New Mexico’s First-of-its-kind Legislation Addresses Unpaid School Meal Fees in Effort to Create Hunger-Free Schools

Santa Fe, N.M., March 20, 2017 — New Mexico could become the first state in the nation to pass legislation that protects children from punishment in the school cafeteria because their family has not paid their school meal debt. The bill draws a line in the sand between the student and the unpaid school meal fees that their parents or guardians owe, oftentimes because they cannot afford to pay on time.