California Governor Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) has signed a new bill into law which essentially eliminates penalties for students and parents in public schools who have not paid meal fees, thus shifting all of the costs back onto the taxpayer, according to Fox News.
The new bill, S.B. 265, acts as an amendment to the 2017 Child Hunger Prevention and Fair Treatment Act, now requiring public schools to allow children to choose any meal they want at lunch time, even if they or their parents have failed to pay the school’s meal fees. Previously, a penalty for unpaid or late meal fees was that students were limited only to a select few types of meals at lunch.
Newsom said his rationale for signing the bill was anecdotal evidence regarding several kids who felt that they stood out from their classmates by being limited to a select few meals, claiming, without evidence, that this was indicative of a more widespread problem.
This new law is the latest in a series of proposals by far-left Democrats advocating for universal school lunches, which would similarly be funded by the taxpayers. Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) has vowed to implement “year-round, free universal school meals” if elected president. Far-left Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) had introduced the “No Shame at School Act” in June of this year, similarly making the dubious claim that “students are subjected to various shaming practices at schools” if they can’t pay for their lunch.