Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

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
 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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Statutes/Laws affected: 
Printer's No. 3361: P.L.30, No.14, P.L.6, No.3