Existing federal law establishes the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer for Children (Summer EBT) program, under which pupils who are eligible for free and reduced-price school meals receive $40 per month, with specified adjustments, during summer months for grocery benefits. Existing federal regulations require, by 2025, the designated state agency to make a Summer EBT application available to households whose children are enrolled in schools participating in the National School Lunch Program or the School Breakfast Program and who do not already have an individual eligibility determination.
Existing state law requires the State Department of Social Services, as the lead agency in partnership with the State Department of Education, to maximize participation in the Summer EBT program. Existing law requires the governing board of a school district and the county superintendent of schools to make paper applications for free or reduced-price meals available to pupils at all times during each regular schoolday.
Existing law authorizes those entities to make an application electronically available online if the online application complies with certain requirements, including, among others, the inclusion of links to certain internet websites providing information on, and applications for, other government programs, such as CalFresh.
This bill, the Stop Child Hunger Act of 2025, would require the State Department of Education, with support from the State Department of Social Services, to comply with the above-described federal regulations by developing, and providing families with, a statewide application that is made available through a single statewide internet website that enables families to submit federally required information relating to the Summer EBT program, as specified. The bill would require the internet website to, among other things, have the capability of routing a family's completed information to the family's local educational agency to determine Summer EBT eligibility. The bill would require an application submitted through the internet website to constitute an application for purposes of free or reduced-price meals, as specified.
The bill would require the State Department of Social Services, subject to an appropriation, to establish the Better Out of School Time (BOOST) Nutrition EBT Program. The bill would require the department to issue benefits to an eligible pupil, in a specified amount, for each day during either of the following circumstances that last 5 or more schooldays: (1) a regularly scheduled school break, except for the summer period; or (2) the closure of a school campus caused by a condition for which a state of emergency has been proclaimed by the Governor. Under the bill, to the extent permitted by federal law, BOOST Nutrition EBT benefits would not be considered as income or resources in determining other public benefits.
The bill would require the State Department of Education, subject to an appropriation, to establish a program designed to serve meals to pupils during either of the above-described circumstances, with regard to school breaks or closures, that last 5 or more schooldays, as specified. Under the bill, the meal program would be made available in school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools that participate in, and comply with the requirements of, the federal School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program.
The bill would require governing boards of school districts and county superintendents of schools that provide an application online for free or reduced-price meals, as described above, to also provide links to internet websites providing information about the Summer EBT program and the BOOST Nutrition EBT Program.
To the extent that the bill would create new duties for local educational agencies or county or other local officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Statutes affected:
SB 411: 49506 EDC, 49557 EDC, 18901.57 WIC
02/14/25 - Introduced: 49506 EDC, 49557 EDC, 18901.57 WIC