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Committee advances SB 411 to improve Summer EBT access and out-of-school nutrition benefits
Summary
SB 411 (Perez) would create a statewide online Summer EBT application, codify child data privacy protections for meal programs, require cross-enrollment cues on school meal forms, and establish a "BOOST" benefit for school breaks and emergency closures. The committee approved the bill and referred it to Senate Human Services.
Senator Carol Perez presented SB 411, the “Stop Child Hunger Act,” which seeks to close gaps in California’s school meals and Summer EBT ("Sun Bucks") programs. Perez said the state has expanded access in recent years but significant numbers of eligible children have not been enrolled in Summer EBT; testimony cited roughly 1.8 million eligible children who had not applied.
Becky Silva of the California Association of Food Banks and Andrew Shane of End Child Poverty California testified in support. Silva told the committee Summer EBT is a new federal entitlement and that an online, responsive statewide application is needed (she said the existing Universal Benefits Application is a PDF and difficult for some families to use). The bill would also codify prohibitions on selling children's data collected through meal programs, require school meal applications to include the Summer EBT application, create a BOOST benefit to extend Sun Bucks–like benefits to regularly scheduled breaks or emergency closures of five days or more, and support on-site meal options during breaks.
Supporters argued the legislation would increase uptake of federal reimbursements and protect student privacy. Opposition testimony from an unregistered witness questioned the policy on fiscal and philosophical grounds but did not present technical objections. The committee voted to pass SB 411 to the Senate Human Services Committee for further consideration and fiscal analysis; clerking later showed the item placed on call for absent members and then reported as passed out of committee with ayes recorded.
