School district warns parents their kids could be put in foster care unless lunch debt paid

A Pennsylvania school district reportedly plans to send out another letter to parents after facing backlash for a message warning parents that their children could be recommended to be put in foster care if they didn’t pay their school lunch debt.

One copy of the initial letter, which has since been reposted on social media, shows the Wyoming Valley West School District informing parents of their student’s school lunch account balance of $75.25, adding that “multiple letters have been sent home with your child and no payments have been made to their account,” NBC affiliate WBRE reported.

“Your child has been sent to school every day without money and without a breakfast and/or lunch,” the July 9 letter reads. “This is a failure to provide your child with proper nutrition and you can be sent to Dependency Court for neglecting your child’s right to food.”{mosads}

“If you are taken to Dependency court, the result may be your child being removed from your home and placed in foster care,” the letter continues. “Please remit payment as soon as possible to avoid being reported to the proper authorities.”

The letter was signed by the district’s federal programs director, Joseph Muth. Muth did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill on Friday.

The district is trying to collect some $20,000 worth of unpaid lunch debt, according to WBRE, which reported that the district plans to send out a “softer” version of the letter to parents who haven’t paid their children’s lunch debts.

Joanne Van Saun, executive director of the county’s child and youth services, called the initial letter “disturbing,” telling WBRE that “never has this county removed a child from a home for unpaid bills and never will we.”

Luzerne County mailed a letter to the district on Thursday, calling on the school system to retract the initial message to parents, according to WBRE.

School districts have drawn national attention before over their approaches to collecting on lunch money debt.

In May, a school district in Rhode Island reversed its decision to limit school lunch choices for children who owe money on their accounts following national headlines.