Parents and students of the Stanely Boyd School District in Stanely, Wisc., say staff members have been taking meals from students and throwing them in the trash after citing unpaid lunch account balances. Per one account, the principal of the high school confiscated lunch from a special needs student and threw it away without providing any form of alternative, despite the district superintendent's promise that such things do not happen.
This kind of shaming and starving students whose parents can't afford their lunches is sick. No child deserves that. Sign on to tell Wisconsin to protect students from this abuse!
Such practices are not new to schools in the United States. Not long ago, controversies surrounding taking lunches, publicly humiliating students and even handcuffing them over lunch account balances drew national ire. Accounts came from states including Alabama, Washington, Texas, Virgina and Georgia.
Fortunately, lawmakers in New Mexico became the first state last year to pass a bill banning lunch shaming in schools, clearly laying out how students' meal accounts should be handled. Similar legislation is in the works in Texas, California and Washington.
Now it is Wisconsin's turn. New Mexico's Hunger-Free Students' Bill of Rights, law as of 2017, provides a straight-forward and common sense model for dealing with lunch shaming. Indeed, lawmakers would be wise to lift the language from that bill for Wisconsin's use.
Tell Wisconsin's political leaders that it is time that action be taken on this issue by adding your name to this petition; please remember to also share it with friends, family and on social media for maximum exposure!
