Parents in a Pennsylvania school district are no longer being threatened with losing custody of their children if they don't pay their school lunch debt.
A letter was sent to parents in Wyoming Valley West, near Wilkes-Barre.
It said the district will take them to court for failing to provide food for their children.
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Luzerne County officials insisted the district "cease and desist from making the representations" about placing their children in foster care, according to The Citizens Voice.
The district will send letters apologizing to parents, the newspaper reported, and future letters will threaten to send their kids to foster care.
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"Hopefully that gets their attention and it certainly did, didn't it? I mean if you think about it you're here this morning because some parent's crying foul over he or she doesn't want to pay a debt. A debt attributable to feeding their kids. How shameful!" said Charles Coslett, the district's solicitor.
The district is owed more than $20,000 by about a thousand families.
Legal experts said the letter was legal, but the chances of a child being taken away are slim.