Bill Text: IA HF2467 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to school meal debt and to school meal programs offered by school districts and accredited nonpublic schools, authorizing the establishment of unpaid student meals accounts, and authorizing the transfer and expenditure of certain funds, and including retroactive applicability provisions. (Formerly HSB 660.) Effective 7-1-18.

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Passed) 2018-04-17 - Signed by Governor. H.J. 802. [HF2467 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2017-HF2467-Introduced.html

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House File 2467 - Introduced




                                 HOUSE FILE       
                                 BY  COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION

                                 (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 660)

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to school meal debt and to school meal programs
  2    offered by  school districts and accredited nonpublic
  3    schools, authorizing the establishment of unpaid student
  4    meals accounts, and authorizing the transfer and expenditure
  5    of certain funds.
  6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
    TLSB 5528HV (2) 87
    kh/jh

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 8A.504, subsection 2, Code 2018, is
  1  2 amended by adding the following new paragraph:
  1  3    NEW PARAGRAPH.  l.  If the alleged liability is owing and
  1  4 payable to a school district for school meal debt, the school
  1  5 district has made reasonable efforts to collect the debt for
  1  6 at least two years, and the amount of the debt owed by a person
  1  7 to the school district is five hundred dollars or more, setoff
  1  8 pursuant to this section may be sought by the school district.
  1  9 However, this paragraph shall not be interpreted to limit any
  1 10 other options for school meal debt collection available to the
  1 11 school district by law.
  1 12    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  283A.11  Participation by students ====
  1 13 school prohibitions and responsibilities.
  1 14    1.  For purposes of this section, unless the context
  1 15 otherwise requires, "school" includes a school district, a
  1 16 school district attendance center, or an accredited nonpublic
  1 17 school.
  1 18    2.  A school shall provide notice, at least twice annually,
  1 19 to the parents or guardians of all enrolled students regarding
  1 20 the availability of applications for free or reduced=fee meals
  1 21 for categorically eligible students under the federal National
  1 22 School Lunch Act of 1966, 42 U.S.C. {1751 et seq., and the
  1 23 federal Child Nutrition Act of 1966, 42 U.S.C. {1771 et seq.
  1 24 Notice may be provided via letter or electronic communication.
  1 25    3.  If a student owes money for five or more meals, a school
  1 26 principal, assistant principal, or designated meal program
  1 27 staff person may contact the student's parent or guardian to
  1 28 provide information regarding the application for free or
  1 29 reduced=fee meals pursuant to the federal National School Lunch
  1 30 Act of 1966, 42 U.S.C. {1751 et seq., and the federal Child
  1 31 Nutrition Act of 1966, 42 U.S.C. {1771 et seq., or to provide
  1 32 information on other options or assistance available.
  1 33    4.  A school shall provide a reimbursable meal, as specified
  1 34 under regulations promulgated by the United States department
  1 35 of agriculture pursuant to the federal Healthy, Hunger=Free
  2  1 Kids Act of 2010, Pub. L. No. 111=296, to a student who
  2  2 requests a reimbursable meal unless the student's parent or
  2  3 guardian has specifically provided written direction to the
  2  4 school to withhold a meal from the student.
  2  5    5.  If practicable, a school shall position the point of
  2  6 service at the beginning of a lunch line to provide options
  2  7 other than meal disposal or replacement.
  2  8    6.  a.  A school is prohibited from posting a list of
  2  9 students who owe money for school meals and from engaging in
  2 10 any of the following acts directed toward a student because the
  2 11 student cannot pay for a meal or owes a meal debt:
  2 12    (1)  Publicly identifying or stigmatizing the student,
  2 13 including but not limited to requiring the student to consume
  2 14 the meal at a table set aside for such purpose or to discard a
  2 15 meal after the meal has been served.
  2 16    (2)  Requiring the student to wear a wristband, hand stamp,
  2 17 or identification marks, or to do chores or other work to pay
  2 18 for meals.
  2 19    (3)  Denying participation in an afterschool program or
  2 20 other extracurricular activity to the student.
  2 21    b.  A school shall direct communications about a student's
