Appendix 2 Code of Federal Regulations, Title 7, Part 245

Supporting Statement for OMB Clearance for the Study of Non-Response to the
School Meals Application Verification Process
Appendix 2
Code of Federal Regulations, Title 7, Part 245

§ 245.6a

7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–11 Edition)

local agency or agencies administering
Medicaid or SCHIP prior to disclosing
children’s free and reduced price meal
or free milk eligibility information. At
a minimum, the agreement must:
(i) Identify the health insurance program or health agency receiving children’s eligibility information;
(ii) Describe the information that
will be disclosed;
(iii) Require that the Medicaid or
SCHIP agency use the information obtained and specify that the information
must be used to seek to enroll children
in Medicaid or SCHIP;
(iv) Require that the Medicaid or
SCHIP agency describe how they will
use the information obtained;
(v) Describe how the information will
be protected from unauthorized uses
and disclosures;
(vi) Describe the penalties for unauthorized disclosure; and
(vii) Be signed by both the Medicaid
or SCHIP program or agency and the
State agency or child care institution,
as appropriate.
(k) Penalties for unauthorized disclosure or misuse of information. In accordance with section 9(b)(6)(C) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch
Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(b)(6)(C)), any individual who publishes, divulges, discloses or makes known in any manner,
or to any extent not authorized by
statute or this section, any information obtained under this section will be
fined not more than $1,000 or imprisoned for up to 1 year, or both.
(Sec. 803, Pub. L. 97–35, 95 Stat. 521–535 (42
U.S.C. 1758))
[35 FR 14065, Sept. 4, 1970]
EDITORIAL NOTE: For FEDERAL REGISTER citations affecting § 245.6, see the List of CFR
Sections Affected, which appears in the
Finding Aids section of the printed volume
and at www.fdsys.gov.

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§ 245.6a

Verification requirements.

(a) Definitions—(1) Eligible programs.
For the purposes of this section, the
following programs qualify as programs for which a case number may be
provided in lieu of income information
and that may be used for direct
verification purposes:
(i) The Food Stamp Program established under the Food Stamp Act of

1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) as defined in
§ 245.2;
(ii) The Food Distribution Program
on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) as defined in § 245.2; and
(iii) A State program funded under
the program of block grants to States
for temporary assistance for needy
families (TANF) as defined in § 245.2.
(2) Error prone application. For the
purposes of this section, ‘‘error prone
application’’ means an approved household application that indicates monthly income within $100 or annual income
within $1,200 of the applicable income
eligibility limit for free or for reduced
meals.
(3) Non-response rate. For the purposes of this section, ‘‘non-response
rate’’ means the percentage of approved
household
applications
for
which
verification information was not obtained by the local educational agency
after verification was attempted. The
non-response rate is reported on the
FNS–742 in accordance with paragraph
(h) of this section.
(4) Official poverty line. For the purposes of this section, ‘‘official poverty
line’’ means that described in section
1902(l)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 1396a(l)(2)(A)).
(5) Sample size. For the purposes of
this section, ‘‘sample size’’ means the
number of approved applications that a
local educational agency is required to
verify based on the number of approved
applications on file as of October 1 of
the current school year.
(6) School year. For the purposes of
this section, a school year means a period of 12 calendar months beginning
July 1 of any year and ending June 30
of the following year.
(7) Sources of information. For the purposes of this section, sources of information for verification may include
written evidence, collateral contacts,
and systems of records as follows:
(i) Written evidence shall be used as
the primary source of information for
verification. Written evidence includes
written confirmation of a household’s
circumstances, such as wage stubs,

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Food and Nutrition Service, USDA

§ 245.6a

award letters, and letters from employers. Whenever written evidence is insufficient to confirm income information on the application or current eligibility, the local educational agency
may require collateral contacts.
(ii) Collateral contacts are verbal
confirmations of a household’s circumstances by a person outside of the
household. The collateral contact may
be made in person or by phone. The
verifying official may select a collateral contact if the household fails to
designate one or designates one which
is unacceptable to the verifying official. If the verifying official designates
a collateral contact, the contact shall
not be made without providing written
or oral notice to the household. At the
time of this notice, the household shall
be informed that it may consent to the
contact or provide acceptable documentation in another form. If the
household refuses to choose one of
these options, its eligibility shall be
terminated in accordance with the normal procedures for failure to cooperate
with verification efforts. Collateral
contacts could include employers, social service agencies, and migrant
agencies.
(iii) Agency records to which the
State agency or local educational
agency may have access are not considered collateral contacts. Information
concerning income, household size, or
Food Stamp Program, FDPIR, or
TANF eligibility maintained by other
government agencies to which the
State agency, the local educational
agency or school can legally gain access may be used to confirm a household’s income, size, or receipt of benefits. Information may also be obtained
from individuals or agencies serving
the homeless, as defined under section
725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(2)); administering a runaway and homeless
youth grant program, as established
under the Runaway and Homeless
Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5701); or serving
migratory children, as they are defined
in section 1309 of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20
U.S.C. 6399). Agency records may be
used for verification conducted after
the household has been notified of its
selection for verification or for the di-

