FAYETTEVILLE — Pay for it now, not later.
Some schools have stopped allowing students to get a meal and pay for it later when their lunch balances get too low, citing regulations in the Federal Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act of 2007.
Belinda Burgess, food service director at Prairie Grove, said she learned about the regulation this summer.
"It was brought to ourattention in August," she said.
Under the law and an accompanying regulation that went into effect in May, schools could potentially get classified as "creditors" if they allow this practice and let a student buy a meal on credit. This could, in effect, make them subject to certain regulations that apply to creditors.
"We'd have to implement an identity theft protection program," Burgess said.
The change does not mean that a child will do without food and go hungry if the account balance runs too low, she said. Prairie Grove has set up a system so students who do not have payment can get a sack lunch instead of the regular meal.
Some schools give the student a cheese sandwich or peanut butter sandwich if they do not have any funds available to buy the meal.
The Arkansas School Board Association also developed a model policy for districts to adopt, Policy 7.17, suggesting schools do not allow students to buy meals on credit.
The Huntsville School District amended its policy this summer in conjunction with the association's model policy, Superintendent ShelbySisemore said. The district does not serve a child a different type of meal, though, if they fall low on funds.
"Every kid eats," he said.
Huntsville is still small enough, he said, that they can keep track of who has paid in and not let declining balances get out of control.
Many times being low on funds is due to an oversight, Sisemore noted. Students from low-income families can qualify for the federal free and reduced lunch program, which enables them to eat for free or at a lower cost than the regular meal price.
Fayetteville Food Service Director Lisa Jenkins said she wasn't familiar with the federal law. The district's practice has been to let principals handle things as they see fit when it comes to charging for meals or giving a cheese sandwich as a substitute meal.
"Most districts have a districtwide policy, but we found it helps to do it on a by-the-school basis," she said.
The most important thing is that the student accounts are not in the red at the end of the year, Jenkins said.
Prairie Grove and several other districts have now set it up to where parents can check their child's lunch account balances online, Burgess said. This could help parents keep better track of how much money they have, she said.
News, Pages 1, 3 on 09/29/2009