STATE OF NEW JERSEY
216th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2014 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JASON O'DONNELL
District 31 (Hudson)
Assemblyman JOSEPH CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits school district from denying student school breakfast or school lunch because payment is in arrears without prior notice to parent.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning school meals and supplementing chapter 33 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. In the event that a school district determines that a student’s school breakfast or school lunch bill is in arrears, the district shall contact the student’s parent or guardian to provide notice of the arrearage and shall provide the parent or guardian with a period of 10 school days to pay the amount due. If the student’s parent or guardian has not made full payment by the end of the 10 school days, then the district shall again contact the student’s parent or guardian to provide notice that school breakfast or school lunch, as applicable, shall not be served to the student beginning one week from the date of the second notice unless payment is made in full.
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
The purpose of this bill is to ensure that a student is not suddenly denied a school breakfast or school lunch because the school district determines that the student’s food bill is in arrears.
The bill provides that if a public school student’s school breakfast or school lunch bill is in arrears, the district must contact the student’s parent or guardian to provide notice of the arrearage and provide a period of 10 school days to pay the amount due. If the parent or guardian does not make full payment by the end of the 10 school days, the district is to then provide a second notice that school breakfast or school lunch, as applicable, will not be served to the student beginning one week from the date of this second notice unless payment is made in full.