Finding Text
Non-Federal entities must establish and maintain effective internal controls over Federal awards that provide reasonable assurance that the non-Federal entity is managing Federal awards in compliance with Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the Federal award.
7 C.F.R. § 245.6(a) provides that each local educational agency participating in the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, 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 C.F.R. § 245.6(c)(4) provides the local educational agency must use the income information provided by the household on the application to calculate the household’s total current income. When a household submits an application containing complete documentation and the household’s total current income is at or below the eligibility limits specified in the Income Eligibility Guidelines as defined in § 245.2, the children in that household must be approved for free or reduced-price benefits, as applicable.
During fiscal year 2024, the District received applications for free and reduced meals via physical paper and online submissions, in which eligibility was determined based on the USDA Eligibility Guidelines. The District's Food Service Director reviews physical applications prior to upload to PaySchools, however, the District relied solely on the eligibility determination made by PaySchools for all online submissions with no procedures in place to verify that the eligibility determination made by PaySchools was proper. Failure to review all applications could result in incorrect eligibility determinations.