state agency HAPPENINGS
Free and Reduced Eligibility Eligibility for school meals must be established annually. Free and Reduced Eligibility is established using either a household income application or Direct Certification (DC). Eligibility can only be established in the current program year, so applications and DC for the school year cannot be made available until July 1 or after.
• Neither IDOE nor USDA approves online application formats. Review the Online Application Checklist to ensure local online application format meets the requirements. Please note that the textbook section must be included on all online applications for school year 2023-2024. • Applications must be processed within 10 operating days upon receipt of a completed application. • SFAs were sent an email notification regarding verification in June. Some sponsors must conduct Standard (Error- Prone) verification, but those not required may also select the same method. If required or planning to implement the error-prone verification method in October, have a system in place to flag error-prone applications. If unsure whether your corporation must utilize the Standard (Error- Prone) method, review this spreadsheet.
Application Reminders • Corporations that are fully approved to operate Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) cannot utilize the meal benefit application and must use the Curricular Materials Application located on the IDOE CEP Webpage . • The state legislature passed universal textbook assistance for all students during the 2023 legislative session. This means that all students in public schools will receive free textbooks for the 2023-2024 school year. However, in accordance with Indiana code, the textbook assistance section continues to be required for inclusion on all applications for meal benefits for school year 2023-2024. The program year 2024 state prototype application can be found on the IDOE Free and Reduced Forms webpage.
30
Powered by FlippingBook