CBS News to spotlight New Mexico's push to stop lunch shaming
Text of S. 1119: Anti-Lunch Shaming Act of 2019
A BILL.To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to prohibit the stigmatization of children who are unable to pay for meals. The school breakfast program established by section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966.; and. Has outstanding credit that was extended by a school food authority for a lunch or breakfast at the school. The public identification or stigmatization of a covered child, such as by requiring the covered child to wear a wristband or display a hand stamp to identify the covered child as a covered child; or.
Dispose of a lunch or breakfast after it has been served to the covered child. A school food authority may permit a requirement that a covered child deliver a letter addressed to a parent or guardian of the covered child that contains a communication described in item, subject to the condition that the letter shall not be distributed to the covered child in a manner that stigmatizes the covered child. A)to the maximum extent practicable, an application for a free or reduced price lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act is distributed-. The local educational agency liaison designated under section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act(1)(J)(ii to ensure that homeless children and youths eligible to receive free lunches and breakfasts under section 9(b)(12)(A)(iv) of the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act(12)(A)(iv receive those free lunches and breakfasts; and. The State agency responsible for administering the State plans under parts B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act to ensure that foster children eligible to receive free lunches and breakfasts under section 9(b)(12)(A)(vii) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act(12)(A)(vii receive those free lunches and breakfasts; and. 3)a school food authority that participates in the school lunch program or the school breakfast program under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act or section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966., respectively-. Shall provide to a child who requests a lunch or breakfast a lunch or breakfast, regardless of whether the child-.
Shall not provide to a child who qualifies for a free or reduced price lunch or breakfast an alternate meal that is not provided to students generally; and.
U.S. Senator Tina Smith Helps Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Stop Schools From Publicly Singling Out Children Unable to Pay for Meals at School
The Anti-Lunch Shaming Act-led by Senator Tom Udall-would ban schools from requiring children to wear hand stamps or do extra chores because their parents or guardians have not paid their school meal bills. Minnesota is currently considering a similar measure to address this shameful practice, and the federal Anti-Lunch Shaming Act aims to provide protections to students throughout the country. You can read text of the bill Sen. Smith’s helped introduce here and a summary of the bill here. The Anti-Lunch Shaming Act prohibits schools participating in U.S.
Department of Agriculture school lunch or breakfast programs from using humiliation or throwing a child’s meal away because their parent or guardian hasn’t paid their school meal bill and other shaming tactics. Instead, it requires schools to direct communications regarding meal debt to the parent or guardian, not the child. The bill also aims to simplify the process for applying for free and reduced-price lunches. The legislation would direct the Department of Agriculture to distribute applications for free or reduce-price lunches in an understandable, uniform format and encourage schools to offer assistance to complete the applications; coordinate with State agencies, school food authorities, and local education agency liaisons to ensure that homeless children and youth, and children and youth in foster care are eligible to receive a free or reduced-price lunch; and explore innovative ways to use technology to improve communications between parents or guardians and school food authorities. Rep.
Deb Haaland is leading the House companion bill, which is also supported by Reps. You can read text of the bill here and a summary of the bill here.
New Mexico Law Bans Schools From ‘Lunch Shaming’ Hungry Kids
New Mexico is the first state in the United States to make it expressly illegal to single out or humiliate a child who cannot pay for his or her lunch at school. Advocates for children say tactics that stigmatize students with lunch debts are disturbingly common. This includes throwing kids’ lunches away if they can’t pay; making students clean the cafeteria; or requiring that they wear stickers, stamps or wrist bands that indicate they can’t pay. Those kids then got milk and fruit as a replacement. In Albuquerque, New Mexico, a policy to give kids without lunch money cold cheese sandwiches and fruit partially backfired as some families began to see the sandwiches as punishment for being poor.
Families whose received such a meal included those who were in the process of applying for free or reduced-price federal lunch assistance, The Denver Post reported in 2009. The Times points out that schools feel pressure to collect debts – which can run up to millions of dollars in some districts – because schools can’t use federal funds to offset the costs, meaning they have to find the money elsewhere. Supporters of the bill believe it’s crucial to conduct any debt collection with as little shame for the children involved as possible. Even without added stigma, some students already feel ashamed of being hungry. Oregon teacher Gibson Howton, whose Facebook post about providing snacks to her students went viral last month, said that’s why she freely offers food to kids in her classroom.
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