,i #aaeth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #figg ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,september #bh1 #bjah,mr4 ,nolan introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,education and the ,workforce ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,richard ,b4 ,russell ,national ,school ,lunch ,act to prohibit the stigmatization of children who are unable to pay for meals4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,no ,blame1 ,no ,shame ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,school nutrition programs help end childhood hunger and provide access to healthy1 nutritious meals4 7#b7 ,access to school meals has been shown to improve educational outcomes4 7#c7 ,a ,federal1 publicly funded universal school meal and nutrition program will eliminate any stigma that accompanies free or reduced meals and students unable to purchase meals due to insufficient account funds4 7#d7 ,a ,federal1 publicly funded universal school meal and nutrition program would further allow schools to shift resources from paperwork to providing high quality meals4 7#e7 ,a ,federal1 publicly funded universal school meal and nutrition program should be established4 #c4 ,prohibition on stigmatization of children who are unable to pay for meals ,section #i7;b77#aj7 of the ,richard ,b4 ,russell ,national ,school ,lunch ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #ageh7;b77#aj77 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking 7#aj7 ,no physical and inserting the following3 7#aj7 ,discriminatory or stigmatizing treatment of children by schools 7,a7 ,discrimination based on eligibility ,no physical 2 and 7#b7 by adding at the end the following3 7,b7 ,stigmatization based on lack of funds or debt 7i7 ,definition of covered child ,in this subparagraph1 the term covered child means a child who-- 7,i7 is a student at a school that participates in-- 7aa7 the school lunch program established under this ,act2 or 7bb7 the school breakfast program established by section #d of the ,child ,nutrition ,act of #aiff 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aggc72 and 7,,ii7 7aa7 does not have funds to pay for a lunch or breakfast at the school2 or 7bb7 has outstanding credit that was extended by a school food authority for a lunch or breakfast at the school4 7ii7 ,requirements of local educational agencies 7,i7 ,in general ,a local educational agency shall not permit-- 7aa7 the public identification of a covered child1 such as by requiring the covered child to wear a wristband or display a hand stamp to identify the covered child as a covered child2 7bb7 the stigmatization of a covered child1 such as by preventing such student from participating in extracurricular activities1 school functions1 or other school events due to the status of the child as a covered child2 or 7cc7 any requirement that a covered child1 because of the status of the covered child as a covered child-- 7,,aa7 perform chores or any other activity that is not required of students generally2 or 7,,bb7 dispose of a lunch or breakfast after it has been served to the covered child4 7,,ii7 ,communications 7aa7 ,in general ,subject to item 7bb71 a local educational agency shall require that any communication relating to an outstanding credit described in clause 7i77,,ii77bb7 of a covered child shall be directed-- 7,,aa7 to a parent or guardian of the covered child2 and 7,,bb7 not to the covered child4 7bb7 ,letters ,a local educational agency may permit a requirement that a covered child deliver a letter addressed to a parent or guardian of the covered child that contains a communication described in item 7aa71 subject to the condition that the letter shall not be distributed to the covered child in a manner that stigmatizes the covered child4 7cc7 ,school meal collection policy distribution ,a local educational agency shall annually publish and make publicly available1 including to school administrators1 meal vendors1 and parents and guardians of children served by the local educational agency1 the policy of local educational agency that includes-- 7,,aa7 the policies1 procedures1 and guidelines of the local educational agency with respect to owed debts and insufficient funds to purchase meals2 and 7,,bb7 available and relevant meals and food programs and resources4 7,c7 ,report on violations ,each ,state shall annually submit to the ,secretary a report that includes-- 7i7 each violation of this paragraph by a school located in such ,state during the previous year2 7ii7 each violation of this paragraph by a local educational agency located in such ,state during the previous year2 7iii7 the amount of student meal debt accrued in each school and each local educational agency located in the ,state during the previous year2 or 7iv7 the policies with respect to school meals used by each school and local educational agency located in such ,state4 7,d7 ,publication ,the ,secretary shall establish and update a list of the violations of this paragraph on a public website of the ,department4 7,e7 ,penalty 7i7 ,in general ,notwithstanding any other provision of law and subject to clause 7ii71 in the case of a local educational agency or a school served by such local educational agency that is reported under subparagraph 7,c7 as having violated this paragraph1 such local educational agency shall1 not later than #c years after the date on which such report was submitted-- 7,i7 use administrative funds reserved for school board or administrator activities to pay accrued school meal debt in the year prior to the date on which such report was submitted2 and 7,,ii7 forgive the outstanding debt of each covered child that accrued such debts4 7ii7 ,certain funds excluded from redistribution ,none of the funds that would otherwise be used by the local educational agency for salaries1 bonuses1 workforce training and development1 instruction of students1 student resources1 day-to-day school operations1 or the benefit of school employees1 teachers1 and school-based administrator may be used under clause 7i74 7,f7 ,prohibition ,in the case of covered child with outstanding debt with respect to school meals1 a local educational agency may not seek collection through a collection agency if such collection agency charges such covered child or the family of such covered child fees that are in addition to the outstanding debt4 4 #d4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that the ,secretary of ,agriculture should ensure that-- 7#a7 7,a7 to the maximum extent practicable1 an application for a free or reduced price lunch under the ,richard ,b4 ,russell ,national ,school ,lunch ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #agea et seq47 is distributed-- 7i7 in an understandable and uniform format2 and 7ii7 by not later than ,july #a each year2 and 7,b7 a local educational agency offers technical assistance to a parent or legal guardian to complete an application described in subparagraph 7,a72 7#b7 each local educational agency coordinates with-- 7,a7 the local educational agency liaison designated under section #gbb7;g77#a77;,j77ii7 of the ,mc,kinney-,vento ,homeless ,assistance ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aadcb7;g77#a77;,j77ii77 to ensure that homeless children and youths eligible to receive free lunches and breakfasts under section #i7;b77#ab77;,a77iv7 of the ,richard ,b4 ,russell ,national ,school ,lunch ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #ageh7;b77#ab77;,a77iv77 receive those free lunches and breakfasts2 and 7,b7 the ,state agency responsible for administering the ,state plans under parts ,b and ,e of title ,,iv of the ,social ,security ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #fba et seq42 #db ,u4,s4,c4 #dgj et seq47 to ensure that foster children eligible to receive free lunches and breakfasts under section #i7;b77#ab77;,a77vii7 of the ,richard ,b4 ,russell ,national ,school ,lunch ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #ageh7;b77#ab77;,a77vii77 receive those free lunches and breakfasts2 and 7#c7 a local educational agency that participates in the school lunch program or the school breakfast program under the ,richard ,b4 ,russell ,national ,school ,lunch ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #agea et seq47 or section #d of the ,child ,nutrition ,act of #aiff 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aggc71 respectively-- 7,a7 shall provide to a child who requests a lunch or breakfast a lunch or breakfast1 regardless of whether the child-- 7i7 has money to pay for the lunch or breakfast2 or 7ii7 owes money for a lunch or breakfast2 7,b7 shall not provide to a child who qualifies for a free or reduced price lunch or breakfast an alternate meal that is not provided to students generally2 and 7,c7 should explore innovative ways to use technology to improve and coordinate communications with parents and guardians with respect to functions such as-- 7i7 prepayment for meals2 7ii7 checking balances for school meals2 7iii7 adding funds to accounts for school meals2 7iv7 addressing outstanding debt for school meals2 and 7v7 sending automatic emails when an account balance is low4