rect verification procedures in paragraph (g) of this section. Any information derived from other agencies must
be used in accordance with the provisions concerning use and disclosure of
eligibility
information
found
in
§ 245.6(f) through (i) of this part.
(iv) Households which dispute the validity of income information acquired
through collateral contacts or a system of records shall be given the opportunity to provide other documentation.
(b) Deadline and extensions for local
educational agencies—(1) Deadline. The
local education agency must complete
the verification efforts specified in
paragraph (c) of this section not later
than November 15 of each school year.
(2) Deadline extensions. (i) The local
educational agency may request an extension of the November 15 deadline, in
writing, from the State agency. The
State agency may approve an extension up to December 15 of the current
school year due to natural disaster,
civil disorder, strike or other circumstances that prevent the local educational agency from timely completion of verification activities.
(ii) In the case of natural disaster,
civil disorder or other local conditions,
USDA may substitute alternatives for
the verification deadline in paragraph
(b)(1) of this section.
(3) Beginning verification activities.
The local educational agency may conduct verification activity once it begins the application approval process
for the current school year and has approved applications on file. However,
the final required sample size must be
based on the number of approved applications on file as of October 1.
(c) Verification requirement—(1) General. The local educational agency
must verify eligibility of children in a
sample of household applications approved for free and reduced price meal
benefits for that school year.
(i) A State may, with the written approval of FNS, assume responsibility
for complying with the verification requirements of this section on behalf of
its local educational agencies. When
assuming such responsibility, States
may qualify, if approved by FNS, to
use one of the alternative sample sizes
provided for in paragraph (c)(4) of this

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§ 245.6a

7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–11 Edition)

section if qualified under paragraph (d)
of this section.
(ii) An application must be approved
if it contains the essential documentation specified in the definition of Documentation in § 245.2 and, if applicable,
the household meets the income eligibility criteria for free or reduced price
benefits. Verification efforts must not
delay the approval of applications.
(2)
Exceptions
from
verification.
Verification is not required in residential child care institutions; in schools
in which FNS has approved special
cash assistance claims based on economic statistics regarding per capita
income; or in schools in which all children are served with no separate
charge for food service and no special
cash assistance is claimed. Local educational agencies in which all schools
participate in the special assistance
certification and reimbursement alternatives specified in § 245.9 shall meet
the verification requirement only in
those years in which applications are
taken for all children in attendance.
Verification of eligibility is not required of households if all children in
the household are determined eligible
based on documentation provided by
the State or local agency responsible
for the administration of the Food
Stamp Program, FDPIR or TANF or if
all children in the household are determined to be homeless, as defined under
section 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
11434a(2)); served by a runaway and
homeless youth grant program established under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (42 U.S.C. 5701); or are
migratory as defined in section 1309 of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6399).
(3) Standard sample size. Unless eligible for an alternative sample size under
paragraph (d) of this section, the sample size for each local educational
agency shall equal the lesser of:
(i) Three (3) percent of all applications approved by the local educational
agency for the school year, as of October 1 of the school year, selected from
error prone applications; or
(ii) 3,000 error prone applications approved by the local educational agency
for the school year, as of October 1 of
the school year.

(iii) Local educational agencies shall
not exceed the standard sample size in
paragraphs (c)(3)(i) or (c)(3)(ii) of this
section, as applicable, and, unless eligible for one of the alternative sample
sizes provided in paragraph (c)(4) of
this section, the local educational
agency shall not use a smaller sample
size than those in paragraphs (c)(3)(i)
or (c)(3)(ii) of this section, as applicable.
(iv) If the number of error-prone applications exceeds the required sample
size, the local educational agency shall
select the required sample at random,
i.e., each application has an equal
chance of being selected, from the total
number of error-prone applications.
(4) Alternative sample sizes. If eligible
under paragraph (d) of this section for
an alternative sample size, the local
educational agency may use one of the
following alternative sample sizes:
(i) Alternative One. The sample size
shall equal the lesser of:
(A) 3,000 of all applications selected
at random from applications approved
by the local educational agency as of
October 1 of the school year; or
(B) Three (3) percent of all applications selected at random from applications approved by the local educational
agency as of October 1 of the school
year.
(ii) Alternative Two. The sample size
shall equal the lesser of the sum of:
(A) 1,000 of all applications approved
by the local educational agency as of
October 1 of the school year, selected
from error prone applications or
(B) One (1) percent of all applications
approved by the local educational
agency as of October 1 of the school
year, selected from error prone applications PLUS
(C) The lesser of:
(1) 500 applications approved by the
local educational agency as of October
1 of the school year that provide a case
number in lieu of income information
showing participation in an eligible
program as defined in paragraph (a)(1)
of this section; or
(2) One-half (1⁄2) of one (1) percent of
applications approved by the local educational agency as of October 1 of the
school year that provide a case number
in lieu of income information showing
participation in an eligible program as

