specifications on products that meet the standards2 7,,iii7 culinary training1 food presentation1 and the promotion and marketing of menu items that support selection and consumption of such menu items2 and 7,,iv7 best practices1 trainings 7including peer-to-peer trainings71 and other resources2 and 7ii7 supports the implementation of recognition programs that include or are similar to the ,healthier,u,s ,school ,challenge2 and 7,c7 provide grants to ,state agencies to provide technical assistance described in this paragraph4 7#b7 ,schools with challenges ,in providing technical assistance under subparagraphs 7,a7 and 7,b7 of paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall-- 7,a7 give priority to schools that have-- 7i7 requested technical assistance from the ,department of ,agriculture relating to sodium1 whole grains1 or added sugars2 7ii7 participated in a technical assistance program administered by the ,secretary relating to nutrition requirements2 or 7iii7 submitted a waiver relating to the whole grain-rich requirement2 and 7,b7 give priority to schools with a certain percentage 7as determined by the ,secretary7 of students receiving free or reduced price meals4 7#c7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection #ce1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjbc through #bjbg4 7d7 ,report ,not later than #e years after the date of the enactment of this section1 and every #e years thereafter1 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress a report that-- 7#a7 describes the technical assistance provided under the programs established under subsections 7a7 and 7c72 and 7#b7 evaluates1 including by using data from an evaluation conducted using a grant provided under subsection 7b71 the extent to which schools that received technical assistance have met the nutrition requirements established by the ,secretary pursuant to this ,act4 4 7b7 ,performance-,based reimbursement increase ,section #d7;b77#c7 of the ,richard ,b4 ,russell ,national ,school ,lunch ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #agec7;b77#c77 is amended-- 7#a7 in subparagraph 7,c77i71 by striking #f cents and inserting #aj cents2 and 7#b7 in subparagraph 7,d7-- 7,a7 by striking ,to be eligible and inserting the following3 7i7 ,in general ,to be eligible 2 and 7,b7 by adding at the end the following3 7ii7 ,report ,the ,secretary shall make publicly available on the website of the ,department and update on a quarterly basis a list of school food authorities certified to be in compliance in accordance with clause 7i74 4