New Illinois Law Prohibiting ‘Lunch Shaming’ Goes Into Effect
It's surprising it took so long for something like this to go into effect but better late than never.
Can you imagine how embarrassing it must be to not be able to afford lunch when every other kid at school can?
That's the issue that many kids are facing in today's schools. "Lunch shaming" policies like "throwing away the food a student cannot afford or forcing the student to put the food back." exist according to WSIL.
For a parent that can't afford to pay for their child's lunch every day, the burden has to be even worse when school cafeteria employees do this to their young children.
That's why this is such a big deal for parents and kids alike.
The Hunger-Free Students Bill of Rights Act will require every school in Illinois to provide lunch for every student regardless of whether or not they can pay for it.
If a student can't afford the lunch, the school will provide a meal. If a kid has more than five lunches not paid for, someone at the school will reach out to the parent to collect money or to offer an alternate meal plan.
The bill was filed by Illinois State Senator Steve Stadelman on January 30, 2018. Stadelman is based out of Rockford and has served in Springfield since 2013. School kids going hungry has been an ongoing topic in Rockford for many years, and you have to believe his Rockford ties led to this bill being introduced.
The bill was signed by Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner and immediately put into effect on Sunday, August 26.
Sweet Lenny is the brand manager of 97ZOK and Operations Manager for Townsquare Media Rockford. Catch him afternoons 3 to 7 on 97ZOK. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram and like his page on Facebook.