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<law><site_title>Virginia Decoded</site_title><site_url>https://vacode.org</site_url><law_id>354997</law_id><section_number>22.1-79.7:1</section_number><catch_line>School meals; availability to students</catch_line><edition url="https://vacode.org/2026/" slug="2026" current="TRUE" last_updated="2026-08-02">2026</edition><structure><unit label="title" level="1" order_by="60" identifier="22.1">Education</unit><unit label="chapter" level="2" order_by="8" identifier="7">General Powers and Duties of School Boards</unit></structure><text>
						<section id="A"><p><span class="prefix-number">A.</span> Each <span class="dictionary">school board</span> shall require each public <span class="dictionary">elementary</span> and secondary school in the local school division to participate in the federal National School Lunch Program and the federal School Breakfast Program administered by the U.S. <span class="dictionary">Department</span> of Agriculture and to make lunch and breakfast available pursuant to such programs to any student who requests such a meal, regardless of whether such student has the money to pay for the meal or owes money for meals previously provided, unless the student&#x2019;s <span class="dictionary">parent</span> has provided written permission to the <span class="dictionary">school board</span> to withhold such a meal from the student. <a id="paragraph-1321871" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/22.1-79.7_1/#A"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section>
						<section id="B"><p><span class="prefix-number">B.</span> Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the ability of a <span class="dictionary">school board</span> to collect payment for meals provided pursuant to subsection A, provided, however, that no such <span class="dictionary">school board</span> shall utilize a nongovernmental third-<span class="dictionary">party</span> debt collector to collect on such debt. <a id="paragraph-1321872" class="section-permalink" href="https://vacode.org/22.1-79.7_1/#B"><i class="fa fa-link"/></a></p></section></text><history>2020, c. 683.</history><metadata></metadata></law>
