by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD
On December 15, 2025 the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025. This act had been previously approved by the U.S. Senate. As of this writing (early January 2026), this act is awaiting the President’s signature to be enacted into law.
According to the Congressional Research Service’s summary of the bill, a parent or legal guardian may provide a written statement documenting that their child’s disability restricts their diet; the school must then provide a substitute for dairy milk. This statement can also come from a licensed physician. In the past, a physician’s statement was required. Additionally, the bill states that schools are permitted (although not required) to offer all children “nondairy beverages that are nutritionally equivalent to fluid milk and meet the nutritional standards established by the Secretary (which shall, among other requirements to be determined by the Secretary, include fortification of calcium, protein, vitamin A, and vitamin D to levels found in cow’s milk).” In the past, a request from a parent, legal guardian, or physician was required for a school to provide a plant milk to a child without a disability.
It is not yet clear how this act will be implemented, should it be signed into law. For example, we don’t know how many schools will offer all children “nondairy beverages that are nutritionally equivalent to fluid milk” especially since these products are often more expensive and the act does not provide additional funds to cover the costs of offering plant milks to all children.
This act also allows full fat (whole) and reduced fat (2 percent) dairy milk to be served in schools and says that dairy milk’s saturated fat content will not count towards the saturated fat limits for school meals. Saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of heart disease; previously, school meals could not include whole or reduced fat milk due to their saturated fat content.
For more information about school meals see:
What are Some of the Brands of Plant Milk that Can Be Used in the National School Lunch Program?
USDA Issues Revisions to Child Nutrition Programs
Getting Vegan Food into Schools