MCPS considering alternate meals for students with lunch debt
Advocates fear new policy would ‘shame’ some students
May 5, 2021 | 8:21 pm
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Education advocates say a proposed Montgomery County Public Schools policy requiring that some students with unpaid lunch bills get “alternative meals” would promote “lunch shaming” and inequity.
The draft policy, which the school board will consider next week, was first written in 2019. It aims to address a U.S. Department of Agriculture requirement that school districts develop policies on communicating how they handle debts.
The proposed MCPS policy says families that do not qualify for federal free and reduced-price meal programs but have a lunch debt of more than $35 would get “alternative meals” — usually a sandwich rather than a hot meal — until the debt is paid.