2020 -- H 7313 | |
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LC003304 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2020 | |
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A N A C T | |
RELATING TO EDUCATION | |
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Introduced By: Representatives Ranglin-Vassell, Lyle, Lombardi, Hull, and McNamara | |
Date Introduced: January 24, 2020 | |
Referred To: House Finance | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Chapter 16-8 of the General Laws entitled "Federal Aid [See Title 16 |
2 | Chapter 97 - The Rhode Island Board of Education Act]" is hereby amended by adding thereto |
3 | the following section: |
4 | 16-8-10.2. Treatment of students receiving school meals assistance. |
5 | (a) All public and secondary schools at which pupils are served breakfast and lunch under |
6 | ยงยง 16-8-10 and 16-8-10.1, shall ensure that a pupil whose parent or guardian has unpaid school |
7 | meal fees is not denied a reimbursable meal of the pupil's choice because of the fact that the |
8 | pupil's parent or guardian has unpaid meal fees and shall ensure that the pupil is not shamed or |
9 | treated differently from other pupils. This subsection does not prohibit a school from serving an |
10 | alternative reimbursable meal to a pupil who may need one for dietary or religious reasons, or as |
11 | a regular menu item. |
12 | (b) School personnel and volunteers at a school that serves nutritionally adequate meals |
13 | to pupils during the instructional day shall not allow any disciplinary action that is taken against a |
14 | pupil to result in the denial or delay of a nutritionally adequate meal. |
15 | (c) A school shall not take any action directed at a pupil to collect an unpaid school meal |
16 | fee. A school may attempt to collect unpaid school meal fees from a parent or guardian, but shall |
17 | not use a debt collector, as defined in Section 803 of the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act |
18 | (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1692a). |
19 | (d) A school shall notify a parent or guardian of the negative balance of a pupil's school |
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1 | meal account no later than ten (10) days after the pupil's school meal account has reached a |
2 | negative balance. Before sending this notification to the parent or guardian, the school shall |
3 | exhaust all options and methods to directly certify the pupil for free or reduced price meals. If the |
4 | school is not able to directly certify the pupil, the school shall provide the pupil's parent or |
5 | guardian with a paper copy or electronic link to an application with the notification and contact |
6 | the parent or guardian to encourage application submission. |
7 | (e) Nothing in this section is intended to allow for the indefinite accrual of unpaid school |
8 | meal fees. |
9 | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO EDUCATION | |
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1 | This act requires schools to ensure that a pupil whose parent or guardian has unpaid |
2 | school meal fees is not denied a meal of the pupil's choice because of the fact that the pupil's |
3 | parent or guardian has unpaid meal fees and ensure that the pupil is not shamed or treated |
4 | differently from other students. |
5 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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LC003304 | |
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