School policies and practices that can stigmatize and harm disadvantaged students – whether in the classroom or the lunchroom – are examined in the new issue of Teaching Tolerance magazine, released today by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The cover story of the Fall 2014 issue, “Lunch Lines,” explores cafeteria practices that stigmatize low-income students receiving free or reduced-price lunch. The article highlights the results of a groundbreaking study in San Francisco that drew national attention to the practice of having separate lunch lines for students who pay and those who get subsidized lunches.

“We rarely intend to hurt our students and families living in poverty,” said Teaching Tolerance Director Maureen Costello. “But too many school policies have exactly that impact, and they make it harder to ensure that every child has an equal opportunity to learn, to graduate and to succeed.”

As the cover story demonstrates...

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