No Shame at School Act of 2025
The No Shame at School Act of 2025 would revise the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to make certain meal-eligibility actions mandatory for local education agencies (LEAs), require retroactive adjustments to meal-reimbursement claims when eligibility is established, and, most prominently, implement strong privacy and anti-stigma protections for students related to unpaid school meal fees. Key changes include mandating certification of eligible students for free or reduced-price meals, ensuring retroactive reimbursement adjustments for the current school year, and prohibiting actions that identify or stigmatize students with unpaid meal debts. The overall aim is to reduce barriers to meal access and protect students from shaming or disciplinary consequences tied to unpaid fees. The bill is introduced in the Senate as a response to unpaid meal debt and stigma, with a focus on direct certification, fair treatment of students, and clearer accountability for how meal programs and debt collection are managed at the local level. If enacted, it would expand federal requirements on how LEAs determine eligibility, handle past-due balances, and interact with students and families around unpaid meal fees.
Key Points
- 1Mandatory certification obligation: Local educational agencies must certify students for free or reduced-price meals, rather than having certification be discretionary.
- 2Retroactive reimbursement changes: LEAs must revise previously submitted meal claims to reflect new eligibility determinations for free or reduced-price meals starting from the first day of the current school year.
- 3Creation of a "no shame" framework: Establishes strong protections to prevent stigma or overt identification of covered children (those with unpaid fees or eligible for free/reduced meals), including bans on segregating students, using tokens or published lists, and other stigmatizing practices.
- 4Direct certification and outreach for unpaid-fee households: For covered children from households that owe unpaid fees, LEAs must attempt to directly certify them for free meals or provide households with applications and information to apply for free meals, along with communications to encourage submission.
- 5Restrictions on debt-collection practices and food humiliation: LEAs and school food authorities may not inappropriately contact or stigmatize covered children or their families about unpaid fees, with limits on direct communications to the child, exemption for allowed letters, and protections against withholding meals or other educational opportunities.