,i #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ccff ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #ai1 #bjai,ms4 ,omar 7for herself1 ,ms4 ,haaland1 ,ms4 ,lee of ,california1 ,ms4 ,schakowsky1 ,mr4 ,takano1 ,mr4 ,kilmer1 ,ms4 ,norton1 ,ms4 ,jackson ,lee1 ,mr4 ,espaillat1 ,mr4 ,smith of ,washington1 ,mr4 ,pocan1 ,ms4 ,wild1 ,mr4 ,sean ,patrick ,maloney of ,new ,york1 ,mr4 ,khanna1 ,mr4 ,hastings1 ,mr4 ,cohen1 ,ms4 ,tlaib1 ,ms4 ,pressley1 ,ms4 ,ocasio-,cortez1 ,mr4 ,lujn1 and ,ms4 ,johnson of ,texas7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,education and ,labor ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,richard ,b4 ,russell ,national ,school ,lunch ,act to prohibit the stigmatization of children who are unable to pay for school meals1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,no ,shame at ,school ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,mandatory certification ,section #i7;b77#e7 of the ,richard ,b4 ,russell ,national ,school ,lunch ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #ageh7;b77#e77 is amended by-- 7#a7 striking ,discretionary and inserting ,mandatory2 and 7#b7 striking may and inserting shall4 #c4 ,retroactive reimbursement ,section #i7;b77#i77;,c7 of the ,richard ,b4 ,russell ,national ,school ,lunch ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #ageh7;b77#i77;,c77 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking ,except and inserting the following3 7i7 ,in general ,except 2 7#b7 by redesignating clauses 7i7 and 7ii7 as subclauses 7,i7 and 7,,ii72 and 7#c7 by adding at the end the following3 7ii7 ,retroactivity ,a local educational agency shall revise a previously submitted meal claim to reflect the eligibility approval of a child for free or reduced price meals for the period that begins on the earlier of the following3 7,i7 ,the first day of the current school year4 7,,ii7 ,the date that is #ij days prior to the date of such eligibility approval4 7iii7 ,meal claim defined ,in this subsection1 the term meal claim means any documentation provided by a school food authority to a ,state agency in order to receive reimbursement for the cost of a meal served to a child by such school food authority4 4 #d4 ,reducing stigma associated with unpaid school meal fees ,section #i7;b77#aj7 of the ,richard ,b4 ,russell ,national ,school ,lunch ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #ageh7;b77#aj77 is amended to read as follows3 7#aj7 ,reducing stigma associated with unpaid school meal fees 7,a7 ,overt identification prohibited ,a local educational agency or school food authority may not1 based on the status of a covered child as a covered child-- 7i7 physically segregate such covered child2 7ii7 overtly identify such covered child-- 7,i7 through the use of special tokens or tickets2 or 7,,ii7 by an announcement or a published list of names2 or 7iii7 identify or stigmatize such covered child by any other means4 7,b7 ,eligibility determination by local educational agency ,for any covered child who is a member of a household that owes a week or more of unpaid school meal fees1 a local educational agency shall-- 7i7 attempt to directly certify such covered child for free meals under paragraph 7#d7 or 7#e72 or 7ii7 in a case where the local educational agency is not able to directly certify such covered child under paragraph 7#d7 or 7#e71 provide to the household of such covered child-- 7,i7 a household application and applicable descriptive material2 and 7,,ii7 written and oral communications to encourage submission of the application4 7,c7 ,collection of unpaid school meal fees ,in attempting to collect unpaid school meal fees from a household1 a local educational agency or school food authority may not-- 7i7 except as described in subparagraph 7,d71 direct any communication regarding unpaid school meal fees to a covered child who is a member of such household2 7ii7 withhold educational opportunities from1 or otherwise stigmatize1 a covered child due to the status of the covered child as a covered child2 or 7iii7 use a debt collector 7as such term is defined in section #hjc of the ,consumer ,credit ,protection ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #afib;a774 7,d7 ,letters ,a school food authority 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 relating to unpaid school meal fees1 subject to the condition that the letter shall not be distributed to the covered child in a manner that stigmatizes the covered child4 7,e7 ,eliminating stigma in meal service ,in providing a meal to a covered child1 a local educational agency or school food authority may not1 based on the status of the covered child as a covered child1 dispose of or take away from the covered child any food that has already been served to such covered child4 7,f7 ,definitions ,in this paragraph3 7i7 ,covered child ,the term covered child means a child who-- 7,i7 is enrolled in a school that participates in the school lunch program under this ,act or the school breakfast program under section #d of the ,child ,nutrition ,act of #aiff 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aggc72 and 7,,ii7 is a member of a household that owes unpaid school meal fees4 7ii7 ,unpaid school meal fees ,the term unpaid school meal fees means outstanding fees owed by a household to a local educational agency for lunches under this ,act or breakfasts under section #d of the ,child ,nutrition ,act of #aiff 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aggc74 4 #e4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that the ,secretary of ,agriculture should ensure that to the maximum extent practicable1 a school food authority that participates in the school lunch program under the ,richard ,b4 ,russell ,national ,school ,lunch ,act 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #agea et seq47 or the school breakfast program under section #d of the ,child ,nutrition ,act of #aiff 7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #aggc71 shall provide to a child who requests a lunch or breakfast the same reimbursable lunch or breakfast provided to all students not certified to receive free school lunch or breakfast1 regardless of ability to pay for the lunch or breakfast4