Some state lawmakers are working to make sure no child is left unfed on the school lunch line, even if parents or guardians haven't paid the bill.
Tuesday, the legislature's Committee on Children held a public hearing on the plan, which would prevent school districts from "lunch shaming" children in front of their peers.
When a child's lunch fund reaches a low balance, kids would be served anyway.
State Rep. Liz Linehan (D/Cheshire) is co-chair of the committee. She says most incidents of "lunch shaming" are happening in the suburbs, a symptom of middle class struggles. "We're actually talking about a small subset of people-- the middle class," says Linehan, "(which is) is being squeezed and pinched more and more."
Key language of the bill (RB 89) in its current form reads:
Steven Hernandez, Executive Director of the General Assembly's Commission on Women, Children and Seniors says it's a matter of fairness: "It's antithetical to our goal to educate all children if any child is shamed because they're poor."
Hernandez adds that "lunch shaming" by adults over the matter of a few dollars gives many classmates an uneeded opportunity to tease or bully.
"Children are masterful at identifying difference," says Hernandez. "It is the role of adults to ensure there isn't shame identified with that difference."