LINCOLN- As the federal government waivers that made school lunches free during the COVID pandemic end, unpaid meal debt in Nebraska has skyrocketed from $2.8 million in 2020 to $14.8 million in 2022. However, many of those who find themselves in debt are from families just outside the threshold to qualify for free and reduced lunches.

To recoup losses, school districts across the state have used a wide variety of strategies, including turning families over to debt collection agencies. In response to this, Sen. Danielle Conrad introduced LB855, which would prohibit school districts from using such agencies to pursue unpaid meal debt, and from charging interest, assessing fees, or placing any other penalties on those families.

"I just think it's wrong from a moral perspective," Conrad told the Legislature's Education Committee on Tuesday. "It stays on their credit report, it impacts their ability to rent, it impacts their ability to pursue other productive areas in their lives," continued Conrad, "and it really spirals and spirals and spirals and spirals."

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