State SealARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 

HB 2186: school meals; unpaid fees

PRIME SPONSOR: Representative Udall, LD 25

BILL STATUS: Caucus & Cow

                                Education: DPA 13-0-0-0

                               

 

Overview

Requires local education agencies (LEA) to provide school meals to pupils who request these meals and outlines the conditions for the collection of payment and policies to which an LEA shall adhere ☐ Prop 105 (45 votes) ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes) ☐ Emergency (40 votes) ☐ Fiscal Note.

History

Statute requires all elementary schools, middle schools, and junior high schools to participate in the National School Lunch Program (NLSP), except a school district that has fewer than 100 pupils (A.R.S.  § 15-242(B)). Additionally, the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) must develop minimum nutrition standards that meet federal guidelines for foods and beverages sold and served in elementary schools, middle schools, and junior high schools during the normal school day (A.R.S.  § 15-242(A)).

In 2017, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) mandated that all schools and school districts operating the National School Lunch Programs (NSLP) and/or School Breakfast Programs (SBP) establish a written policy to address unpaid meal charges and communicate this policy to families and all school or district-level staff members responsible for enforcing this policy (see USDA, SP 29-2017). ADE has issued a memorandum that provides guidelines and restrictions to LEAs for this unpaid meal charge policy which forbid LEAs from including the following actions in their unpaid meal charge policies:

·         Announcing or publicizing the names of children with unpaid meal fees

·         Requiring children with unpaid charges to use a different serving line

·         Using hand stamps, or other physical markers to identify children with unpaid charges

·         Sending clearly marked notices home with children who have an outstanding balance

·         Enlisting volunteers to request payment from a family with unpaid meal charges

·         Suggesting or requiring children with unpaid charges to work for a meal or to pay back debt

·         Throwing a child's meal in the trash if they are unable to pay

·         Serving unappealing alternate meals as a strategy to embarrass children with unpaid meal debt (see ADE memorandum HNS 14-2017).

Provisions

1.       Requires a school to provide a school meal, that meets the nutrition standards prescribed in  A.R.S. § 15-242, to a pupil who requests it. (Sec. 1)

2.       Prohibits an LEA from certain actions, such as publicizing or disciplining individuals with unpaid school meal fees and using physical markers to identify pupils with unpaid school meal fees. (Sec. 1)

3.       Requires an LEA to establish a policy for resolving unpaid school meal fees. (Sec. 1)

4.       Allows an LEA to collect unpaid school meal fees but prohibits the LEA from using a debt collector to do so. (Sec. 1)

5.       Allows a taxpayer to earn a tax credit for contributions they make to a public school for unpaid school meal fees. (Sec. 1)

6.       Allows a school district governing board or charter school governing body to use monies from tax credit contributions to pay pupils' unpaid school meal fees (Sec.2).

7.       Makes technical changes. (Sec. 2)

Amendment:

Committee on Education

1.       Removes all provisions that would allow a tax payer to receive a tax credit for making a contribution to a public school for any unpaid school meal fees.

 

 

 

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Fifty-fourth Legislature                               HB 2186

First Regular Session                    Version 3: Caucus & Cow

 

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