Stop Child Hunger Act of 2025.

The document was reformatted from a formal enrolled bill layout (with page numbers, signature lines for Secretary of the Senate, Chief Clerk of the Assembly, and Private Secretary of the Governor, and blank fields for the Governor's approval date) into a web page rendering that includes site navigation, search functionality, version history links, and publication metadata (Date Published: 09/12/2025 02:00 PM).

Website interface elements were added including skip-to-content links, accessibility options, FAQ, feedback, sitemap, login, quick search by bill number or keyword, and links to bill information, votes, history, analysis, status, and tracking features.

The legislative counsel's digest had a typo fixed: 'would require require' was corrected to 'would require.'

The digest paragraph about which entities must provide links to the Summer EBT website was slightly reworded for clarity, changing from a convoluted sentence listing multiple governing boards to a cleaner list of 'the governing board of a school district, a county office of education, the governing body of a charter school, or a school food authority.'

Standard enrollment formatting was added: passage dates (Senate September 9, Assembly September 8), signature lines for the Secretary of the Senate, Chief Clerk of the Assembly, and Governor's receipt block.

Amendment tracking dates (March 20, May 23, July 7, September 2) and line-number markup used in the amendment process were removed, as is standard for enrolled bills.

The entire BOOST Nutrition EBT Program (former Section 18901.571) was removed. This program would have issued daily EBT benefits to eligible pupils during regularly scheduled school breaks (except summer) and emergency closures lasting five or more schooldays, with benefit amounts equal to a free breakfast, lunch, and after-school snack.

The entire state meal-serving program (former Section 49507 of the Education Code) was removed. This program would have required the State Department of Education to serve meals to pupils during school breaks or closures lasting five or more schooldays, in districts, county offices of education, and charter schools participating in federal meal programs.

Charter schools are now explicitly included throughout Section 49557 alongside school districts and county superintendents, covering paper application availability, online application requirements, non-universal meal plans, and privacy restrictions on online applications.

A new subdivision (e) in Section 49506 requires a school district, county office of education, or charter school to make an electronic device available upon request for families to use to access the statewide Summer EBT application.

A new subdivision (d) in Section 49506 exempts the statewide application from the Project Approval Lifecycle of the Department of Technology (Section 4819.35 of the State Administrative Manual), which should accelerate development and deployment.

The deadline for making the statewide application available to families changed from summer of 2027 to summer of 2028, giving an additional year for implementation.

A new condition was added requiring a legislative appropriation 'for the express purpose of implementing' the statewide Summer EBT application before the State Department of Education is obligated to develop it. Without this appropriation, the department has no duty to build the website.

The deadline for making the statewide application available to families changed from summer 2027 to summer 2028, giving an additional year for implementation.

A new subsection was added stating that implementation of the statewide application shall proceed 'in accordance with the funding timeline of any appropriation made,' tying the rollout schedule directly to when funds are actually provided.

The requirement that school districts and county superintendents provide alternative income verification forms (in paper and electronic form) instead of standard paper applications was removed entirely. The prior version also required them to use a model form developed by the State Department of Education.

The provision stating that an application submitted through the statewide website would automatically constitute an application for free or reduced-price meals was removed, eliminating the cross-program eligibility link between the Summer EBT application and school meal applications.

The requirement for school districts and county superintendents to make paper applications for free or reduced-price meals available at all times during each regular schoolday is now conditional - it only applies 'if required by federal law and guidance.' Previously this was an unconditional state mandate.

A new subdivision (c) to Section 49557 requires school districts and county superintendents to provide alternative income verification forms instead of the standard paper application, to the extent allowed by federal law. The State Department of Education must develop a model form that districts are required to use once adopted. The form must be available in both paper and electronic form, comply with existing privacy protections (Section 234.7), and shall not include questions the department determines unnecessary.

The anti-stigma plan requirement in Section 49557(b) is narrowed to apply only 'for schools that do not serve meals universally to all children.' Previously, all school districts and county superintendents were required to formulate these plans regardless of whether they already served meals to all students.