PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - A South Dakota Senate committee has shelved a bill to ban public and private schools from throwing away school meals if students don’t have money to pay for them.
The Argus Leader reports the Senate Education Committee voted 4-3 Tuesday to reject the measure. Democratic Sen. Troy Heinert, the sponsor, says lawmakers have a responsibility to make sure students don’t go through “lunch shaming” at school.
The bill would have prohibited schools from requiring students unable to pay to throw out meals after they’re served. It would have also blocked schools from requiring students to wear a wristband or handstamp or do chores to pay for meals.
School nutritionists from Brandon, Brookings and Yankton opposed the bill, saying schools already work to prevent embarrassing situations.
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Information from: Argus Leader, http://www.argusleader.com
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