Procedures for Serving Students with Insufficient, Delinquent, or Negative Meal Account Balances

1. The Nutrition Department staff will exercise sensitivity and confidentiality in serving students with insufficient or negative meal accounts. No District employee will subject a student to embarrassment or ridicule based on the balance in his or her meal accounts.
2. If a student’s meal account is inadequate to pay for a meal, the school will provide a full meal to the student, and parents will be notified that the school may use collection efforts to pay for the provided meals.

Identification and Notification of Delinquent Accounts for all CSD Students (K-12).

1. CSD Schools will identify student accounts that do not have an adequate balance to pay for student meals.
   1. When a student’s meal account balance indicates a negative balance (less than $0.00), the parent or legal guardian will receive an automated telephonic notice of the negative account balance.
      1. The telephonic notice will inform the parent/legal guardian of the negative account balance and inform them how to replenish the account and contact the school or nutrition department for more information.
      2. The telephonic notice will continue until the account is replenished and
         there is a positive balance in the account.
   2. If a student’s meal account balance shows a debt of ten dollars ($10.00) or more in the negative, the parent or legal guardian will receive an automated telephonic notice and a written notice (e.g., letter, e-mail, text message) from the nutrition department.
      1. The written notice will inform parents of the negative account balance and provide information to bring the account current.
   3. If a student’s account balance shows a debt of thirty dollars or more ($30.00) in the negative, the parent or legal guardian will be contacted by the principal (elementary schools) or assistant administrator (secondary schools) or designated school staff as appropriate.
      1. The contact shall include information regarding the negative account balance and notification that the District may employ collection efforts if the debt is not paid by a specified date.
   4. Prior to sending any delinquent accounts to collections, a parent/legal guardian will receive a final notice.
2. All communication about payments and negative account balances should be directed to parents. No district employee will ask students for meal payments nor ask them to remind their parents to send money for meal accounts.
3. If a student repeatedly has no money in his or her meal account, and no meals are sent from home for the students, school administrators will consider the circumstances in the home, and may contact the district’s responsive services and/or child protective services.
4. Parents are responsible for all collection fees attributable to the district’s reasonable efforts to collect overdue meal accounts, including any fees associated with the use of a collection agency.

Collection Procedure for Delinquent Accounts: Delinquent versus Bad-Debt

1. Delinquent debt is the sum total of student unpaid meal account balances up to June 30 of the current year.
2. Bad Debt is unpaid meal account balances on July 1 of the new fiscal year.
3. On July 1 delinquent debt becomes bad debt. The school service account will be made whole through a payment from the school’s general fund no later than 60 days after closing the fiscal year.