PRINTER'S NO. 3361
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
2180
Session of
2024
INTRODUCED BY KINKEAD, HILL-EVANS, PROBST, SANCHEZ, KINSEY,
SIEGEL, GIRAL, SCHLOSSBERG, KHAN, HOWARD, HOHENSTEIN AND
WAXMAN, JUNE 24, 2024
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, JUNE 24, 2024
AN ACT
Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), entitled "An
act relating to the public school system, including certain
provisions applicable as well to private and parochial
schools; amending, revising, consolidating and changing the
laws relating thereto," in pupils and attendance, further
providing for Nonprofit School Food Program and providing for
School Meal Debt Fund; and making appropriations.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 1337(a), (c) and (d) of the act of March
10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of
1949, are amended and the section is amended by adding
subsections to read:
Section 1337. Nonprofit School Food Program.--(a)
Definitions. For the purpose of this section[--
"school]:
"Public school" means a school operated by a school district,
intermediate unit, charter school, regional charter school or an
area career and technical school.
"School food program" means a program under which food
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served by any school on a nonprofit basis to children in
attendance, including any such program under which a school
receives assistance out of funds appropriated by the Congress of
the United States.
* * *
(c) Administration of Program. The Department of Education
may enter into such agreements with any agency of the Federal
Government, with any board of school directors, or with any
other agency or person prescribe such regulations, employ such
personnel, and take such other action as it may deem necessary
to provide for the establishment, maintenance, operation and
expansion of any school food program, and to direct the
disbursement of Federal and State funds in accordance with any
applicable provisions of Federal or State law. The Department of
Education may give technical advice and assistance to any board
of school directors in connection with the establishment and
operation of any school food program, and may assist in training
personnel engaged in the operation of such program. [The
Department of Education, and any board of school directors, may
accept any gift for use in connection with any school food
program.]
(d) Boards of School Directors.
(1) Pursuant to any power of boards of school directors to
operate or provide for the operation of school food programs in
schools under their jurisdiction, boards of school directors may
use therefore funds disbursed to them under the provisions of
this section, [gifts] and other funds, received from sale of
school food under such programs.
(2) [(i) Pursuant to subclause (ii), regardless] Regardless
of whether a student has money to pay for a school meal or owes
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money for school meals, each board of school directors shall
establish a requirement for schools under its jurisdiction to
provide a school food program meal to a student who requests
one, unless the student's parent or guardian has specifically
provided written directive to the school to withhold a school
meal.
[(ii) If a student is not eligible for participation in the
school food program and owes greater than seventy-five dollars
($75) in a school year for school meals, a school may provide
the student with alternative meals instead of school food
program meals until the student's unpaid balance for school
meals is paid or a payment plan has been established with the
school to reduce the unpaid balance.]
(3) Each board of school directors shall require schools
under its jurisdiction to comply with the following when a
student owes money for five or more school meals:
(i) The school shall make at least two attempts to reach the
student's parent or guardian and have the parent or guardian
apply for participation in the school food program.
(ii) The school shall offer assistance with applying for
participation in the school food program.
(iii) The school shall provide the parent or guardian with
information on resources for applying for social service
assistance programs.
(4) Each board of school directors shall[:
(i) Require] require schools under its jurisdiction to
direct communications regarding money owed by a student for
school meals to the student's parent or guardian and not to the
student. [if the student is enrolled in grades kindergarten
through eight. For a student enrolled in grades nine through
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twelve, the board of school directors may require the schools to
direct communications regarding a low balance or money owed by a
student for school meals to the student if the communications
are made individually to the student by appropriate school
personnel and are made discreetly.
(ii) Permit schools under its jurisdiction to contact the
student's parent or guardian by means of a letter addressed to
the parent or guardian that is delivered by the student.]
(5) Each board of school directors shall prohibit schools
under its jurisdiction from implementing the following:
(i) Publicly identifying or stigmatizing a student who
cannot pay for a school meal or who owes money for school
[meals. It shall not constitute public identification or
stigmatization of a student for a school to restrict privileges
and activities of students who owe money for school meals if
those same restrictions apply to students who owe money for
other school-related purposes. It shall not constitute public
identification or stigmatization of a student for a school to
provide a student with an alternative meal pursuant to clause
(2)(ii).] meals, including serving a student an alternative meal
or requiring a student to wear a wristband, hand stamp or other
article identifying the student as having school meal debt.
