Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 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;
(c) 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 application for the student pursuant to title
7
CFR 245.6(d) (Code of
Federal Regulations, 2018 edition, Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402-0001: 2018-available at Office for
Counsel, New York State Education Building, Room 148, 89 Washington Avenue,
Albany, NY 12231); and
(d) 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.