Greenwood school 'lunch shaming' complaint
School meals are a key component to student success both in and out of the classroom. When a child arrives without cash in hand or in her school meal account, the school must decide how to respond. Over the weekend, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that mandates all students are entitled to a school lunch, whether or not they have the funds to pay. We have seen a series of school districts recently take steps in the other direction, resulting in embarrassment and humiliation for their students.
Last month, a child had his lunch meal thrown in the trash on his birthday because he accrued $9 in unpaid school meals fees while the school district was still processing his free school meal application. Make no mistake: Subjecting students to embarrassment because of a lack of funds to pay for school lunch is always unacceptable. Lunch debt is a longstanding problem for families and schools across the country. Students who just miss the cut off for free school meals in the National School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program and qualify for reduced-price school meals can be charged a maximum of 30 cents per day for breakfast and 40 cents for lunch. Those who do not qualify for reduced-price school meals are charged the meal price set by the district.
The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 directed the U.S. Department of Agriculture to examine the issue of school meal debt and ultimately required school districts to establish a policy for unpaid school meals fees. The No Shame at School Act, introduced by Sen. Tina Smith and Rep. Ilhan Omar would ban any kind of identification of students who cannot pay for lunch at school, like wristbands or hand stamps, and would not allow schools to publish lists of students who owe money for school meals or use debt collectors to recoup meal fees.
It also would result in more eligible children being certified for free or reduced-price school meals, and provide schools retroactive school meal reimbursement for students who are certified for free or reduced-price school meals later in the school year.
116th Congress: Anti-Lunch Shaming Act of 2019
This bill prohibits the stigmatization of a child who is unable to pay for meals provided by schools under the National School Lunch Program or the School Breakfast Program. The bill applies to a child who either does not have funds to pay for a meal or has outstanding credit that was extended by a school food authority. A SFA may not permit public identification or stigmatization of the child, such as by requiring a wristband or hand stamp. The child also may not be required to perform chores or activities that are not required of students generally, or dispose of food after it has been served to the child. Any communication related to outstanding credit must be directed to the child’s parent or guardian.
A child may be required to deliver a letter regarding outstanding credit that is addressed to a parent or guardian if the letter is not distributed to the child in a manner that stigmatizes the child. The bill also expresses the sense of Congress regarding several issues regarding the administration of the school meal programs.
116th Congress: Anti-Lunch Shaming Act of 2019
This bill prohibits the stigmatization of a child who is unable to pay for meals provided by schools under the National School Lunch Program or the School Breakfast Program. The bill applies to a child who either does not have funds to pay for a meal or has outstanding credit that was extended by a school food authority. A SFA may not permit public identification or stigmatization of the child, such as by requiring a wristband or hand stamp. The child also may not be required to perform chores or activities that are not required of students generally, or dispose of food after it has been served to the child. Any communication related to outstanding credit must be directed to the child’s parent or guardian.
A child may be required to deliver a letter regarding outstanding credit that is addressed to a parent or guardian if the letter is not distributed to the child in a manner that stigmatizes the child. The bill also expresses the sense of Congress regarding several issues regarding the administration of the school meal programs.
116th Congress: Anti-Lunch Shaming Act of 2019
This bill prohibits the stigmatization of a child who is unable to pay for meals provided by schools under the National School Lunch Program or the School Breakfast Program. The bill applies to a child who either does not have funds to pay for a meal or has outstanding credit that was extended by a school food authority. A SFA may not permit public identification or stigmatization of the child, such as by requiring a wristband or hand stamp. The child also may not be required to perform chores or activities that are not required of students generally, or dispose of food after it has been served to the child. Any communication related to outstanding credit must be directed to the child’s parent or guardian.
A child may be required to deliver a letter regarding outstanding credit that is addressed to a parent or guardian if the letter is not distributed to the child in a manner that stigmatizes the child. The bill also expresses the sense of Congress regarding several issues regarding the administration of the school meal programs.