H.R. 5655 — No Shame at School Act of 2025

This section amends provisions in sec. 9(b) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)) governing school meal reimbursements and unpaid fees as follows: (1) makes local educational agency certification mandatory (previously discretionary); (2) requires revision of previously submitted meal claims retroactively to the first day of the school year upon a child's eligibility approval for free or reduced-price meals; and (3) prohibits local educational agencies and school food authorities from stigmatizing covered children—defined as children enrolled in the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program who are in households owing unpaid school meal fees or eligible for free or reduced-price meals—through physical segregation, overt identification (e.g., via tokens, announcements, or lists), direct debt communications to children (except sealed letters to parents), withholding educational opportunities, employing debt collectors (as defined in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act), or discarding already-served food, while requiring agencies to attempt direct certification for free meals or encourage household applications.