I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2311 
To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to prohibit 
the stigmatization of children who are unable to pay for meals. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 12, 2019 
Ms. HAALAND (for herself, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. 
LUJA´N, Ms. MOORE, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. 
KUSTER of New Hampshire, Mr. LAMB, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Ms. TORRES 
SMALL of New Mexico, and Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD) introduced the fol-
lowing bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 
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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Anti-Lunch Shaming 
Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON STIGMATIZATION OF CHILDREN 
WHO ARE UNABLE TO PAY FOR MEALS. 
Section 9(b)(10) of the Richard B. Russell National 
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)(10)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘(10) No physical’’ and insert-
ing the following: 
‘‘(10) 
DISCRIMINATORY
OR
STIGMATIZING 
TREATMENT OF CHILDREN BY SCHOOLS.— 
‘‘(A) DISCRIMINATION
BASED
ON
ELIGI-
BILITY.—No physical’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(B) STIGMATIZATION BASED ON LACK OF 
FUNDS OR DEBT.— 
‘‘(i) 
DEFINITION
OF
COVERED 
CHILD.—In this subparagraph, the term 
‘covered child’ means a child who— 
‘‘(I) is a student at a school that 
participates in— 
‘‘(aa) the school lunch pro-
gram established under this Act; 
or 
‘‘(bb) the school breakfast 
program established by section 4 
of the Child Nutrition Act of 
1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773); and 
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‘‘(II)(aa) does not have funds to 
pay for a lunch or breakfast at the 
school; or 
‘‘(bb) has outstanding credit that 
was extended by a school food author-
ity for a lunch or breakfast at the 
school. 
‘‘(ii) 
REQUIREMENTS
OF
SCHOOL 
FOOD AUTHORITIES.— 
‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A school food 
authority shall not permit— 
‘‘(aa) the public identifica-
tion or stigmatization of a cov-
ered child, such as by requiring 
the covered child to wear a wrist-
band or display a hand stamp to 
identify the covered child as a 
covered child; or 
‘‘(bb) any requirement that 
a covered child, because of the 
status of the covered child as a 
covered child— 
‘‘(AA) perform chores 
or any other activity that is 
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not required of students 
generally; or 
‘‘(BB) dispose of a 
lunch or breakfast after it 
has been served to the cov-
ered child. 
‘‘(II) COMMUNICATIONS.— 
‘‘(aa) IN
GENERAL.—Sub-
ject to item (bb), a school food 
authority shall require that any 
communication relating to an 
outstanding credit described in 
clause (i)(II)(bb) of a covered 
child shall be directed— 
‘‘(AA) to a parent or 
guardian 
of 
the 
covered 
child; and 
‘‘(BB) not to the cov-
ered child. 
‘‘(bb) LETTERS.—A school 
food authority may permit a re-
quirement that a covered child 
deliver a letter addressed to a 
parent or guardian of the covered 
child that contains a communica-
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tion described in item (aa), sub-
ject to the condition that the let-
ter shall not be distributed to the 
covered child in a manner that 
stigmatizes the covered child.’’. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Agri-
culture should ensure that— 
(1)(A) to the maximum extent practicable, an 
application for a free or reduced price lunch under 
the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) is distributed— 
(i) in an understandable and uniform for-
mat; and 
(ii) by not later than July 1 each year; and 
(B) a school food authority offers technical as-
sistance to a parent or legal guardian to complete an 
application described in subparagraph (A); 
(2) each school food authority coordinates 
with— 
(A) the local educational agency liaison 
designated under section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the 
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii)) to ensure that home-
less children and youths eligible to receive free 
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lunches 
and 
breakfasts 
under 
section 
9(b)(12)(A)(iv) of the Richard B. Russell Na-
tional 
School 
Lunch 
Act 
(42 
U.S.C. 
1758(b)(12)(A)(iv)) receive those free lunches 
and breakfasts; and 
(B) the State agency responsible for ad-
ministering the State plans under parts B and 
E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 621 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. 470 et seq.) to 
ensure that foster children eligible to receive 
free lunches and breakfasts under section 
9(b)(12)(A)(vii) of the Richard B. Russell Na-
tional 
School 
Lunch 
Act 
(42 
U.S.C. 
1758(b)(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 (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) or sec-
tion 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 
1773), respectively— 
(A) shall provide to a child who requests a 
lunch or breakfast a lunch or breakfast, regard-
less of whether the child— 
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(i) has money to pay for the lunch or 
breakfast; or 
(ii) owes money for a lunch or break-
fast; 
(B) shall not provide to a child who quali-
fies for a free or reduced price lunch or break-
fast an alternate meal that is not provided to 
students generally; and 
(C) should explore innovative ways to use 
technology to improve and coordinate commu-
nications with parents and guardians with re-
spect to functions such as— 
(i) prepayment for meals; 
(ii) checking balances for school 
meals; 
(iii) adding funds to accounts for 
school meals; 
(iv) addressing outstanding debt for 
school meals; and 
(v) sending automatic emails when an 
account balance is low. 
Æ 
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