119-s2944

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2944 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 2944

 To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require 
 mandatory certification for certain students and reduce stigma 
 associated with unpaid school meal fees, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 September 30, 2025

 Ms. Smith introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
 referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require 
 mandatory certification for certain students and reduce stigma 
 associated with unpaid school meal fees, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``No Shame at School Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. UNPAID MEAL DEBT.

    (a) Mandatory Certification.--

Section 9

    (b)

    (5) of the Richard B. 
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758

    (b)

    (5) ) is amended--

    (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ``Discretionary'' 
 and inserting ``Mandatory''; and

    (2) in the matter preceding subparagraph
        (A) , by striking 
 ``any local educational agency may'' and inserting ``a local 
 educational agency shall''.

    (b) Retroactive Reimbursement.--

Section 9

    (b)

    (9)
            (C) of the Richard 
B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758

    (b)

    (9)
            (C) ) is 
amended--

    (1) by redesignating clauses
            (i) and
            (ii) as subclauses
            (I) and
            (II) , respectively;

    (2) in the matter preceding subclause
            (I) (as so 
 redesignated), by striking ``Except'' and inserting the 
 following:
 ``
            (i) In general.--Except''; and

    (3) by adding at the end the following:
 ``
            (ii) Retroactivity.--
 ``
            (I) In general.--A local 
 educational agency shall revise a 
 previously submitted meal claim to 
 reflect the eligibility approval of a 
 child for free or reduced price meals 
 for the period that begins on the first 
 day of the current school year.
 ``
            (II) Definition of meal claim.--
 In this clause, the term `meal claim' 
 means any documentation provided by a 
 school food authority to a State agency 
 to receive reimbursement for the cost 
 of a meal served to a child by that 
 school food authority.''.
            (c) Reducing Stigma Associated With Unpaid School Meal Fees.--

Section 9

    (b) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 
U.S.C. 1758

    (b) ) is amended by striking paragraph

    (10) and inserting the 
following:
 ``

    (10) Reducing stigma associated with unpaid school meal 
 fees.--
 ``
        (A) === Definitions. ===
-In this paragraph:
 ``
            (i) Covered child.--The term `covered 
 child' means a child who--
 ``
            (I) is--
 ``

    (aa) enrolled in a school 
 that participates in the school 
 lunch program under this Act or 
 the school breakfast program 
 under 

section 4 of the Child 
 Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 
 U.S.C. 1773); and
 ``

    (bb) is a member of a 
 household that owes unpaid 
 school meal fees; or
 ``
            (II) is eligible for a free or 
 reduced price lunch under this section.
 ``
            (ii) Unpaid school meal fees.--The term 
 `unpaid school meal fees' means outstanding 
 fees owed by a household to a local educational 
 agency for lunch provided under the school 
 lunch program under this Act or breakfast 
 provided under the school breakfast program 
 under 

section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 
 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773).
 ``
        (B) Overt identification prohibited.--A local 
 educational agency or school food authority may not, 
 based on the status of a covered child as a covered 
 child--
 ``
            (i) physically segregate the covered 
 child;
 ``
            (ii) overtly identify the covered child--
 ``
            (I) through the use of special 
 tokens or tickets; or
 ``
            (II) by an announcement or a 
 published list of names; or
 ``
            (iii) identify or stigmatize the covered 
 child by any other means.
 ``
            (C) Eligibility determination by local 
 educational agency.--For any covered child who is a 
 member of a household that owes 1 week or more of 
 unpaid school meal fees, a local educational agency 
 shall--
 ``
            (i) attempt to directly certify that 
 covered child for free meals under paragraph

    (4) or

    (5) ; or
 ``
            (ii) if a local educational agency is not 
 able to directly certify that covered child 
 under paragraph

    (4) or

    (5) , provide to the 
 household of the covered child--
 ``
            (I) a household application for 
 free meals and applicable descriptive 
 material; and
 ``
            (II) written and oral 
 communications to encourage submission 
 of that application.
 ``
            (D) Collection of unpaid school meal fees.--In 
 attempting to collect unpaid school meal fees from a 
 household, a local educational agency or school food 
 authority may not--
 ``
            (i) except as described in subparagraph
        (E) , direct any communication regarding unpaid 
 school meal fees to a covered child who is a 
 member of that household;
 ``
            (ii) withhold educational opportunities 
 (including grades and participation in 
 extracurricular activities or local educational 
 agency programs or services) from, or otherwise 
 stigmatize, a covered child who is a member of 
 that household; or
 ``
            (iii) use a debt collector (as defined in 
 

section 803 of the Consumer Credit Protection 
 Act (15 U.S.C. 1692a)).
 ``
        (E) Letters.--A school food authority may require 
 that a covered child deliver a sealed letter addressed 
 to a parent or guardian of the covered child that 
 contains a communication relating to unpaid school meal 
 fees, subject to the condition that the letter shall 
 not be distributed to the covered child in a manner 
 that stigmatizes the covered child.
 ``
        (F) Eliminating stigma in meal service.--In 
 providing a meal to a covered child, a local 
 educational agency or school food authority may not, 
 based on the status of the covered child as a covered 
 child, dispose of or take away from the covered child 
 any food that has already been served to the covered 
 child.''.
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