Board Approved Meal Charge Policy

Book: Policy Manual
Section: 800 Operations
Title: Food Services
Code: 808
Status: Active
Adopted: November 13, 2018

School Meal Service and Accounts

 

To ensure the effective operation of the district's food service program and delivery of school food program meals to students, the district shall:

  1. Assign individual school meal accounts to each student for the purchase of meals served in school cafeterias, which ensure that the identity of each student is protected.
     
  2. Notify parents/guardians when the student's school meal account reaches a low balance.
     
  3. Notify parents/guardians when the student's school meal account reaches a negative balance. The notice shall include information on payment options.
     
  4. Provide a school food program meal to each student who does not have the money to pay for the school food program meal or who has a negative balance in his/her school meal account, unless the student's parent/guardian has specifically provided written notice to the district to withhold a school food program meal.[3]

When a student owes money for five (5) or more school food program meals, the district shall make at least two (2) attempts to contact the student's parent/guardian and shall provide the application for free/reduced-price school meal benefits to the parent/guardian to apply for benefits under federal school meal programs. The district may offer assistance to parents/guardians with applying for free/reduced-price school meal benefits.[3][20][21]

 

Communications regarding a low balance or money owed by a student for school meals shall be made to the student's parent/guardian.[3]

 

School staff may communicate a low balance or money owed by a student for school meals to a student in grades 9-12; such communication shall be made to the individual student in a discreet manner.[3]

 

The district shall be permitted to contact the student's parent/guardian by means of a letter addressed to the parent/guardian that is delivered by the student.[3]

 

If payment terms cannot be arranged with parent/guardian, then the District authorizes the use of a pre-appointed collection agency and or District Justice to collect outstanding Food Service debt.

 

District schools shall be prohibited from:[3]

  1. Publicly identifying or stigmatizing a student who cannot pay for a school food program meal or who has a negative school meal account balance. It shall not constitute public identification or stigmatization of a student for a school to restrict privileges and activities of students who owe money for school meals if those same restrictions apply to students who owe money for other school-related purposes.
     
  2. Requiring a student who cannot pay for a school food program meal to perform chores or other work to pay for the meal, unless chores or other work are required of all students regardless of their ability or inability to pay for a school food program meal.
     
  3. Requiring a student to discard a school food program meal after it was served to the student due to the student's inability to pay for the meal or due to a negative school meal account balance.

This policy and any applicable procedures or administrative regulations regarding school meal charges and school meal accounts shall be communicated annually to school administrators, school food service personnel, other appropriate school staff, and contracted food service personnel.

 

The district shall provide parents/guardians with a written copy of this policy and any applicable procedures or administrative regulations at the start of each school year, when a student enrolls in school after the start of the school year, and when a parent/guardian is notified of a negative school meal account balance.

 

The district shall annually inform parents/guardians, students and staff about the contents of this policy and any applicable procedures via the district website, student handbooks, newsletters, posted notices and/or other efficient communication methods.

 

Collection of Unpaid Meal Charges

 

Reasonable efforts shall be made by the district to collect unpaid meal charges from parents/guardians. Efforts taken in the collection shall not have a negative impact on the student involved, but shall focus primarily on the parents/guardians responsible for providing funds for meal purchases.

 

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