8520 Free and Reduced Price Food Svcs
FREE AND REDUCED PRICE FOOD SERVICES
The Board of Education recognizes that the nutrition of district students is an important factor in their educational progress. The Board therefore shall participate in federally funded school lunch programs, and shall provide free or reduced price food services to qualified district students.
Availability, Application & Notification
Notice of the availability of the free [and reduced price] meal programs will be sent to the homes of students, local media, the local unemployment office and large employers experiencing layoffs in the area from which the district draws its attendance. Any child who is a member of a family unit whose income is below the federally established scale shall be eligible to receive such services.
To apply for the free [or reduced price] meal program:
- Application forms will be available in the main office of each school building and on the district web site and can be completed and submitted at any time during the year.
- Completed forms must be submitted to the District Certification Official prior to any determination of eligibility.
- The parent or guardian will be informed of the District Certification Official’s determination within one week of receiving a properly completed application.
Applications will be kept confidential.
Provision for Appeal
Upon written request, the District Hearing Official will hear appeals of determinations regarding such services in compliance with federal regulations governing the National School Lunch Program.
In addition, in order to reach students who are eligible for free and reduced price meals and to comply with state law, three times per school year, the District Certification Official will review the list made available by the State Education Department of children ages three to 18 who are in households receiving federal food assistance, Medicaid benefits (for certain recipients), or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) to identify students within the district. The district will send a notice to those families apprising them of their student’s eligibility to participate in the school meal programs without further application. Parents may decline participation by informing the district in writing. If the service is declined, the student will be removed from the eligibility list.
Children in Head Start, or who have been determined to be homeless, migrant or runaway, or in foster care can be directly certified to participate in the district free and reduced price meal program.
The Building Principal, in conjunction with the school lunch manager, will establish meal time procedures that both protect the anonymity of the student and allow for proper accounting.
Cross-ref: 8505 Charging School Meals and Prohibition Against Shaming
Ref: National School Lunch Act of 1946, as amended (42 USC 1751-1760) Child Nutrition Act of 1966, Public Law 89-642, 80 Stat. 885, as amended
7 CFR Part 245 (245.2, Definitions; 245.5, public announcement; 245.6, categorical eligibility and direct certification/verification.)
Social Services Law §95(7)
U.S. Department of Education guidance document, The Community Eligibility Provision and Selected Requirements Under Title I, January 2014, www.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/13- 0381guidance.doc.
Adoption date: November 22, 1993
Revised: January 22, 2013
Revised: August 28, 2018
Reviewed: October 29, 2019