  2 22 meal debt to a parent or guardian and not to the student. This
  2 23 paragraph does not prohibit a school from sending a letter home
  2 24 with a student addressed to the student's parent or guardian,
  2 25 or from contacting the parent or guardian via phone or other
  2 26 electronic means.
  2 27    7.  The department of education shall, in consultation with
  2 28 schools, develop and establish best practices, guidance, and
  2 29 policies to assist schools to reach the goal of ensuring that
  2 30 all students have access, at a minimum, to reimbursable meals,
  2 31 in accordance with subsection 4.
  2 32    8.  A school district may establish an unpaid student meals
  2 33 account in a school nutrition fund established by the school
  2 34 district under section 298A.11 and may deposit in the account
  2 35 moneys received from private sources for purposes of paying
  3  1 student meal debt accrued by individual students as well as
  3  2 amounts designated for the account from the school district's
  3  3 flexibility account under section 298A.2, subsection 2. Moneys
  3  4 deposited in the unpaid student meals fund shall be used by the
  3  5 school district only to pay individual student meal debt. The
  3  6 school district shall set fair and equitable procedures for
  3  7 such expenditures.
  3  8    Sec. 3.  Section 298A.2, subsection 2, paragraph c, Code
  3  9 2018, is amended by adding the following new subparagraph:
  3 10    NEW SUBPARAGRAPH.  (06)  For deposit in the unpaid student
  3 11 meals account to be used for purposes of paying student meal
  3 12 debt accrued by individual students in accordance with section
  3 13 283A.11, subsection 8.
  3 14                           EXPLANATION
  3 15 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  3 16 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  3 17    This bill relates to school meal programs offered by  school
  3 18 districts and accredited nonpublic schools, allows school
  3 19 districts to seek to use the setoff procedures administered by
  3 20 the department of administrative services, and allows a school
  3 21 district to deposit moneys from its flexibility account into
  3 22 an unpaid student meals account to be used only to pay student
  3 23 meal debt accrued by individuals.
  3 24    The bill defines "school" to include a school district, a
  3 25 school district attendance center, or an accredited nonpublic
  3 26 school.
  3 27    At least twice a year, the school must notify a parent or
  3 28 guardian about the availability of applications for federal
  3 29 assistance for free or reduced=fee meals. If the student owes
  3 30 moneys for five or more meals, the school must notify the
  3 31 parent or guardian of the availability of federal assistance
  3 32 applications or provide information on other options or
  3 33 assistance available, and the notice must go to the parent or
  3 34 guardian directly, not the student.  However, the school is not
  3 35 prohibited from sending a letter home with a student addressed
  4  1 to the parent or guardian.
  4  2    A school must provide a reimbursable meal, as specified
  4  3 by the United States department of agriculture, to a student
  4  4 who requests one unless the student's parent or guardian has
  4  5 specifically provided written permission to the school to
  4  6 withhold a meal from the student. The department of education
  4  7 is directed to develop and establish best practices, guidance,
  4  8 and policies to assist schools to reach the goal of ensuring
  4  9 that all students have access, at a minimum, to reimbursable
  4 10 meals.
  4 11    If practicable, the school must position the point of
  4 12 service at the beginning of a lunch line to provide options
  4 13 other than meal disposal or replacement.
  4 14    A school is prohibited from posting a list of students
  4 15 who owe money for school meals; publicly identifying or
  4 16 stigmatizing a student who cannot pay for a meal or who owes a
  4 17 meal debt; from requiring the student to consume the meal at
  4 18 a table set aside for such purpose, to discard a meal after
  4 19 the meal has been served, or to do chores or other work to pay
  4 20 for meals; or from denying the student participation in an
  4 21 afterschool program or other extracurricular activity.
  4 22    The school district must set fair and equitable procedures
  4 23 for the use of moneys in the unpaid student meals account.
  4 24    The setoff procedures administered by the department of
  4 25 administrative services can be sought by a  school district if
  4 26 the alleged school meal debt owed to the district is over $500
  4 27 and the district has tried to collect the debt for at least
  4 28 two years. However, the provision does not limit any other
  4 29 option for school meal debt collection available to the school
  4 30 district.
       LSB 5528HV (2) 87
       kh/jh