US Code

Public Law 119-73 (01/23/2026)

42 U.S.C. § 1759

Direct disbursement to schools by Secretary

(a)
The Secretary shall withhold funds payable to a State under this chapter and disburse the funds directly to schools, institutions, or service institutions within the State for the purposes authorized by this chapter to the extent that the Secretary has so withheld and disbursed such funds continuously since , but only to such extent (except as otherwise required by subsection (b)). Any funds so withheld and disbursed by the Secretary shall be used for the same purposes, and shall be subject to the same conditions, as applicable to a State disbursing funds made available under this chapter. If the Secretary is administering (in whole or in part) any program authorized under this chapter, the State in which the Secretary is administering the program may, upon request to the Secretary, assume administration of that program.
(b)
If a State educational agency is not permitted by law to disburse the funds paid to it under this chapter to any of the nonpublic schools in the State, the Secretary shall disburse the funds directly to such schools within the State for the same purposes and subject to the same conditions as are authorized or required with respect to the disbursements to public schools within the State by the State educational agency.

June 4, 1946, ch. 281, § 1060 Stat. 233Pub. L. 87–823, § 476 Stat. 945Pub. L. 91–248, § 1(b)84 Stat. 208Pub. L. 93–433, § 4(d)86 Stat. 726Pub. L. 93–150, § 3(b)87 Stat. 562Pub. L. 94–105, § 789 Stat. 514Pub. L. 97–35, title VIII, § 817(a)95 Stat. 531(, ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , ; , , .)

Editorial Notes

Amendments

Pub. L. 97–351981— designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), substituted provisions relating to disbursement of funds directly to schools, institutions, or service institutions for the purposes authorized by this chapter, for provisions relating to disbursement of funds directly to schools for the purposes and subject to conditions authorized or required for disbursements to schools within the State by the State educational agency, and added subsec. (b).

Pub. L. 94–1051975— altered provisions of section to accommodate authorization of direct payments to private nonprofit schools and institutions in conformity with revised allocation method for school lunch funds and expanded definition of “school” to include any public or licensed nonprofit residential child care institution, including but not limited to, orphanages and homes for the mentally retarded.

Pub. L. 93–150section 1759a of this title1973— inserted in proviso reference to .

Pub. L. 92–433section 1753 of this title1972— inserted proviso that beginning with the fiscal year ending , the Secretary shall make payments directly to the nonprofit private schools for the purpose of under the same conditions as are prescribed for State educational agencies.

Pub. L. 91–2481970— provided that data upon which State apportionments are calculated is the program year completed two years immediately prior to the fiscal year for which the appropriation is requested.

Pub. L. 87–823section 1758 of this title1962— substituted “an amount which bears the same ratio to such funds as the number of lunches, consisting of a combination of foods and meeting the minimum requirements prescribed by the Secretary pursuant to , served in the preceding fiscal year by all nonprofit private schools participating in the program under this chapter within the State, as determined by the Secretary, bears to the participation rate for the State” for “the same proportion of the funds as the number of children between the ages of 5 and 17, inclusive, attending nonprofit private schools within the State, is of the total number of persons of those ages within the State attending school”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 1981 Amendment

Pub. L. 97–35section 820(a)(4) of Pub. L. 97–35section 1753 of this titleAmendment by effective , see , set out as a note under .