Thursday, June 20, 2024
Announcements from the WI DPI School Nutrition Team (SNT)
Updates from the DPI School Nutrition Team
School Year 2024-25 Free and Reduced Updated
The USDA Free and Reduced Price Meal Application, Public Release, and Notification Letters for school year (SY) 2024-25 are now available in English, Spanish, and Hmong on the Free and Reduced Meal Eligibility Webpage. School food authorities (SFAs) are required to distribute free and reduced price meal application materials to all households at or around the beginning of the school year, but not before July 1. Materials in languages other than English, Spanish, and Hmong are available on the USDA Translated Applications Webpage.
Carryover for Student Eligibility in SY 2024-25: Under Program regulations at 7 CFR 245.6(c)(2), eligibility from the preceding year must be used to determine eligibility for the first 30 operating days of the school year, or until a new eligibility determination is made in the current school year, whichever comes first. As a reminder, the carryover eligibility is in effect until a new meal eligibility determination is made either through the Free and Reduced Price Meal Application, Direct Certification, or other categorical eligibility. A new determination may be a reduction in meal benefit status, however, an “N” code (not eligible) from DC is not considered a new determination. Other qualifying eligibility match codes of S, T, O, E, G, M, or Z are considered a new determination. Once the 30 operating days are complete, if a new meal eligibility determination has not been made, the student’s meal eligibility is changed to paid. If your SFA utilizes software, it is important to ensure the carryover date is correctly indicated in your system. After the carryover period ends, SFAs are encouraged to review the benefit issuance list to ensure all students have the correct eligibility for the current school year.
Summer-EBT Language: Wisconsin will operate Summer EBT in summer 2025. All students attending a school participating in the National School Lunch Program who are eligible for free or reduced price meals in SY 2024-25 will receive S-EBT benefits in summer 2025. All the Notification Letter Templates have been updated with a new link to the Summer-EBT webpage which has links for households to update their information or to opt-out of receiving the benefit. The notification letters your SFA sends to households must include the following S-EBT language:
Because your child(ren) qualify for free or reduced price meals this school year, they are also eligible to receive Summer EBT benefits for this upcoming summer. Summer EBT provides funds for each eligible child to help with costs of food during the summer months. To learn more about this program, to update your contact information, or to opt out of receiving these benefits visit Summer EBT Benefit Management. https://dpi.wi.gov/school-nutrition/programs/SummerEBT
If your SFA uses a software system to generate letters, it is still your SFA’s responsibility to include the S-EBT language. DPI has notified software vendors of this requirement.
Online Application Approval: If your SFA uses an online/web-based Free and Reduced Price Meal Application, the software vendor’s application must be approved by DPI before distributing it to households. The approved vendor listing is updated annually. The list of Approved Vendors for SY 2024-25 is now available and will continue to be updated during the coming months as more applications are approved. Please contact Tanya Kirtz or Tracy Huffman with questions about online application approval.
Direct Certification (DC): Best practice is to run DC prior to distributing applications and notify eligible households to decrease the number of applications your SFA is required to process and verify. Please note, the DC system will be unavailable from July 1 until approximately July 10 due to system rollover. The SNT will notify all Authorized Representatives and Food Service Directors when DC is available for SY 2024-25 by email. For additional information consult the DC Webpage, which includes helpful resources including the DC User Guide, DC webcast, and access information.
Free and Reduced Meal Eligibility Training and Resources: There are many resources to assist you with student meal eligibility determinations, including;
- The Free and Reduced Meal Eligibility Webpage, includes the free and reduced price meal applications, public release, Direct Certification, and categorical eligibility information.
- The Eligibility Manual for School Meals, is the main resource for everything you need to know about free and reduced eligibility, applications, sharing information, verification, etc.
- The Overview of Free, Reduced and Verification In a Nutshell for a summary of the process, due dates and helpful tips.
- A self-guided e-learning Free and Reduced Meal Eligibility series:
- We also strongly encourage new staff completing this process or anyone needing a refresher to attend the in-person or virtual School Nutrition Summer Training courses in July and August. Advanced registration is required.
Religious Exemption and Nondiscrimination Statement: Private SFAs electing the religious waiver for the nondiscrimination statement (NDS) may request free and reduced price meal materials utilizing the 2015 NDS, which does not have the language that sex includes gender identity and sexual orientation by contacting Karrie Isaacson at karrie.isaacson@dpi.wi.gov.
Calendar of Program Requirements: To help you manage all the program requirements, check out the updated Calendar of Program Requirements. We encourage you to utilize this resource to track important deadlines during the school year.
If you have questions about free and reduced meal eligibility, please email dpimealeligibility@dpi.wi.gov or call 608-267-9228.
Thank you for everything you do to keep the children of Wisconsin nourished, so they are ready to learn!
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Jill K. Underly, PhD, State Superintendent
125 S Webster Street
Madison, WI 53703
(608) 266-3390 • (800) 441-4563