Finding Text
Criteria: The School District’s responsibility for internal control over compliance extends to ensuring that adequate documentation and verification are maintained related to the eligibility status for the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs.
Condition: The School District did not provide documentation of its eligibility determinations for audit.
Cause: The School District did not believe that it could provide the information as it would be disclosing personal information on families’ and households’ income. Further guidance provided to the School District by the NH Department of Education supported the School District’s opinion.
Effect: We could not test compliance with the requirements.
Recommendation: While we understand the need to keep information private, 7 CFR 245.6(f)(3)(i) explicitly allows for the disclosure of all eligibility information in addition to eligibility
status to “persons directly connected with the administration or enforcement of programs…”. An audit is a requirement of the administration of the program. We recommend that the School District
provide the requested information for future audits.
If the School District still does not want to provide such student information, the School District should come up with a coding system whereby each application is assigned a corresponding number,
and provide a roster of applications using the number as an indicator of each application and status. The applications should be coded to correspond to that number, and any personal information
redacted when provided for the audit.
Management’s Response:
Please see the CFR text, in its entirety, which outlines who may see information regarding student eligibility status, as well as information from the Free and Reduced School Price Meals. The school district will follow the CFR in regard to information on applications. 7 CFR 245.6(f)(2)(i, ii, iii, iv)" Only persons directly connected with the administration or enforcement of a program or activity listed in paragraphs (f)(2) or (f)(3) of this section may have access to children's eligibility information, without parental consent."
Paragraph (f)(2) states, "Disclosure of children's names and eligibility status only. The State agency or local educational agency, as appropriate, may disclose, without parental consent, children's names and eligibility status (whether they are eligible for free or reduced price meals or free milk) to persons directly connected with the administration or enforcement of:
(i) A Federal education program;
(ii) A State health program or State education program administered by the State or local education
agency;
(iii) A Federal, State, or local means-tested nutrition program with eligibility standards
comparable to the National School Lunch Program (i.e., food assistance programs for households with
incomes at or below 185 percent of the Federal poverty level); or (iv) A third party contractor assisting in verification of eligibility efforts by contacting households who fail to respond to requests for verification of their eligibility.
7 CFR 245.6(f)(3)(i, ii, iii) Paragraph (f)(3) states "Disclosure of all eligibility information in addition to eligibility status. In addition to children's names and eligibility status, the State agency or local educational agency, as appropriate, may disclose, without parental consent, all eligibility information obtained through the free and reduced price meals or free milk eligibility process (including all information on the application or obtained through direct certification) to:
(i) Persons directly connected with the administration or enforcement of programs authorized under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act or the Child Nutrition Act of 1966. This means that all eligibility information obtained for the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program or Special Milk Program may be disclosed to persons directly connected with administering or enforcing regulations under the National School Lunch or School Breakfast Programs (Parts 210 and 220, respectively, of this chapter), Child and Adult Care Food Program (Part 226 of this chapter), Summer Food Service Program (Part 225 of this chapter) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) (Part 246 of this chapter);
(ii) The Comptroller General of the United States for purposes of audit and examination; and
(iii) Federal, State, and local law enforcement officials for the purpose of investigating any alleged violation of the programs listed in paragraphs (g)(3) and (g)(4) of this section."
Additionally, Policy Memo SP 16-2016: Disclosure Requirements Child Nutrition Programs. See the table on page 6. Lastly, upon seeking guidance from NH Department of Education Office of Nutrition Programs and
Services, they stated; “Page 6 of the document provides a chart (see above) stating who is able to see the confidential information and when. Given that this is the SAU/LEA’s single audit,
confidential information may not be released, and only aggregate data can be given.