The state’s Education Committee shelved a proposal last month that would prohibit Massachusetts school districts from denying hot lunches to children who don’t have money to pay for them, or whose parents have fallen behind on meal plan installments.
Critics call the practice “meal shaming” because of the embarrassment it can bring to students. It would become illegal under bills filed by state Sen. Cynthia Creem of Newton and state Rep. Andres Vargas of Haverhill.
“It’s really about the school district and the parent. Not the child,” said Creem, a Newton Democrat, and co-sponsor of the bill with Vargas, a Haverhill Democrat.
“We should not be humiliating and shaming our children.”
The Legislature’s Education Committee has given the bill a study order, making it unlikely it will pass this legislative session.
Students were among those speaking before lawmakers at the hearing held last month, echoing the idea that school meal debt is a burden adults should bear — not kids.
A recent study by the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute found many schools have policies that instruct cafeteria workers to toss out hot meals and substitute cold cheese sandwiches for students who have exceeded their meal accounts.
Some schools bar students from extracurricular activities if their parents have school meal debt.