House Study Bill 660 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION BILL BY CHAIRPERSON ROGERS) A BILL FOR An Act relating to school meal debt and to school meal programs 1 offered by school districts and accredited nonpublic 2 schools, authorizing the establishment of unpaid student 3 meals accounts, and authorizing the transfer and expenditure 4 of certain funds. 5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 6 TLSB 5528YC (1) 87 kh/jh

H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 8A.504, subsection 2, Code 2018, is 1 amended by adding the following new paragraph: 2 NEW PARAGRAPH . l. If the alleged liability is owing and 3 payable to a school district for school meal debt, the school 4 district has made reasonable efforts to collect the debt for 5 at least two years, and the amount of the debt owed by a person 6 to the school district is five hundred dollars or more, setoff 7 pursuant to this section may be sought by the school district. 8 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 283A.11 Participation by students —— 9 school prohibitions and responsibilities. 10 1. For purposes of this section, unless the context 11 otherwise requires, “school” includes a school district, a 12 school district attendance center, or an accredited nonpublic 13 school. 14 2. A school shall provide notice, at least twice annually, 15 to the parents or guardians of all enrolled students regarding 16 the availability of applications for free or reduced-fee meals 17 for categorically eligible students under the federal National 18 School Lunch Act of 1966, 42 U.S.C. §1751 et seq., and the 19 federal Child Nutrition Act of 1966, 42 U.S.C. §1771 et seq. 20 Notice may be provided via letter or electronic communication. 21 3. If a student owes money for five or more meals, a school 22 principal, assistant principal, or designated meal program 23 staff person may contact the student’s parent or guardian to 24 provide information regarding the application for free or 25 reduced-fee meals pursuant to the federal National School Lunch 26 Act of 1966, 42 U.S.C. §1751 et seq., and the federal Child 27 Nutrition Act of 1966, 42 U.S.C. §1771 et seq., or to provide 28 information on other options or assistance available. 29 4. A school shall provide a reimbursable meal, as specified 30 under regulations promulgated by the United States department 31 of agriculture pursuant to the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free 32 Kids Act of 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-296, to a student who 33 requests a reimbursable meal unless the student’s parent or 34 guardian has specifically provided written direction to the 35 -1- LSB 5528YC (1) 87 kh/jh 1/ 4

H.F. _____ school to withhold a meal from the student. 1 5. If practicable, a school shall position the point of 2 service at the beginning of a lunch line to provide options 3 other than meal disposal or replacement. 4 6. a. A school is prohibited from posting a list of 5 students who owe money for school meals and from engaging in 6 any of the following acts directed toward a student because the 7 student cannot pay for a meal or owes a meal debt: 8 (1) Publicly identifying or stigmatizing the student, 9 including but not limited to requiring the student to consume 10 the meal at a table set aside for such purpose or to discard a 11 meal after the meal has been served. 12 (2) Requiring the student to wear a wristband, hand stamp, 13 or identification marks, or to do chores or other work to pay 14 for meals. 15 (3) Denying participation in an afterschool program or 16 other extracurricular activity to the student. 17 b. A school shall direct communications about a student’s 18 meal debt to a parent or guardian and not to the student. This 19 paragraph does not prohibit a school from sending a letter home 20 with a student addressed to the student’s parent or guardian, 21 or from contacting the parent or guardian via phone or other 22 electronic means. 23 7. The department of education shall, in consultation with 24 schools, develop and establish best practices, guidance, and 25 policies to assist schools to reach the goal of ensuring that 26 all students have access, at a minimum, to reimbursable meals, 27 in accordance with subsection 4. 28 8. A school district may establish an unpaid student meals 29 account in the general fund of the school district and may 30 deposit in the account moneys received from private sources 31 for purposes of paying student meal debt accrued by individual 32 students as well as amounts designated for the account from 33 the school district’s flexibility account under section 34 298A.2, subsection 2. Moneys deposited in the unpaid student 35 -2- LSB 5528YC (1) 87 kh/jh 2/ 4

H.F. _____ meals fund shall be used by the school district only to pay 1 individual student meal debt. The school district shall set 2 fair and equitable procedures for such expenditures. 3 Sec. 3. Section 298A.2, subsection 2, paragraph c, Code 4 2018, is amended by adding the following new subparagraph: 5 NEW SUBPARAGRAPH . (06) For deposit in the unpaid student 6 meals account to be used for purposes of paying student meal 7 debt accrued by individual students in accordance with section 8 283A.11, subsection 8. 9 EXPLANATION 10 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 11 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 12 This bill relates to school meal programs offered by school 13 districts and accredited nonpublic schools, allows school 14 districts to seek to use the setoff procedures administered by 15 the department of administrative services, and allows a school 16 district to deposit moneys from its flexibility account into 17 an unpaid student meals account to be used only to pay student 18 meal debt accrued by individuals. 19 The bill defines “school” to include a school district, a 20 school district attendance center, or an accredited nonpublic 21 school. 22 At least twice a year, the school must notify a parent or 23 guardian about the availability of applications for federal 24 assistance for free or reduced-fee meals. If the student owes 25 moneys for five or more meals, the school must notify the 26 parent or guardian of the availability of federal assistance 27 applications or provide information on other options or 28 assistance available, and the notice must go to the parent or 29 guardian directly, not the student. However, the school is not 30 prohibited from sending a letter home with a student addressed 31 to the parent or guardian. 32 A school must provide a reimbursable meal, as specified 33 by the United States department of agriculture, to a student 34 who requests one unless the student’s parent or guardian has 35 -3- LSB 5528YC (1) 87 kh/jh 3/ 4

H.F. _____ specifically provided written permission to the school to 1 withhold a meal from the student. The department of education 2 is directed to develop and establish best practices, guidance, 3 and policies to assist schools to reach the goal of ensuring 4 that all students have access, at a minimum, to reimbursable 5 meals. 6 If practicable, the school must position the point of 7 service at the beginning of a lunch line to provide options 8 other than meal disposal or replacement. 9 A school is prohibited from posting a list of students 10 who owe money for school meals; publicly identifying or 11 stigmatizing a student who cannot pay for a meal or who owes a 12 meal debt; from requiring the student to consume the meal at 13 a table set aside for such purpose, to discard a meal after 14 the meal has been served, or to do chores or other work to pay 15 for meals; or from denying the student participation in an 16 afterschool program or other extracurricular activity. 17 The school district must set fair and equitable procedures 18 for the use of moneys in the unpaid student meals account. 19 The setoff procedures administered by the department of 20 administrative services can be sought by a school district if 21 the alleged school meal debt owed to the district is over $500 22 and the district has tried to collect the debt for at least two 23 years. 24 -4- LSB 5528YC (1) 87 kh/jh 4/ 4