The school serves breakfast or breakfast and lunch through participation in the National Breakfast and School Lunch Program. Texas Department of Agriculture (“TDA”) and United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) guidelines are followed to meet the nutritional needs for all students.
Menus
Menus may be obtained at the school office.
State-Mandated Nutrition Guidelines
TDA policy places strict limits on any food or drink provided or sold to students, other than through the school’s Food and Nutrition Services. Elementary school students may not have access to candy or any other food of minimal nutritional value during the school day. Middle school and high school students also have restrictions during meal periods. The specific policy may be obtained at the school office or online at https://texasagriculture.gov/.
Free and Reduced-Cost Meals
The school sends applications for free or reduced cost meals to the student’s home at the beginning of each school year and throughout the remainder of the year. Applications must be complete, listing all members of the household and family income. Should the family income status change, assistance may be requested at any time during the school year. Only one application for each household is required. Completed applications should be returned to the school office.
Complaints regarding the Free and Reduced Price Meal Program
In accordance with federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, the school is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religious creed, sex, political beliefs, age, disability, national origin, or limited English proficiency. (Not all bases apply to all programs.) Reprisal is prohibited based on prior civil rights activity.
If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, which is available online at the following website: http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, or at any USDA office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of the information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter by mail to U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or email at program.intake@usada.gov. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339, or (800) 845-6136 (Spanish). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.
Meal Charge Policy
The goal of ResponsiveEd is to provide students with healthy meals each day. The purpose of this policy is to ensure compliance with federal reporting requirements for the USDA Child Nutrition Program, and to provide oversight and accountability for the collection of outstanding student meal balances as unpaid charges can place a large financial burden on our Child Nutrition Department and the District.
Policy
We strongly discourage meal charges, but we understand that an occasional emergency makes it necessary. If a student's account goes negative in balance, students are allowed to charge up to 3 reimbursable breakfasts and 3 reimbursable lunches. After the charging limit has been reached, a courtesy meal will be offered and charged to the student.
Any negative balance on the student’s cafeteria account is the responsibility of the parent/guardian. If a student’s meal account has a negative balance, parents/guardians will receive regular email notifications. Parents/guardians are able to set up further notifications and monitor balances in their Skyward Family Access account. If parents or guardians need assistance setting up their child's meal account, they can contact their student’s school.
If a student’s account is without money on a consistent basis, the administration will investigate the situation to determine if there is a financial hardship. Should a hardship exist, parents and families will be encouraged to apply for free or reduced-price meals for their child throughout the school year.
A La Carte (extras) such as snacks, beverages, second meals are available for purchase only. Students are not allowed to charge A La Carte items. Students are encouraged to pre-load money into their lunch accounts for convenience. Funds are required to "charge" these items to the student lunch account.
Note: On campuses that offer cooking on-site, the cost of the paid lunch price is naturally higher as it costs more to make from scratch on site. Meal costs are found posted in each lunchroom and should be in each Campus Handbook Supplement.
Lunch Application
Parents and families are encouraged to apply for free or reduced-price lunches for their child. Free and reduced-price lunch applications are available at the front desk or on Skyward Family Access.
Online Payment System
Skyward Family Access has a quick and easy payment system for your student’s meals and/or school fees. Parents can deposit to multiple students’ accounts with one single payment.
Parents/guardians are responsible for meal payments to the campus. Notices of low or deficit balances will be sent to parents/guardians at regular intervals during the school year.
All school cafeterias possess computerized point of sale/cash register systems that maintain records of all monies deposited and spent for each student and said records are available by setting up an account at Skyward Family Access.
Students/Parents/Guardians
Meals must be paid for in advance via Skyward Family Access. Funds should be maintained in accounts to minimize the possibility that a child may be without meal money on any given day. Any remaining funds for a particular student will be carried over to the next school year.
Refunds
For withdrawn, and/or graduating students, a written request for a refund of any funds remaining in the account must be submitted to the student’s school. An e-mail request is also acceptable. Students who are graduating at the end of the year will be given the option to transfer funds to a sibling’s account or donate the remaining funds to a student account in need with a written request.