Rep. Kane supports bill to eliminate “meal shaming” in public schools

Shrewsbury State Representative Hannah Kane announced her support for a school nutrition bill to expand student access to free meals and eliminates so-called “meal shaming” policies.

An Act promoting student nutrition (House Bill 3999) was voted 157-0 in the Massachusetts House of Representatives on October 6, 2021. The bill, that also passed the Senate, is now on Governor Charlie Baker’s desk for review and signature.

The bill requires “individual schools and school districts where at least 50 percent of the students are considered low-income to participate in the federal program that provides universal free school breakfast and lunch to all students,” explained Representative Kane, noting that the bill “allows school districts to apply for a waiver if participating in the program will result in financial hardship.”

According to Representative Kane, House Bill 3999 also requires the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to guide school superintendents for notifying a parent or guardian about a student’s unpaid meal debt. School districts will have 30 days from the date the notification is issued to determine if the student is eligible for free or reduced-price meals, during which time students cannot be denied access to a school meal.

Representative Kane said House Bill 3999 offers strong protections to ensure that students are not punished if they are unable to pay for a school meal or owe money for a previously-served meal. The bill does this by prohibiting schools from:

• Taking any action that publicly identifies a student who owes money for meals;
  serving a student with unpaid meal debt an alternative meal that is not available to all students;
• Denying a meal to a student as a form of behavioral discipline or punishment;
  disposing of an already served meal because the student is unable to pay for the meal or has unresolved meal debt;
• Blocking a student or their siblings from participating in extracurricular activities, field trips or school events because of the student’s unresolved meal debt;
• Preventing a student from graduating or blocking the release of a student’s grades, official transcripts, or report cards solely because of unresolved meal debt; or
• Requiring a parent or guardian to pay fees or costs for meals previously served to the student over the actual amounts owed.