OPERATING SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAMS UNDER PROVISIONS 2 OR 3 OF THE NATIONAL SCHOOL LUNCH ACT
This letter will clarify the process to be used by local educational agencies (LEAs) in identifying students who are eligible for supplemental educational services (SES) under the No Child Left Behind Act. Eligible students are those attending schools in Years 2 through 5 of Program Improvement (PI) which implement Provision 2 or 3 alternative meal counting and claiming procedures in their school lunch programs.
Identifying Eligible Students for SES in PI Years 2-5 Schools that are Provision 2 and 3 Schools
LEA and school officials may consider all students in Provision 2 or 3 schools as low-income and thus eligible for SES. Provisions 2 and 3 of the Richard B. Russell Natibnal School Lunch Act (NSLA) requires schools to offer lunches to students at no charge, regardless of the students' economic status. Provision 2 or 3 schools certify students as eligible for free, reduced-price, or paid meals once every four years or longer under certain conditions. NSLA regulations prohibit schools that are designated as Provision 2 or 3 from collecting eligibility data and certifying students on an annual basis for other purposes after their base year. Thus, LEAs and schools may not collect eligibility data annually to certify students in Provision 2 or 3 schools as eligible for SES.
Identifying Low-income Students in PI Years 2-5 Schools That are Not Provision 2 or 3 Schools
All students from low-income families who attend PI schools in Years 2-5 are eligible for SES. To determine SES eligibility based on income, an LEA must determine family income based on the same poverty measure that was used to allocate Title I funds to schools. Most LEAs use federal school lunch eligibility data for that purpose. However, in identifying SES eligible students, the LEA must conform with the student privacy provisions of the NSLA.
Section 9 of the NSLA allows school officials responsible for determining free and reduced-price (F/RP) meal eligibility to disclose the names of eligible students to
persons directly connected with the administration or enforcement of specific federal or state education programs. Because Title I is a federal education program, federal law allows school lunch officials to disclose a student's school meal eligibility status to school or LEA officials who need to know it in order to administer the SES requirements.
California State law, Education Code (EC) Section 49558 also allows PI school officials responsible for determining F/RP meal eligibility to disclose the names of eligible students to persons responsible for determining SES eligible students. However, EC 49558 requires all LEAs to have a board policy in place that describes the F/RP meal eligibility disclosure process and name the persons/positions providing and receiving meal eligibility data prior to any disclosure. The policy must include the following:
• No indicators of meal eligibility may be kept with a student's permanent record .
• There must not be any public release of the data
• The shared meal eligibility data must be destroyed after its intended use
The disclosure of any other information beyond the name and eligibility status pertaining to a student or his/her family is not allowed by federal or State law. The confidentiality provisions of NSLA require LEAs and schools to establish procedures that limit access to a child's school meal eligibility status to as few individuals as possible. These provisions in EC 49558 are more restrictive than federal law and are listed above.
Federal policy recommends that school and LEA officials enter into a memorandum of understanding or other agreement prior to disclosing individual student school meal eligibility in which all involved parties agree as to who would have access, how the information would be used, and how the information would be protected from unauthorized uses. In addition, penalties should be identified for misuse or improper disclosure of the information. State law requires a school board policy as stated above.
Additional Information
If you have questions regarding SES student eligibility in Provision 2 and 3 schools, please review:
- Items F-4 through F-6 in the Supplemental Educatinal Services Non-Regulatory Guidance, June 13, 2005, at the U.S. Department of Education (ED) web site at www.ed.gov
More specific information about applying for Provision 2 and 3 status or the operation of school lunch programs is available at:
If you have additional questions, you may contact the Title I Policy and Partnerships Office at (916) 319-0854 or by e-mail at pi@cde.ca.gov. You may also contact a specialist in the School Nutrition Programs Unit at (916)445-0850 or (800) 952-5609.