Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2954 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R12283 CAE-D
2	2	By: Ramos H.B. No. 2954
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to school district grace period policies and the provision
8	8	of meals to public school students with insufficient balances on
9	9	prepaid meal cards or in meal accounts.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 33.908, Education Code, is amended to
12	12	read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 33.908. GRACE PERIOD POLICY FOR EXHAUSTED OR
14	14	INSUFFICIENT MEAL CARD OR ACCOUNT BALANCE. (a) In this section,
15	15	"regular meal" means a meal for which a school district ordinarily
16	16	receives reimbursement under the national free or reduced-price
17	17	lunch program established under 42 U.S.C. Section 1751 et seq.
18	18	(b) The board of trustees of a school district that allows
19	19	students to use a prepaid meal card or account to purchase meals
20	20	served at schools in the district shall adopt a grace period policy
21	21	regarding the use of the cards or accounts. The policy:
22	22	(1) must allow a student whose meal card or account
23	23	balance is exhausted or insufficient to continue, for a grace
24	24	period determined by the board of at least two weeks, to purchase
25	25	regular meals by:
26	26	(A) accumulating a negative balance on the
27	27	student's card or account; or
28	28	(B) otherwise receiving an extension of credit
29	29	from the district;
30	30	(2) must require the district to make at least three
31	31	attempts by telephone or electronic mail during each week of the
32	32	grace period to privately:
33	33	(A) notify the parent of or person standing in
34	34	parental relation to the student that the student's meal card or
35	35	account balance is exhausted;
36	36	(B) make arrangements with the parent or other
37	37	person for payment of negative balances or amounts otherwise due,
38	38	including through use of a payment plan; and
39	39	(C) assist the parent or other person in
40	40	completing an application on behalf of the student for free or
41	41	reduced-price meals, if it is determined that the student may be
42	42	eligible for free or reduced-price meals;
43	43	(3) must require the district to send home with the
44	44	student in an unmarked white envelope a written notice of a negative
45	45	balance or other amount due and an application for free or
46	46	reduced-price meals;
47	47	(4) may not permit the district to charge a fee or
48	48	interest in connection with meals purchased under Subdivision (1);
49	49	and
50	50	(5) [(4)] may permit the district to set a schedule
51	51	for repayment on the account balance or other amount due if the
52	52	district is unable to set a repayment schedule by agreement through
53	53	efforts required under Subdivision (2) [as part of the notice to the
54	54	parent or person standing in parental relation to the student].
55	55	(c) After expiration of the grace period, the school
56	56	district may:
57	57	(1) permit the student to continue to purchase regular
58	58	meals in the manner described by Subsection (b)(1); or
59	59	(2) provide the student with alternative meals at no
60	60	cost.
61	61	(d) A school district that elects to provide alternative
62	62	meals must:
63	63	(1) privately notify the student's parent or person
64	64	standing in parental relation to the student of the district's
65	65	action; and
66	66	(2) provide those meals through the same serving line
67	67	as regular meals.
68	68	(e) If a school district provides regular meals to a student
69	69	under Subsection (c)(1) and is unable at the end of the school year
70	70	to obtain payment for the meals from the student's parent or person
71	71	standing in parental relation to the student, the district may pay
72	72	the negative balance on the student's meal card or account using
73	73	private donations solicited by the district from individuals and
74	74	entities for that purpose and maintained in a separate district
75	75	account. The amount of any private donations received under this
76	76	subsection is in addition to any reimbursement to which the
77	77	district is entitled under federal law.
78	78	(f) A school district may not publicly identify a student
79	79	with a negative balance on a meal card or account and must implement
80	80	any action authorized under this section in a manner that does not
81	81	stigmatize a student or cause embarrassment. The district's policy
82	82	must identify the manner in which the district will prevent
83	83	stigmatizing a student or causing embarrassment.
84	84	SECTION 2. This Act applies beginning with the 2019-2020
85	85	school year.
86	86	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
87	87	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
88	88	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
89	89	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
90	90	Act takes effect September 1, 2019.