,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #aaai ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,april #aj1 #bjai,mr4 ,udall 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,collins1 ,mr4 ,casey1 ,mr4 ,gardner1 ,ms4 ,smith1 ,mr4 ,heinrich1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,mr4 ,murphy1 ,mr4 ,leahy1 ,mr4 ,wyden1 ,mr4 ,booker1 ,ms4 ,hirono1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 and ,mrs4 ,gillibrand7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry ,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 ,anti-,lunch ,shaming ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,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 school food authorities 7,i7 ,in general ,a school food authority shall not permit-- 7aa7 the public identification or stigmatization 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 or 7bb7 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 school food authority shall require that any communication relating to an outstanding credit described in clause 7i77,,ii77bb7 of a covered child-- 7,,aa7 shall be directed to a parent or guardian of the covered child2 and 7,,bb7 shall not be directed to the covered child4 7bb7 ,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 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 4 #c4 ,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 of each year2 and 7,b7 a school food authority offers technical assistance to a parent or legal guardian to complete an application described in subparagraph 7,a72 7#b7 each school food authority 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 #fgj 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 school food authority 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 shall 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