The New York State Senate

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5151
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 25, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MAY  --  read  twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to prohibiting schools or
   school districts from filing a lawsuit against a student's  parent  or
   guardian for unpaid meal fees

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1.  Section 908 of the education law, as added by section 1 of
 part B of chapter 56 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   § 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 differ-
 ently  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.  FOLLOWING  SUCH  INITIAL  SUBMISSION,  SUCH PLAN SHALL BE
 RE-SUBMITTED WITHIN SIXTY DAYS AFTER THE EFFECTIVE DATE  OF  ANY  SUBSE-
 QUENT  AMENDMENT  TO  THIS  SECTION.  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
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD09900-01-1

 S. 5151                             2
 
 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 chil-
 dren;
   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 assist-
 ance 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] SHALL NOT 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]  BY
 FILING 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

 S. 5151                             3
 
 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 applica-
 tion 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.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.