Audit 407155

7 CFR § 245.6(a) provides in part that each local educational agency for schools participating in the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program or Special Milk Program or a commodity only school, shall provide meal benefit forms for use by families in making application for free or reduced price meals or free milk for their children. Furthermore, 7 CFR § 245.6(c)(1) provides in part that the local educational agency must determine household eligibility for free or reduced price meals either through direct certification or the application process at or about the beginning of the school year. The local educational agency must determine eligibility for free or reduced price meals when a household submits an application or, if feasible, through direct certification, at any time during the school year. Of the student applications tested for fiscal year 2025, 13 of 60 students selected (21.7%) were not assigned proper eligibility based on the Direct Certification ran by the Nutrition Services Supervisor due to a lack of proper internal control procedures over eligibility and updates in the food service software. Failure to properly review applications and Direct Certification resulted in incorrect eligibility determinations in the School Districts Food Service System and may have resulted in errors in the School Districts SNP Reimbursement applications. The School District should review procedures for determining eligibility and implement additional control practices which will help ensure eligibility is properly and accurately determined based on applicable criteria and updated in the system if the determination changes. Failure to properly assign eligibility for students could result in eligibility determination discrepancies and possible audit findings.