Title: No Shame at School Act of 2019
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
No Shame at School Act of 2019
This bill establishes requirements for the treatment of a child who is participating in the National School Lunch Program or the School Breakfast Program and owes unpaid school meal fees.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1907 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1907

 To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to prohibit 
the stigmatization of children who are unable to pay for school meals, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 19, 2019

   Ms. Smith introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to prohibit 
the stigmatization of children who are unable to pay for school meals, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``No Shame at School Act of 2019''.

SEC. 2. MANDATORY CERTIFICATION.

    Section 9(b)(5) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1758(b)(5)) is amended--
            (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ``Discretionary'' 
        and inserting ``Mandatory''; and
            (2) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 
        ``may'' and inserting ``shall''.

SEC. 3. RETROACTIVE REIMBURSEMENT.

    Section 9(b)(9) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1758(b)(9)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) Retroactive reimbursement.--
                            ``(i) Definitions.--In this subparagraph:
                                    ``(I) Change in eligibility.--The 
                                term `change in eligibility' means, 
                                with respect to eligibility for the 
                                school lunch program under this Act--
                                            ``(aa) a change from 
                                        eligibility for reduced price 
                                        meals to eligibility for free 
                                        meals; and
                                            ``(bb) a change from 
                                        noneligibility to eligibility 
                                        for free or reduced price 
                                        meals.
                                    ``(II) Meal claim.--The term `meal 
                                claim' means any documentation provided 
                                by a school food authority to a State 
                                agency in order to receive 
                                reimbursement under this Act for the 
                                cost of a meal served to a child by the 
                                school food authority.
                                    ``(III) Previously submitted.--The 
                                term `previously submitted', with 
                                respect to a meal claim, means a meal 
                                claim submitted on or after the 
                                retroactive date.
                                    ``(IV) Retroactive date.--The term 
                                `retroactive date' means the date that 
                                is the earlier of--
                                            ``(aa) the first day of the 
                                        current school year; and
                                            ``(bb) the date that is 90 
                                        days prior to the date of a 
                                        change in eligibility of a 
                                        child.
                            ``(ii) Retroactivity.--
                                    ``(I) Submission of meal claims.--A 
                                local educational agency shall--
                                            ``(aa) revise and resubmit 
                                        a previously submitted meal 
                                        claim to reflect a change in 
                                        eligibility described in 
                                        subclause (i)(I)(aa) of a 
                                        child; and
                                            ``(bb) submit a meal claim 
                                        for any meal provided on or 
                                        after the retroactive date for 
                                        a child that has a change of 
                                        eligibility described in 
                                        subclause (i)(I)(bb).
                                    ``(II) Reimbursement.--The 
                                Secretary shall reimburse each meal 
                                claim submitted by a local educational 
                                agency under subclause (I).''.

SEC. 4. REDUCING STIGMA ASSOCIATED WITH UNPAID SCHOOL MEAL FEES.

    Section 9(b) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1758(b)) is amended by striking paragraph (10) and inserting 
the following:
            ``(10) Reducing stigma associated with unpaid school meal 
        fees.--
                    ``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
                            ``(i) Covered child.--The term `covered 
                        child' means a child who--
                                    ``(I) is enrolled in a school that 
                                participates in the school lunch 
                                program under this Act or the school 
                                breakfast program under section 4 of 
                                the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 
                                U.S.C. 1773); and
                                    ``(II) is a member of a household 
                                that owes unpaid school meal fees.
                            ``(ii) Unpaid school meal fees.--The term 
                        `unpaid school meal fees' means outstanding 
                        fees owed by a household to a local educational 
                        agency for lunch provided under this Act or 
                        breakfast provided under section 4 of the Child 
                        Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773).
                    ``(B) Overt identification prohibited.--A local 
                educational agency or school food authority may not, 
                based on the status of a covered child as a covered 
                child--
                            ``(i) physically segregate the covered 
                        child;
                            ``(ii) overtly identify the covered child--
                                    ``(I) through the use of special 
                                tokens or tickets; or
                                    ``(II) by an announcement or a 
                                published list of names; or
                            ``(iii) identify or stigmatize the covered 
                        child by any other means.
                    ``(C) Eligibility determination by local 
                educational agency.--For any covered child who is a 
                member of a household that has unpaid school meal fees 
                for 1 consecutive week of meals or more, a local 
                educational agency shall--
                            ``(i) attempt to directly certify the 
                        covered child for free meals under paragraph 
                        (4) or (5); or
                            ``(ii) in a case where the local 
                        educational agency is not able to directly 
                        certify the covered child under paragraph (4) 
                        or (5), provide to the household of the covered 
                        child--
                                    ``(I) a household application for 
                                free or reduced price lunch under this 
                                Act and free breakfast under section 4 
                                of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 
                                U.S.C. 1773) and applicable descriptive 
                                material; and
                                    ``(II) written and oral 
                                communication to encourage submission 
                                of the application described in 
                                subclause (I).
                    ``(D) Collection of unpaid school meal fees.--In 
                attempting to collect unpaid school meal fees from a 
                household, a local educational agency or school food 
                authority may not--
                            ``(i) except as described in subparagraph 
                        (E), direct any communication regarding unpaid 
                        school meal fees to a covered child who is a 
                        member of the household;
                            ``(ii) withhold educational opportunities 
                        from, or otherwise stigmatize, a covered child 
                        due to the status of the covered child as a 
                        covered child; or
                            ``(iii) use a debt collector (as defined in 
                        section 803 of the Consumer Credit Protection 
                        Act (15 U.S.C. 1692a)).
                    ``(E) Letters.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii), 
                        a school food authority may request a covered 
                        child to deliver a letter addressed to a parent 
                        or guardian of the covered child that contains 
                        a communication relating to unpaid school meal 
                        fees.
                            ``(ii) Condition.--In carrying out clause 
                        (i), a school food authority shall not provide 
                        the letter to the covered child in a manner 
                        that stigmatizes the covered child.
                    ``(F) Eliminating stigma in meal service.--In 
                providing a meal to a covered child, a local 
                educational agency or school food authority may not, 
                based on the status of the covered child as a covered 
                child, dispose of or take away from the covered child 
                any food that has already been served to the covered 
                child.''.

SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Agriculture 
should ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that a school food 
authority that participates in the school lunch program under the 
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) 
or the school breakfast program under section 4 of the Child Nutrition 
Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) shall provide to a child who requests a 
lunch or breakfast the same lunch or breakfast provided to students not 
certified to receive free or reduced price school lunch or breakfast 
under those Acts, regardless of the ability of the child to pay for the 
lunch or breakfast requested.
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