1)     The  Marcus Whitman Central School District and  its  designated officials  will take action necessary to ensure that the names of students eligible to receive free/reduced price meals shall not be published, posted, or announced in any manner and that there shall be no overt identification of any such students by use of special tokens or tickets, or by any other means. Further assurance is given that students eligible for free/reduced price meals shall not be required to:

a.       Work for their meals.

b.      Use a separate lunch room.

c.       Go through a separate serving line.

d.       Enter the lunch room through a separate entrance. e.   Eat meals at a different time.

f.       Eat a different meal from the meal sold to students paying the full price of such a meal.

2)     The Marcus Whitman Central School District will use a fair hearing procedure in cases of appeal by parents/guardians of the school's decision on applications. If a challenge to correctness of information contained in an application or to the continued eligibility of any student for a free/reduced price meal is made on the part of the School District, the students shall be provided a free/reduced price meal until a final determination is made.

Appeal of a Denial of Eligibility or a Challenge to Continued Eligibility

In the event of an appeal of a denial of eligibility or a challenge to  a student's continued eligibility, the following will apply:

1)      The applicant or school official may notify the hearing official (herein the Superintendent of Schools) by calling or writing to make a request for a hearing;

2)      Upon request the applicant shall be assisted or represented by an attorney or other person of their choice in presenting its appeal;

3)      The litigants shall have an opportunity to examine, prior to and during the hearing the documents and records presented to support the decision under appeal;

4)     The hearing shall be held with reasonable promptness and convenience to the family and adequate notice shall be given to the family as to the time and place of hearing;

5)    The litigants shall have an opportunity to present oral or documentary evidence and arguments supporting its position without undue interference;

6)     The  litigants shall  have an  opportunity to  question or  refute any  testimony or  other evidence and to confront and cross-examine any adverse witnesses;

7)     The hearing shall be conducted and the decision made by a hearing official who did not participate in making the decision under appeal;

8)     The decision of the hearing official shall be based only on the oral and documentary evidence presented at the hearing and made a part of the hearing record;

9)     The family and any designated representative shall be notified in writing of the decision of the hearing official;

10)   A written record shall be prepared with respect to each hearing which shall include the decision under appeal, any documentary evidence and a summary of any oral testimony presented at  the  hearing,  the  decision  of  the  hearing  official,  including  the  reasons therefore, and a copy of the notification to the family of the decision of the hearing official; and

11)  Any written record of each hearing shall be preserved for a period of three (3) years and shall be available for examination by the family or its representative at any reasonable time and place during such period.

If a challenge to correctness of information contained in an application or to the continued eligibility of any child for a free meal is made on the part of the School District, the children shall be provided free lunches until a final determination is made.

Collection Procedure

In making collections from students who pay for their meals, and in accounting for the number of free/reduced price meals served, the methods used will be such that no other student in the school will be made aware, by the procedure, of the identity of the students receiving free or reduced price meals.

Provisions for Transfer

If a student transfers from one school building to another within the Marcus Whitman Central School District, his/her eligibility for a free/reduced price meal will be transferred to and honored by the receiving school.

Records

The District will maintain a file of the following records for three (3) years plus the current year after the end of the fiscal year to which they pertain:

1)      All applications and Direct Certification letters returned and documentation of action taken.

2)       Records of all appeals and challenges and their disposition.

3)       All notifications of eligibility determinations, including benefit rejection letters.

4)      Records of all verification efforts and resulting eligibility changes.