Purpose
This policy outlines how the district will handle situations where students have insufficient funds to pay for school meals, ensuring compliance with USDA requirements and upholding student dignity.
A. Policy Summary
The district is committed to providing access to nutritious meals for all students each school day. No student will be denied one reimbursable breakfast and one reimbursable lunch per day due to unpaid meal charges. However, the district must responsibly collect unpaid meal debt to maintain program integrity.
B. Charging Meals
Elementary, Middle, and High School students may only charge one reimbursable breakfast and one reimbursable lunch per day.
At Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) schools and/or Provisional Status Schools, all students can eat one reimbursable breakfast and one reimbursable lunch per school day at no charge. A la carte items, second meals, and extra milk/juice must be purchased in CEP and/or Provisional schools.
A la carte items, second meals, and extra milk/juice cannot be purchased when there are insufficient funds in the student’s account or cash is not provided at time of purchase. This applies at all schools, including those operating CEP and/or Provisional programs.
C. Collection of Unpaid Meal Charges
Account Monitoring
Each student’s lunch account balance shall be reviewed frequently throughout the school year by the district Nutrition Services Department.
Efforts will be made to notify the parent(s)/legal guardian(s) of any student(s) with negative lunch balances. Such notification will be general (such as general notice posted in newsletters, general announcements on websites/social media), as well as targeted (such as sending individual emails, push notices via an automated phone system, etc.) and include instructions on how to make payment.
Lunch Account Balances
Lunch account balances will be visible in the individual student’s account in the Student Information System under “Lunch Balance.” The student’s lunch account balance will also be accessible by the parent/legal guardian by logging into the lunch account/payment website.
Follow-up Notification of Negative Account Balances
If a student’s account balance is negative, the student’s parent(s)/legal guardian(s) will be notified at least once per week until the account is replenished. Such notification will be targeted (such as sending individual emails, push notices via an automated phone system*, etc.) and include instructions on how to make payment.
* Automated Messages/Calls shall not occur after 8:00 p.m.
All communication about payments and balances will be directed only to parents/guardians. No district employee shall ask students for meal payments or reminders.
D. Formal Collection
Any closed accounts (students who have left the district) and/or any accounts with balances over -$500 that are not paid in full or under an agreed payment plan with Nutrition Services by June 30 will be referred to third-party collections.
Notifications on closed accounts will be sent at 60, 45, and 30 days as final attempts to collect or arrange a payment plan before sending the account to formal collection.
Notifications on active accounts with -$500 or more will be sent when the account hits -$500, then at 60, 45, and 30 days as final attempts to collect or arrange a payment plan before sending the account to the third-party collections.
E. Communication of Policy
This policy will be communicated to all households at the start of the school year and made available on the district website.
Staff will receive annual training on the policy to ensure it is applied consistently and without stigma.