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Adoption Date: 9/1/2012Regulations - Regulations
5660R FREE AND REDUCED PRICE MEAL PROGRAM
In fulfilling its responsibilities under the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs, the
Marcus Whitman Central School District agrees to:
1) Serve meals free to any student who has submitted an approved application and is a member of a family which has an annual income below the applicable family size income level adopted by the School District, as prescribed by the New York State Education Department or to any student has been identified using the electronic direct certification matching of students receiving SNAP!TANF on the NYS Education Department Child Nutrition Knowledge Center website.
2) Prohibit the physical segregation of, or any other discrimination against, any student because of his/her inability to pay the full price of meals.
3) Follow the hearing procedure outlined in District regulations for the appeal of decisions regarding eligibility.
The Marcus Whitman Central School District assures the New York State Education Department Child Nutrition Program Administration that the School District will uniformly implement the following regulation with respect to determining the eligibility of students for free meals in all National School Lunch and Breakfast Program participating schools under its jurisdiction.
Designated Officials
The District will designate a Reviewing Official, Hearing Official and Verification Official for the Child Nutrition Program as specified in the Certification of Acceptance submitted to the New York State Education Department. The Reviewing Official will be the School Lunch Director who will determine which students are eligible for free/reduced meals or milk. The Hearing Officer may not be the same person as the Reviewing and/or Verification Officer.
Criteria for Determining Eligibility
The Marcus Whitman Central School District will use the Federal Income Eligibility Guidelines for determining eligibility for free and/or reduced price meals. The only specific criteria to be used will be gross family income and the number of individuals in the family, and will be uniformly applied by all National School Lunch and Breakfast Program participating schools under the jurisdiction of the School District. Criteria also includes families enrolled in the Food Stamp program and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). The scale based on the above criteria may be changed from year to year by the New York State Education Department in accordance with the annual United States Secretary of Agriculture's guidelines. Any change in the scales will be submitted to each School District by the New York State Education Department for their adoption. Districts may request changes in the prototype letter prior to printing through their regional office, if necessary.
Once approved for free/reduced price benefits, a household will remain eligible through September
30 of the next school year or when a new eligibility determination is made in the new school year whichever comes first.
EligibilityProcess
The online Direct Certification Matching Process (DCMP) offered by NYSED must be used by school officials to determine eligibility for free/reduced meals and milk. DCMP is a dataset of those children and families already enrolled in the Food Stamp program and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). Students enrolled in these programs are automatically qualified for free/reduced meals and milk.
1) The online dataset provides confidential information to approved District officials, which includes:
case name, student's full name, date of birth, age, and address (street, city, state and zip).
2) The online process allows users to search by a number of variables to insure that as many students as possible are enrolled. School staff are advised to keep a record of the zip codes within their school district to use during the certification process.
3) Schools will need to carefully review the data to ensure they capture children whose names are spelled differently, have moved, use nicknames, or have siblings with different last names.
4) District users must certify that this direct certification data will remain confidential, in compliance with federal disclosure requirements. Districts that use software to assist in the match or as part of their meal charge program must insure that the student data is not available to vendors, IT staff or any others not authorized to view the confidential records.
5) The DCMP process must be completed three (3) times per school year in August, November and February.
6) Schools must send a letter to households of directly certified students, notifying them of their children's free eligibility status. Parents can opt out of the free lunch program if they choose, by responding to the notification letter. Parents can also use the letter to notify the District of other children in the family who may have been missed in the certification process.
7) Once a student is certified, they retain their eligibility for the school year.
Public Announcement
Letter to Parents/Guardians
The Marcus Whitman Central School District will announce this policy on or about the beginning of each school year,and during the school year if there is a change in the policy, by transmitting the reduced price income scale, parent letter, and application to all parents/guardians. Any parent/guardian enrolling a student in a school for the first time at any time during the school year shall be supplied with such documents. This letter and subsequent information provided to parents will be clear and understandable,and to the maximum extent practicable, provided in a language the parents can understand.
Public Release
On or about the beginning of each school year, and during the school year if there is a change in the policy,a public release containing the same information supplied to parents/guardians as well as the free eligibility criteria will be made available to the local news media, the local unemployment office, and any major employers contemplating large layoffs in the areas from which the school draws its attendance. Documentation must be kept with the policy booklet for three years plus the current year identifying where the public release was sent. Copies of this policy may be obtained by any interested party at the District Office.
Application Procedure
1) At the beginning of each school year the Marcus Whitman Central School District will send a letter to the parents/guardians of each student, together with a Family Income Scale and a form on which to make application for consideration of eligibility of their children for free/reduced price meals.
2) Parents/guardians will be required to complete the application and return the form for review. Only one "household" application is required for all children in the household attending schools in the District. Families may instead provide a "Direct Certification" letter from the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA). Such applications and records of action taken will be maintained by the School District. Upon approval or disapproval, notification will be given to the parent/guardianor student.
3) In certain circumstances where households obviously at an economic disadvantage have failed to apply for free/reduced price meals for their students, the District will use the administrative prerogative to complete the application for the student. This judgmental option acknowledges that families may fail to apply due to lack of understanding, fear of authority, alien status, substance abuse, etc. The application will be completed based upon the best information available regarding family size and income and will be excluded from the verification process. However, exhaustive prior efforts to obtain a completed application from the parent/guardian must be made and documented.
This option will be used judiciously on an individual basis and not to provide eligibility determinations for large numbers of students. Refer to questions and answers on Administrative Prerogative in the NYS Education Department Free and Reduced Price Income Eligibility and Policy Information Booklet.
4) For homeless children for whom an application is not filed nor anticipated to be filed:
a. The director of the homeless shelter at which the child resides can complete and submit the application·
b. The District's homeless liaison may complete the application and approve the child for free meals based solely on his/her knowledge that the child is homeless; or
c. If large numbers of homeless children make it impractical to complete individual applications, the District may establish a list of eligible students based upon knowledge of the family's residence (shelter, car, etc.) with at minimum the following information:
(1) Child's name;
(2) Effective date of eligibility determination;
(3) Name of shelter, etc. where child resides;
(4) Signature of determining official; and
(5) Date of withdrawal from the shelter, school or program.
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