MEAL CHARGE POLICY 

Policy: Policy for Allowable Meal Charges and students with Insufficient Funds for School Meals and  Delinquent Accounts in the School Nutrition Program (aka Meal Charge Policy) 

Regulations: 2 CFR, Part 200, Section 143 of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. 

The Dinwiddie County Public School System is committed to providing school environments that  promote and protect children’s health, well-being, and ability to learn by supporting healthy eating and  physical activity. 

The National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs are integral in ensuring that students have  access to nutritious meals to support their academic success. It is also imperative to protect the financial  stability of the school nutrition program. 

The intent of this policy is to establish a process and procedure to handle situations when children  eligible for reduced-price or full-price meal benefits have insufficient funds to pay for school meals, as  well as for the collection of unpaid meal charges and delinquent account debt. 

Therefore, it is the policy of the Dinwiddie County Public Schools that: 

Meal Charges

DCPS currently participates in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) where all students  enrolled receive a reimbursable breakfast and lunch at no cost. 

K-12 Payment (https://www.k12paymentcenter.com/) is the current system available for online  services for parents/guardians to monitor and manage accounts. This service is voluntary and  free; however, there is a service charge from the provider when money transactions are  performed. Parents/guardians are encouraged to pre-pay for a la carte items to help ensure  children have consistent access to healthy snacks without accruing unpaid meal charges. 

Parents/guardians that do not wish to participate in the “meal charge” will need to contact the  School Nutrition Office at 804-469-4190 and request “no charge” to be placed on the student’s  account. “No charge, cash only” will prevent the student from charging any meals and will only  allow the student to pay cash at the appropriate rate for a meal. 

Monies that are placed on a student account are non-refundable unless the student is leaving  the school district or upon graduation. Requests for refunds must be in writing and contain a  mailing address. Please allow four to six weeks for processing. 

Balances, positive and negative, will be maintained from each school year to the next.

Required Updates to Meal Charge Policy – Code of Virginia 22.1-79.1 states: 

Prohibit school board employees from requiring a student who cannot pay for a meal at a school  or who owes a school debt to do chores or other work to pay for such meals or wear a  wristband or hand stamp.

Require school board employees to direct any communication relating to a school meal debt to  the student’s parent. Such a policy may permit such communication to be made by a letter  addressed to the parent to be sent home with the student. 

Prohibit the board from filing a lawsuit against the student or the student’s parent because the  student cannot pay for a meal at school or owes a school meal debt. 

Prohibit the board from denying a student the opportunity to participate in any extracurricular  activity because the student cannot pay for a meal at school or owes a school meal debt. 

Communication

The written meal charge policy will be posted on the Dinwiddie County Public School division website. Meal Charge Notification and Collection

Funds can be placed on a student’s account for a la carte items.  

The School Nutrition Office will notify households of negative balances of more than -$10.00 via  letter or phone call. Notifications will include the amount of unpaid meal charges, payment  options, and contact information for questions or assistance. 

Parents/guardians with questions or needing assistance may contact the school office where  their student attends or the: 

Dinwiddie County School Nutrition Office 

P.O. Box 7 

14016 Boydton Plank Road 

Dinwiddie, VA 23841 

Phone: 804-469-4190 

Parents/guardians are expected to satisfy all delinquent debt within the same year in which it  occurred. Delinquent debt that remains unpaid at the end of the year may be deemed  uncollectable. When a delinquent debt has been deemed uncollectable by the School Nutrition  Office, a letter of adverse action and collections procedures may be initiated. 

DINWIDDIE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS