All comments will also become a matter of public record. FNS is unaware of any current Tribal laws that could be in conflict with the final rule. Title: % Meals reimbursed at Federal paid rate = 100% meals reimbursed at Federal free rate CEP requires that LEAs must pay, with non-Federal funds, any costs of offering free meals to all students that exceed the Federal assistance provided. The proposed reporting requirement adds a total of 381,714 annual burden hours and 3,470,131 responses into the new information collection request. USDA is focused on building new, more, fairer, and more resilient markets for our farmers, ranchers, and producers. USDA estimates 337 fewer LEAs than currently approved under OMB Control Number 0584-0026 will be required to fulfill the requirement at 7 CFR 245.6a(f) that LEAs notify households of selection for verification. Privately Owned Vehicle (POV) Mileage Reimbursement Rates. More information on the bill is available at: Am. USDA estimates 337 fewer LEAs than currently approved under OMB Control Number 0584-0026 will be required to fulfill the requirement at 7 CFR 245.6 (c)(7) that LEAs provide written notice to each household of denied free or reduced price benefits. The .gov means its official. USDA expects that as a result of the proposed changes, more LEAs electing CEP will be electing CEP for all schools in the LEA, or district wide. The average burden per response and the annual burden hours are explained below and summarized in the charts which follow. 1752, 1758, 1759a, 1772, 1773, and 1779. State agencies are required to publish lists of eligible and nearly eligible LEAs and schools on their websites in a readily accessible format. (2022). The .gov means it's official. publication in the future. 12,155,590. Community Eligibility Resource Center. Contract No. Program integrity is essential to the effectiveness of school nutrition programs, and responsible stewardship of Federal taxpayer dollars. To be eligible for CEP under current regulations at 7 CFR 245.9(f), an LEA, group of schools, or school must: Section 11(a)(1)(F)(iii) of the NSLA and program regulations at 7 CFR 245.9(f)(3)(i) require the ISP to be established using the number of identified students and the number of total enrolled students as of April 1 of the prior school year. Available at: https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/usda-cep-characteristics-study-sy-2016-17 Through CEP's grouping mechanism,[38] If USDA proposed rule that lowers the ISP needed to participate in CEP is finalized and made effective in the 2023-24 school year, you may then qualify for CEP and have the opportunity to submit an application . This webinar recording is captioned in both English and Spanish. https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/updated-title-i-guidance-schools-electing-community-eligibility. [3] This suggests that the impact of CEP lasted beyond the first year of implementation and actually grew by one percentage point from the first to second year of implementation. 35. https://www.ncsl.org/research/human-services/states-step-in-as-end-of-free-school-meal-waivers-looms-magazine2022.aspx. [5] [39] Once this new collection is merged into OMB Control Number 0584-0026, USDA expects that there will be an approximate decrease of 1,700 hours and 85,018 responses. (p. 68). Milfort et al. This proposed rule would also support State and local choices to expand the availability of free school meals for all through programs supported by State or local funding. GSA has adjusted all POV mileage reimbursement rates effective January 1, 2023. USDA's Community Eligibility Provision Characteristics Study, School Year 2016-2017 available at Instead, schools directly certify students through electronic data matching at the State or local level to establish ISPs. [6] The ISP is multiplied by 1.6 to calculate the percentage of meals reimbursed at the Federal free rate (7 CFR 245.9(f)(4)(vi)). As of SY 2021-2022, 74.3 percent of eligible school districts were participating in CEP, reaching a total of 16.2 million school children in 33,300 schools. 601-612) requires Agencies to analyze the impact of rulemaking on small entities and consider alternatives that would minimize any significant impacts on a substantial number of small entities. matching systems to improve accuracy and reliability. Furthermore, the review suggested that free school meals for all may resolve the issues of social stigma, a lack of information ( Alexandria, VA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Policy Support, Project Officer: Conor McGovern. Proposed Rule aimed at lowering the threshold for schools to participate in Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) from 40% to 25%. FRAC Applauds the U.S. Department of Agriculture Efforts to Expand Furthermore, this proposed rule does not impose substantial or direct compliance costs on State and local governments. FNS provides regularly scheduled consultation sessions as a venue for collaborative conversations with Tribal officials or their designees. 10. The Food and Nutrition Service, USDA, invites interested persons to submit written comments on this proposed rule. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. A 25 percent threshold allows CEP to benefit communities with high proportions of children eligible for free or reduced price meals. (2022). Lastly, LEAs and schools should consider how any data loss from school meal applications may impact other funding levels outside of the school meal programs. Estimated Time per Response:.098 (approximately 6 minutes). [FR Doc. Ibid, p. 44-45. Date: Thursday, March 30, 2023. U.S. Department of Agricultures Food and Nutrition Service, child nutrition programs published a proposed rule in the Federal Register on March 23, 2023, with the intent to expand access to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) by lowering the minimum identified student percentage (ISP)1participation threshold from 40% to 25%. Preregistration is required. FRAC Reports Significant Increase in CEP Participation During SY2022-23 Available at Under the current ISP threshold of 40 percent, individually eligible CEP schools receive qualify for the additional severe need payments. This would continue under the proposed 25 percent ISP threshold. Community Eligibility Provision Evaluation Final Report. CEP schools only claim meals at the free and paid reimbursement rates. Nationwide waivers permitting schools to offer free school meals to all students via the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO) demonstrated the benefits of offering all students free meals and, as a result, there is renewed interest in CEP.[28]. OMB #0584-0612, expiration 9/30/2019. http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/CEPEvaluation.pdf Until the ACFR grants it official status, the XML Once this new collection is merged into OMB Control Number 0584-0026, USDA expects that there will be an approximate decrease of 2,296 hours and 114,780 responses. The rule proposes to expand access to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) by lowering the minimum identified student percentage participation threshold from 40 percent to 25 percent, which would give States and schools greater flexibility to choose to invest non-Federal funds to offer no-cost meals to all enrolled students. Food insecurity may have improved for households with children in 2021 because of the expansion of Federal nutrition assistance programs, such as widespread availability of no-cost meals and other forms of assistance targeting households with children, such as the expanded Child Tax Credit or Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer (P-EBT) program. This feature is not available for this document. Proposed Rule Use of Electronic Identification Eartags as Official Identification in Cattle and Bison A Proposed Rule by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service on 01/19/2023 Document Details 20-021-1 adt-trace-perf-report-2013-2022 21-020-1 OAIDS 21-020-1 RIA Enhanced Content Published Document Start Printed Page 3320 AGENCY: Only official editions of the Identified students are certified for free school meals without submitting a household application, such as those directly certified through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Since the child nutrition programs are State-administered, USDA's FNS Regional Offices have formal and informal discussions with State and local officials, including representatives of Indian Tribal Organizations, on an ongoing basis regarding program requirements and operations. Document Drafting Handbook Estimated Time per Response: USDA Community Eligibility Provision Characteristics Study, School Year 2016-2017. Federal public lands rule would be yanked under bill passed by U.S USDA's CEP Characteristics Study found that increases in student participation positively impacted LEAs' finances. 43. 14. Participating LEAs have been highly satisfied with CEP and are likely to continue their participation: USDA's 2022 CEP Characteristics Study found that most participating LEAs (97 percent) intended to participate in CEP the following school year, as did 23 percent of eligible, but non-participating LEAs.[22]. Participating schools are located in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, and Guam, ensuring that students in high-poverty communities throughout the country can enter their classrooms well-nourished and ready to learn. WASHINGTON, March 6, 2023 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today released a proposed rule with new regulatory requirements to better align the voluntary "Product of USA" label claim with consumer understanding of what the claim means. USDA expects that State agencies will need to review an additional 337 LEAs with schools newly electing CEP based on the changes proposed in this rulemaking. The documents posted on this site are XML renditions of published Federal In the early years of nationwide CEP availability, State agencies and LEAs were concerned about the impact of CEP on NSLP and SBP participation and school finances. 40 percent to 25 percent, 30 percent to 15 percent) consistent with the proposed lower threshold; no additional substantive changes are proposed by this rulemaking. Proposed Updates to the School Nutrition Standards 2021 Mar 11;13(3):911. http://schoolnutrition.org/2019-school-nutrition-trends-summary-report/. Available online at: Under CEP, a minimum ISP of 25 percent results in 40 percent of meals reimbursed at the free rate (25 1.6 = 40). It is our hope that Congress takes action to increase the multiplier in order to encourage CEP participation. Available at: e.g., USDA's third Access, Participation, Eligibility, and Certification Study found that LEAs had a much lower error rate in directly certifying studentssuch as the identified students in CEP schoolsthan in certifying students by applications. Ibid, p. 33. This report is available to the public for purchase at Pursuant to that review, it has been certified that this proposed rule would not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities. The respondent groups identified include households, State Agencies and LEAs. i.e., This 45 percent reflects both directly certified students and students eligible via household income applications and could be higher if LEAs certify more students for free or reduced price benefits via applications versus direct certification. 15. No specific additional burdens are placed on small LEAs seeking to operate CEP. E-Rate guidance for CEP schools is available at: [21], Study results show that throughout its phase-in and national implementation, CEP accomplishes two goals: feeding schoolchildren and streamlining Program administration and operations. This proposed rule would amend 7 CFR 245.9(f)(3)(i) to require a LEA, group of schools, or school to have an ISP of at least 25 percent, as of April 1 of the school year prior to participating in CEP. Electing CEP reduces administrative burden for schools, providing more time to focus on meal quality and other aspects of administering the Programs. 15,057. the official SGML-based PDF version on govinfo.gov, those relying on it for - Joining a group of western governors, Governor Greg Gianforte today opposed a proposed rule by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) which would alter the use of BLM lands to the detriment of recreation, livestock grazing, responsible resource development, and public access. [23] The proposed reporting requirement adds a total of 65,713 annual burden hours and 3,285,657 responses into the new information collection request. An official website of the United States government. Diet quality (pp. U.S. Department of Agriculture. For smaller LEAs, the decision to elect CEP may be a simpler process and/or involve gaining approvals from fewer governing bodies. break even), compared to respondents from non-participating schools. The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is a non-pricing meal service option for schools and school districts in low-income areas. [24] 48/Monday, March 13, 2023/Proposed Rules 15291 1 In this proposed rule, the Agency is using both terms ''preparation'' and ''processing'' for clarity and completeness. The ISP for a group of schools is calculated by dividing the sum of the identified students for the entire group of schools by the sum of the total student enrollment for the entire group of schools. What sources of non-federal funds are available to support schools and districts electing CEP at lower ISPs? Making CEP work at a lower ISP requires careful consideration. USDA Announces New Investments in School Meals to Support Healthy Kids Child Nutrition Programs: Community Eligibility Provision-Increasing USDA Community Eligibility Provision Characteristics Study, School Year 2016-2017. 9. USDA Is accepting public and stakeholder . 7 CFR part 245Determining Eligibility for Free & Reduced Price Meals and Free Milk in Schools,

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