[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7 Volume 4]
[Revised as of January 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR245.9]

[Page 265-266]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
    CHAPTER II--FOOD AND NUTRITION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 
PART 245--DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY FOR FREE AND REDUCED PRICE MEALS AND FREE MILK IN SCHOOLS--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 245.9  Special assistance certification and reimbursement alternatives.

    (a) A School Food Authority of a school having at least 80 percent 
of its enrolled children determined eligible for free or reduced price 
meals may, at its option, authorize the school to reduce annual 
certification and public notification for those children eligible for 
free meals to once every two consecutive school years. This alternative 
shall be known as provision 1 and the following requirements shall 
apply:
    (1) A School Food Authority of a school operating under provision 1 
requirements shall publicly notify in accordance with Sec. 245.5, 
parents of enrolled children who are receiving free meals once every two 
consecutive school years, and shall publicly notify in accordance with 
Sec. 245.5, parents of all other enrolled children on an annual basis.
    (2) The 80 percent enrollment eligibility for this alternative shall 
be based on the school's March enrollment data of the previous school 
year, or on other comparable data.
    (3) A School Food Authority of a school operating under provision 1, 
shall count the number of free, reduced price and paid meals served to 
children in that school as the basis for monthly reimbursement claims.
    (b) A School Food Authority of a school which serves all enrolled 
children in that school free meals may publicly notify and certify 
children in accordance with Sec. 245.5 for free and reduced price meals 
for up to three consecutive school years; provided that eligibility 
determinations shall be in accordance with Sec. 245.3, during the first 
school year. This alternative shall be known as provision 2 and the 
following requirements shall apply:
    (1) Except for assistance properly made available under parts 210, 
220, 240, and 250 and by other legislation, a School Food Authority of a 
school operating under provision 2 requirements agrees to pay with funds 
from other than Federal sources for:
    (i) Meals served to children not eligible, as determined by 
Sec. 245.3, for free or reduced price meals, and
    (ii) The differential between the per meal cost and Federal 
reimbursement received for each free or reduced price meal, 
respectively, served to children eligible to receive such meals under 
applicable program regulations.
    (2) For the purpose of calculating reimbursement claims in the 
second and third consecutive school years the monthly meal counts of the 
actual number of meals served by type--free, reduced price, and paid--
shall be converted each month to percentages for each meal type. These 
percentages shall be derived by dividing the monthly total number of 
meals served of one meal type (e.g. free meals) by the total number of 
meals served in the same month for all meal types (free, reduced price 
and paid meals). The percentages for the reduced price meal and paid 
meal types shall be calculated exactly as the above example for free 
meals. These three percentages calculated at the end of each month of 
the first school year, shall be multiplied by the corresponding monthly 
meal count total of all meal types served in the second and third 
consecutive school

[[Page 266]]

years in order to calculate reimbursement claims for free, reduced price 
and paid meals each month.
    (c) A School Food Authority shall submit a list of all schools 
participating in either provision 1 or provision 2 and the intitial year 
of implementation in their Free and Reduced Price Meal Policy Statement. 
This Statement shall include certification of meeting the eligibility 
requirements as set forth in paragraph (a) or (b) of this section.
    (d) The School Food Authority upon request shall make documentation 
including enrollment data, participation data or other data available 
for monitoring purposes.
    (e) A School Food Authority may return to standard notification and 
application procedures in the following school year if standard 
procedures better suit the school's program needs.
    (f) Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, where a statistical survey 
procedure is permitted in lieu of eligibility determinations for each 
child, may either maintain their standard procedures in accordance with 
Sec. 245.4, or may opt for these provisions provided the eligibility 
requirements as set forth in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section are 
met.
    (g) Schools currently operating under provision 1 or provision 2 of 
the Special Assistance interim rule published May 18, 1979 (44 FR 
29027), may complete their second or third consecutive school year under 
the interim requirements, after which, Sec. 245.9 shall be in effect. 
For all other schools, the final rule shall be effective upon 
publication.


(Sec. 9, Pub. L. 95-166, 91 Stat. 1336 (42 U.S.C. 1759a); secs. 805, and 
819, Pub. L. 97-35, 95 Stat. 521-535 (42 U.S.C. 1773))

[Amdt. 19, 45 FR 67287, Oct. 10, 1980, as amended by Amdt. 23, 47 FR 
14135, Apr. 2, 1982]