New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 8 - EDUCATION DEPARTMENT › Chapter II - Regulations of the Commissioner › Subchapter E - Elementary and Secondary Education › Part 114 - School Food Service Programs › Section 114.5 - Prohibition against meal shaming

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) 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 1, 2018 in conformance with this section. After submission of such plan,
				  the school or school district shall adopt and post the plan on its
				  website.
(b) The plan shall
				  include, but not be limited to, the following elements:
(1) 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;
(2) 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;
(3) 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;
(4) a communication
				  procedure designed to support eligible families enrolling in the National
				  School Lunch Program or School Breakfast 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;
(5) 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 803 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;
(6) 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;
(7) 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;