NM Stops Schools From Making Students Do Chores For Lunch

[Riddick]

In what supporters are saying is the first of this type of legislation across the country, the state of New Mexico has outlawed shaming children whose parents are behind on school lunch payments.

Kids across the country have been subjected to various forms of "lunch-shaming." According to The New York Times, some schools force children to clean cafeteria tables in front of their peers to pay the debt, while other schools require cafeteria workers to take the child's food and throw it in the trash if they don't have the money to pay for it. In a particularly insensitive act, a child in Alabama was stamped on the arm with "I need lunch money" after being short on funds for lunch.

NM Governor Susana Martinez signed the Hunger-Free Students' Bill of Rights on April 6, which puts an end to the lunch-shaming practices that embarrass children and end up unfairly targeting low-income families. Instead, it directs schools to work with parents in order to pay their debts or sign up for federal meal assistance. The bill applies to any public, private or religious school that also receives federal subsidies for students' breakfasts and lunches.

The new law will still allow schools to penalize students in other ways, such as withholding a transcript or revoking parking passes for older students.

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