The New York State Senate

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6527
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              March 19, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. KELLES -- read once and referred 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

 A. 6527                             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

 A. 6527                             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.