On January 14, 2026, the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 was signed into law. The bipartisan legislation permits schools to provide whole milk and nondairy beverage options in federally subsidized school meals. School districts are currently permitted to only serve fat-free and low-fat milks in school meals due to concerns that milk consumption contributes to high cholesterol and obesity in young people.
In addition, schools are already required to offer a milk substitute to students with doctor’s notes saying they have a disability limiting their ability to consume fluid milk. The newly passed Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 would now allow parents and legal guardians to submit similar requests to schools to serve their children nondairy substitutes.
Source: K-12 Dive