(ii) Requiring a student who cannot pay for a school meal to
perform chores or other work to pay for the school meal. This
subclause shall not apply if chores or other work are required
of all students regardless of the student's [inability] ability
to pay for the school meal.
(iii) Requiring a student or school staff to discard a
school meal after it was served to the student due to the
student's [inability] ability to pay for the school meal or the
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amount of money owed by the student for earlier school meals.
(iv) Penalizing a student with detention, in-school
suspension or out-of-school suspension for eating a school meal
for which the student could not pay.
(v) Denying a student the opportunity to participate in
curricular or extracurricular activities or graduation or to
receive a diploma as a result of outstanding school meal debt.
(vi) Using collections agencies to threaten or damage the
credit score of a parent or guardian to recover school meal
debt.
(vii) Applying interest, fees or other penalties to
outstanding school meal debt.
(viii) Filing a lawsuit against a student, parent or
guardian to recover outstanding school meal debt.
(ix) Filing one or more criminal charges against a student,
parent or guardian to recover outstanding school meal debt.
(x) Using the nonprofit food service account to pay for the
student debt.
(g) Data collection.
(1) Except as provided in paragraph (3), the Department of
Revenue shall collect household income information for each
public school in this Commonwealth and distribute to each public
school its household income information regarding its students.
The data shall:
(i) Be used to determine the number of students who are
eligible for federally funded free or reduced-price meals from
the United States Department of Agriculture.
(ii) Be used to determine students with the greatest need to
reimburse the cost of discharging outstanding school meal debt.
(iii) Remain confidential and shall not be subject to
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disclosure under the act of February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3),
known as the "Right-to-Know Law." The data shall not be shared
by the public school other than as necessary for purposes of
determining funding allocation.
(iv) Not be used to deny any student from receiving two free
meals each school day.
(2) Students for whom household income information is not
collected under paragraph (1) shall continue to be provided two
free meals each school day upon request.
(3) Paragraph (1) does not apply if the public school is
able to obtain equivalent information through another means,
including eligibility for other assistance programs.
(h) Outreach grant.
(1) In order to increase a public schools Identified Student
Population and maximize Federal funding through the National
School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program, the
Department of Human Services shall establish an annual grant to
assist with outreach to parents and guardians about direct
certification programs.
(2) The sum of $1,000,000 is annually appropriated from the
General Fund to the Department of Human Services to provide
payments to public schools in an amount necessary to reimburse
the cost of operating an outreach program to increase their
Identified Student Population.
(3) The Department of Human Services shall develop
procedures to allocate and disburse, beginning in the 2024-2025
school year, the money appropriated under paragraph (2) to
public schools.
* * *
Section 2. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
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Section 1337.2. School Meal Debt Fund.--(a) The School Meal
Debt Fund is established to assist public schools with
discharging debt accumulated through the operation of a school
food service program.
(b) The sum of $80,000,000 is appropriated from the General
Fund to the department to provide payments to public schools in
an amount necessary to reimburse the cost of discharging
outstanding school meal debt.
(c) The department shall develop procedures to allocate and
disburse, beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, the money
appropriated under subsection (b) to public schools that
participate in the National School Breakfast Program and
National School Lunch Program. The following shall receive
priority for a grant under this subsection:
(1) Eligible schools under the Community Eligibility
Provision (CEP) with an identified student percentage (ISP)
between 30 percent and 40 percent.
(2) Public schools with a market value/ personal income aid
ratio of six thousand ten-thousandths (0.6000) or greater.
(d) (1) Funds allocated to and disbursed by this fund shall
only be used to discharge school meal debt accumulated by meals
served as part of the National School Breakfast Program and
National School Lunch Program.
(2) If an additional snack or other food is offered by the
public school that is not included in meals offered through the
National School Breakfast Program or National School Lunch
Program, students may be required to purchase the additional
snack or other food unless the public school provides the
additional snack or other food at no charge and may not be
recovered through these funds.
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(e) If the amount appropriated under subsection (a) is
insufficient to fully reimburse the cost of discharging
outstanding school meal debt, the department shall develop
procedures for how to equitably prorate the funds to public
schools.
(f) For the purposes of this section, the term "public
school" shall mean a school operated by a school district,
intermediate unit, charter school, regional charter school or an
area career and technical school.
Section 3. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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