N.Y. Education Law § 908: Prohibition against meal shaming

§ 908. Prohibition against meal shaming. All public school districts,

charter schools and non-public schools in the state that participate in

the national school lunch program or school breakfast program in which

there is a school at which all pupils are not eligible to be served

breakfast and lunch under the community eligibility provision or

provision two of the federal national school lunch act, 42 U.S.C. Sec.

1751 et seq., shall develop a plan to ensure that a pupil whose parent

or guardian has unpaid school meal fees is not shamed or treated

differently than a pupil whose parent or guardian does not have unpaid

school meal fees. The plan shall be submitted to the commissioner by

July first, two thousand eighteen, or sixty days from the effective date

of this section after enactment in conformance with regulations of the

commissioner. After submission of such plan, the school or school

district shall adopt and post the plan on its website. The plan shall

include, but not be limited to, the following elements:

a. A statement that the school or school district shall provide the

student with the student's meal of choice for that school day of the

available reimbursable meal choices for such school day, if the student

requests one, unless the student's parent or guardian has specifically

provided written permission to the school to withhold a meal, provided

that the school or school district shall only be required to provide

access to reimbursable meals, not a la carte items, adult meals, or

other similar items;

b. An explanation of how staff will be trained to ensure that the

school or school district's procedures are carried out correctly and how

the affected parents and guardians will be provided with assistance in

establishing eligibility for free or reduced-price meals for their

children;

c. Procedures requiring the school or school district to notify the

student's parent or guardian that the student's meal card or account

balance is exhausted and unpaid meal charges are due. The notification

procedures may include a repayment schedule, but the school or school

district may not charge any interest or fees in connection with any

meals charged;

d. A communication procedure designed to support eligible families

enrolling in the national free and reduced price meal program. Such

communication procedures shall also include a process for determining

eligibility when a student owes money for five or more meals, wherein

the school or school district shall:

i. make every attempt to determine if a student is directly certified

to be eligible for free meals;

ii. make at least two attempts, not including the application or

instructions included in a school enrollment packet, to reach the

student's parent or guardian and have the parent or guardian fill out a

meal application; and

iii. require a school or school district to contact the parent or

guardian to offer assistance with a meal application, determine if there

are other issues within the household that have caused the child to have

insufficient funds to purchase a school meal and offer any other

assistance that is appropriate;

e. A clear explanation of procedures designed to decrease student

distress or embarrassment, provided that, no school or school district

shall:

i. publicly identify or stigmatize a student who cannot pay for a meal

or who owes a meal debt by any means including, but not limited to,

requiring that a student wear a wristband or hand stamp;

ii. require a student who cannot pay for a meal or who owes a meal

debt to do chores or other work to pay for meals;

iii. require that a student throw away a meal after it has been served

because of the student's inability to pay for the meal or because money

is owed for earlier meals;

iv. take any action directed at a pupil to collect unpaid school meal

fees. A school or school district may attempt to collect unpaid school

meal fees from a student's parent or guardian, but shall not use a debt

collector, as defined in section eight hundred three of the federal

consumer credit protection act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 1692a or file a lawsuit

against such student's parent or guardian; or

v. discuss any outstanding meal debt in the presence of other

students;

f. A clear explanation of the procedure to handle unpaid meal charges,

provided that nothing in this section is intended to allow for the

unlimited accrual of debt;

g. Procedures to enroll in the free and reduced price lunch program,

provided that such procedures shall include that, at the beginning of

each school year, a school or school district shall provide a free,

printed meal application in every school enrollment packet, or if the

school or school district chooses to use an electronic meal application,

provide in school enrollment packets an explanation of the electronic

meal application process and instructions for how parents or guardians

may request a paper application at no cost;

h. If a school or school district becomes aware that a student who has

not submitted a meal application is eligible for free or reduced-fee

meals, the school or school district shall complete and file an

application for the student pursuant to title seven, section 245.6(d) of

the code of federal regulations; and

i. School liaisons required for homeless, foster, and migrant students

shall coordinate with the nutrition department to make sure such

students receive free school meals, in accordance with federal law.