Meal Charge Policy
Purpose
The goal of the Newton County School District is to provide students with healthy meals each day. However, unpaid charges place a large financial burden on our Food Services Department. The purpose of this policy is to insure compliance with federal reporting requirements for the USDA Child Nutrition Program and to provide oversight and accountability for the collection of outstanding student meal balances.
The intent of this policy is to establish uniform meal account procedures throughout the Newton County School District. The provisions of this policy pertain to regular and reduced-price school lunch meals only. While the USDA Child Nutrition Program does not require that a student who pays for meals be served a meal without payment, the Newton County School District provides this policy as a courtesy to those students in the event that they forget or lose their lunch money.
Policy
Full Pay Students- Elementary, Middle and High School Students will pay for meals at the district's published standard rate each day 2.60 . A student will be allowed to charge a maximum of three (3) meals to their account after the balance reaches zero. Once a student has charged those three meals, he/she will not be allowed to charge al carte items, however, he/she will be offered a designated menu alternate. Sample: Ham and cheese sandwich, veggie sticks, fruit, and milk. This designated menu alternate will be charged to the child's meal account at the standard rate.
Free Meal Benefit- Free status children will be allowed to receive a free lunch each day. Al a carte items must be pre-paid.
Reduced Meal Benefit- Reduced-status children will be allowed to receive lunch for .40 each day. A student will be allowed to charge a maximum of nine (9) meals to their account after the balance reaches zero. Once a student has charged those three meals,
he/she will not be allowed to charge al a carte items, however, he/she will be offered a designated menu alternate. Sample: ham and cheese sandwich, veggie sticks, fruit and milk. This designated menu alternate will be charged to the child's meal account at a reduced rate.
Parents/Guardians are responsible for meal payment to the food service program. Notices of low or deficit balances will be sent to parents/guardians at regular intervals during the school year.
Non-Discrimination Statement
In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.
Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: U.S. Department of Agriculture USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form , from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:
mail:
S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
fax:
(833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
email:
intake@usda.gov
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
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