§ 18A:33-21 — Provision of school meals.

1. a. (1) In the event that a participating school district or nonpublic school determines that a student's unsubsidized school breakfast or unsubsidized school lunch bill is in arrears, the participating school district or nonpublic school shall contact the student's parent or guardian to provide notice of the arrearage, and shall provide the parent or guardian with a period of 10 school days to pay the amount due. If the student's parent or guardian has not made full payment by the end of the designated 10-day period, then the participating school district or nonpublic school shall again contact the student's parent or guardian to provide notice of any action to be taken in response to the arrearage. (2) A participating school district or nonpublic school shall report, at least biannually to the Department of Agriculture, the number and percentage of enrolled students who have been denied school breakfast or school lunch on the basis of an unsubsidized meals bill arrearage, pursuant to this section. (3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to: (a) require a participating school district or nonpublic school to deny or restrict the ability of a student to access unsubsidized school breakfast or unsubsidized school lunch, respectively, whenever the student's unsubsidized school breakfast or unsubsidized school lunch bill is in arrears; or (b) authorize a participating school district or nonpublic school to deny or restrict the ability of a student who is income-eligible for subsidized school lunch, but who is not income-eligible for subsidized school breakfast, to continue to access subsidized school lunch whenever the student's unsubsidized school breakfast bill is in arrears. b. A participating school district or nonpublic school shall not: (1) publicly identify or stigmatize a student who cannot pay for an unsubsidized school breakfast or an unsubsidized school lunch, or whose unsubsidized school breakfast or lunch bill is in arrears, for example, by requiring the student to sit at a separate table, to wear a wristband, hand stamp, or identifying mark, or to accept an alternative meal; (2) require a student who cannot pay for an unsubsidized school breakfast or an unsubsidized school lunch, or whose unsubsidized school breakfast or lunch bill is in arrears, to do chores or other work to pay for the unsubsidized school breakfast or unsubsidized school lunch; (3) require a student to discard an unsubsidized school breakfast or an unsubsidized school lunch, after it has been served, either because the student is unable to pay for the unsubsidized breakfast or unsubsidized lunch or because the student's unsubsidized school breakfast or lunch bill is in arrears; (4) prohibit a student, or a sibling thereof, from attending or participating in non-fee-based extracurricular activities, field trips, or school events, from receiving grades, official transcripts, or report cards, or from graduating or attending graduation events, solely because of the student's unresolved breakfast or lunch debt; or (5) require a student's parent or guardian to pay fees or costs in excess of the actual amounts owed for unsubsidized school breakfasts or unsubsidized school lunches, or both, which have been previously served to the student. c. If a student owes money for the equivalent of five or more unsubsidized school meals, the participating school district or nonpublic school shall: (1) (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2022, c.104) (2) determine whether the student is eligible for subsidized school meals, by conducting a review of all available records related to the student, and by making at least two attempts, not including the initial attempt made pursuant to section 16 of P.L.2022, c.104 (C.18A:33-21b1), to contact the student's parent or guardian and have the parent or guardian complete a subsidized school meals application; and (3) require a principal, or a person designated by the principal, to contact the student's parent or guardian to: (a) offer assistance with respect to the completion of the subsidized school meals application; (b) determine whether there are other issues in the household that have caused the student to have insufficient funds to purchase an unsubsidized school breakfast or unsubsidized school lunch, as the case may be; and (c) offer any other appropriate assistance. d. A participating school district or nonpublic school shall direct communications about a student's unsubsidized school meals arrearage to the parent or guardian and not to the student. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit a participating school district or nonpublic school from sending a student home with a letter addressed to a parent or guardian. e. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section and the provisions of any other law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, a student shall not be denied access to a school meal, regardless of the student's ability to pay or the status of the student's meal arrearages, during any period of time in which the student's participating school district or nonpublic school is making a determination, pursuant to subsection c. of this section, as to whether the student is eligible for, and can be certified to receive, subsidized school meals. L.2015, c.15, s.1; amended 2018, c.27; 2020, c.29, s.2; 2022, c.104, s.14; 2023, c.336, s.9.