Comment on FR Doc # 2026-09212

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) appreciates that the United States Department of Agriculture has expanded the flexibility from under the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 (WMFHKA) to include the School Breakfast Program (SBP), National School Lunch Program (NSLP), Afterschool Snack Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program, preschool meal pattern for NSLP and SBP and Smart Snacks in offering 2% and whole milk. It simplifies regulations to have consistencies between programs. Sponsors have an easier time implementing regulations when requirements are aligned between breakfast and lunch programs. We appreciate that the saturated fat from milk is no longer included in the dietary specifications. Otherwise, serving 2% or whole milk could have been limited or eliminated from menus on that calculation. However, this change may complicate compliance. Nutrition analysis software does not currently allow users to exclude specific nutrients, such as saturated fat, from a meal analysis. It would be easier to implement if none of the nutrients from milk were included in the dietary specifications. The WMFHKA changed the rules for milk substitutes in school meals. Under these changes, parents may provide a written medical statement to request a milk substitute for a child with a disability at school lunch. However, a separate form signed by a recognized medical authority is still required for school breakfast. These differing requirements for lunch and breakfast can be confusing for parents and school nutrition staff and creates extra work for families and schools. The WMFHKA also allows schools to serve a nutritionally equivalent milk substitute to all students at lunch without needing a written request from a parent. However, this flexibility applies only to lunch, not breakfast. The final rule did not address or resolve these differences between the two meal programs leaving families and schools with ongoing confusion and unnecessary administrative work. The MDE would like to note that guidance has not been published yet about the new requirement to have annual food allergy training for school nutrition staff. As schools prepare for the upcoming school year, timely guidance is essential. Additional information on specific topics, expectations, and minimum requirements for this training would help ensure consistent implementation and support schools in meeting the new mandate effectively.