My wife runs a school kitchen, a big school, 2k+ high schoolers and almost 20 staff. Collecting debt is part of her job. They never withhold a basic meal (no extras if they have unpaid debt) but that meal gets added to their debt.

They don’t threaten anything legal like in this story, but they will not give you your diploma or transfer your credits if you haven’t paid your debt in full. We’re in Ohio.