By RICHARD ANDERSON
New York State Senator Jeff Klein announced on Thursday that he would soon introduce legislation to create a grading system for school cafeteria cleanliness, citing inspections that found “stomach-turning” conditions.
The legislation comes as result of an investigation secret inspections were conducted by the city Department of Health that found the number of violations increased by 17 percent from fiscal year 2013-2014 to fiscal year 2015-2016. In the findings lunch inspectors gave out 442 violations for mice related activity at 320 different school cafeterias. In one instance inspectors found 400 mice droppings at one visit to Sixth Avenue Elementary School in Manhattan, Klein said in a press conference
The legislation announced by Senator Klein and the Independent Democratic Conference would have school cafeterias graded A through C based on the cleanliness. From the findings 31 school’s cafeterias would have received C’s which is a failing grade. Senator Klein also wrote the law that grades restaurants in New York City.
“It seems a little bit odd that if we have grading systems for restaurants to protect the public, its common sense that we have a grading system for our school’s cafeterias” Parents Union President Mona Davids said.
“I believe it’s just as important that the young people especially the parents who bring their young people to school, know how clean or how dirty their school lunch cafeteria is” Senator Klein said.
Schools that fail to improve their grades won’t be penalized with the legislation but encouraged to clean up their act. “I think it forces the cafeteria to clean up their act I don’t think there any excuse to have a C at a cafeteria,” Davids said.
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