{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.smith.senate.gov/senator-smith-and-representative-omar-reintroduce-no-shame-at-school-act/", "Senator Smith and Representative Omar Reintroduce No Shame at School Act", "2024-09-26", "2024", "2024-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "MN", "Tina Smith", "S001203", "www.smith.senate.gov", "tinasmith", "https://www.smith.senate.gov/media/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON\u2013 Today, U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) and U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) announced the reintroduction of the No Shame at School Act, a bill aimed at ending lunch shaming practices in schools nationwide.\n\nThe No Shame at School Act would prohibit school districts from publicly identifying or shaming students who are unable to pay for school meals. It also bans schools from hiring debt collectors to recover unpaid school meal debt.The legislation requires schools to attempt to directly certify children with unpaid meal debt for free or reduced-price meals and allows schools to be retroactively reimbursed for meals served to these children.\n\n\u201cNo child should have to go through the experience of being shamed at school for an unpaid lunch bill,\u201d said Senator Smith. \u201cI\u2019m so proud of the work Minnesota has done to address this issue through universal school lunches, but there are too many places around the country where we still see this happening. We need to set our children up for success in school, and making sure kids get the school lunches they need without being made to feel ashamed or embarrassed is an important part of that success.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn Minnesota, we have already implemented universal school meals and are leading the charge to remove school lunch shaming,\u201d said Rep. Omar, a member of the Committee on Education and Workforce. \u201cIt\u2019s time for the rest of the nation to follow suit. Every child deserves to learn and grow without the pangs of hunger or the fear of being singled out for their family\u2019s financial circumstances.\u201d\n\n\u201cI\u2019m proud to support Congresswoman Omar\u2019s and Senator Smith\u2019s No Shame at School Act,\u201d said Valerie Castile. \u201cMy son Philando was a school supervisor at Robbinsdale Cooper High School in New Hope. He knew all of the children he served by name and routinely paid for students\u2019 lunches from his own pocket if they did not have enough money. No child should be deprived of a healthy meal because their family can\u2019t afford it. Congresswoman Omar\u2019s leadership in the fight against child hunger, including her work on the Education and Labor Committee, ensures our community has a voice on these critical issues.\u201d\n\nThe bill comes at a time when many families are already struggling with rising costs of living expenses and many schools across the country have singled out students for not being able to pay for their school lunch. By addressing the issue of school meal debt, the No Shame at School Act aims to alleviate financial pressure on families while ensuring that all students have equal access to nutritious meals during the school day.\n\nCurrent co-sponsors in the House include Nanette Barragan, Sanford Bishop, Jamaal Bowman, Julia Brownley, Andre Carson, Troy Carter, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Yvette D. Clarke, Lou Correa, Danny K. Davis, Adriano Espaillat, Jahana Hayes, Jonathan Jackson, Sara Jacobs, Pramila Jayapal, Henry C. \u201cHank\u201d Johnson, Robin Kelly, Ro Khanna, Barbara Lee, Jenn McClellan, James McGovern, Gwen Moore, Grace Napolitano, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Scott Peters, Chellie Pingree, Mark Pocan, Ayanna Pressley, Linda Sanchez, Jan Schakowsky, Melanie Stansbury, Mark Takano, Rashida Tlaib, Nydia Velazquez, Susan Wild, and Nikema Williams.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:46:43Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.smith.senate.gov/senator-smith-and-representative-omar-reintroduce-no-shame-at-school-act/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4866627752780914, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}