Wisconsin lawmakers introduced bill to prevent "lunch shaming"

MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A bill introduced by lawmakers aims to prevent lunch shaming in Wisconsin schools when students aren't able to afford their food. 

The issue was put in the National Spotlight after a Rhode Island school district implemented a policy to issue only cold meals to students with lunch debt in their accounts. 

That district has since reversed its police following the backlash. 

the bill from Wisconsin lawmakers would prevent school districts from dumping students' lunches or requiring them to work if their account payments are in debt. 

Districts would only be allowed to talk to parents, not students about lunch debt. 

Representative LaKeshia Myers of Milwaukee, a co-sponsor of the bill, says Milwaukee Public Schools have free breakfast and lunch so students don't face the risk of lunch shaming. 

She says it has a big impact and hopes the rest of the state can benefit from that. 

"it is across the state, in more rural and outlying areas, so I would hope that some of those school leaders would be able to work with the superintendent of MPS to find out more about grant programming or grant writing that they could do to erase the burden on families that are in those areas so that maybe their student population will not have to deal with not having breakfast and lunch," Rep. Myers (D) Milwaukee said. 

The bill does not create funding for school districts to address the issue, but the authors of the bill say it does allow more flexibility for districts to raise funds from outside sources.