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Food and Nutrition Service, USDA

§ 245.6a

defined in paragraph (a)(1) of this section.
(5) Completing the sample size. When
there are an insufficient number of
error prone applications or applications with case number to meet the
sample sizes provided for in paragraphs
(c)(3) or (c)(4) of this section, the local
educational agency shall select, at random, additional approved applications
to comply with the specified sample
size requirements.
(6) Local conditions. In the case of
natural disaster, civil disorder, strike
or other local conditions as determined
by FNS, FNS may substitute alternatives for the sample size and sample
selection criteria in paragraphs (c)(3)
and (c)(4) of this section.
(7) Verification for cause. In addition
to the required verification sample,
local educational agencies must verify
any questionable application and
should, on a case-by-case basis, verify
any application for cause such as an
application on which a household reports zero income or when the local
educational agency is aware of additional income or persons in the household. Any application verified for cause
is not considered part of the required
sample size. If the local educational
agency verifies a household’s application for cause, all verification procedures in this section must be followed.
(d) Eligibility for alternative sample
sizes—(1) State agency oversight. At a
minimum, the State agency shall establish a procedure for local educational agencies to designate use of an
alternative sample size and may set a
deadline for such notification. The
State agency may also establish criteria for reviewing and approving the
use of an alternative sample size, including deadlines for submissions.
(2) Lowered non-response rate. Any
local educational agency is eligible to
use one of the alternative sample sizes
in paragraph (c)(4) of this section for
any school year when the non-response
rate for the preceding school year is
less than twenty percent.
(3) Improved non-response rate. A local
educational agency with more than
20,000 children approved by application
as eligible for free or reduced price
meals as of October 1 of the school year
is eligible to use one of the alternative

sample sizes in paragraph (c)(4) of this
section for any school year when the
non-response rate for the preceding
school year is at least ten percent
below the non-response rate for the
second preceding school year.
(4) Continuing eligibility for alternative
sample sizes. The local educational
agency must annually determine if it is
eligible to use one of the alternative
sample sizes provided in paragraph
(c)(4) of this section. If qualified, the
local educational agency shall contact
the State agency in accordance with
procedures established by the State
agency under paragraph (d)(1) of this
section.
(e) Activities prior to household notification—(1) Confirmation of a household’s
initial eligibility. (i) Prior to conducting
any other verification activity, an individual, other than the individual who
made the initial eligibility determination, shall review for accuracy each approved
application
selected
for
verification to ensure that the initial
determination was correct. If the initial determination was correct, the
local educational agency shall verify
the approved application. If the initial
determination was incorrect, the local
educational agency must:
(A) If the eligibility status changes
from reduced price to free, make the
increased benefits immediately available and notify the household of the
change in benefits; the local educational agency will then verify the application;
(B) If the eligibility status changes
from free to reduced price, first verify
the application and then notify the
household of the correct eligibility status after verification is completed and,
if required, send the household a notice
of adverse action in accordance with
paragraph (j) of this section; or
(C) If the eligibility status changes
from free or reduced price to paid, send
the household a notice of adverse action in accordance with paragraph (j)
of this section and do not conduct
verification on this application and select a similar application (for example,
another error-prone application) to replace it.
(ii) The requirements in paragraph
(e)(1)(i) of this section are waived if the
local educational agency is using a

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§ 245.6a

7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–11 Edition)

technology-based system that demonstrates a high level of accuracy in
processing an initial eligibility determination based on the income eligibility guidelines for the National
School Lunch Program. Any local educational agency that conducts a confirmation review of all applications at
the time of certification meets this requirement. The State agency may request documentation to support the accuracy of the local educational agency’s system. If the State agency determines that the technology-based system is inadequate, it may require that
the local educational agency conduct a
confirmation review of each application selected for verification.
(2) Replacing applications. The local
educational agency may, on a case-bycase basis, replace up to five percent of
applications selected and confirmed for
verification. Applications may be replaced when the local educational
agency determines that the household
would be unable to satisfactorily respond to the verification request. Any
application removed shall be replaced
with another approved application selected on the same basis (i.e., an errorprone application must be substituted
for a withdrawn error-prone application).
(f) Verification procedures and assistance for households—(1) Notification of
selection Other than households verified
through the direct verification process
in paragraph (g) of this section, households selected for verification shall be
provided written notice that their applications
were
selected
for
verification and that they are required,
by such date as determined by the local
educational agency, to submit the requested information to verify eligibility for free or reduced price meals.
Any communications with households
concerning verification must be in an
understandable and uniform format
and, to the maximum extent practicable, in a language that parents and
guardians can understand. The written
notice shall also include a telephone
number for assistance in accordance
with paragraph (f)(5) of this section.
These households shall be advised of
the type or types of information and/or
documents acceptable to the school.
This information must include a social

security number for each adult household member or an indication that
such member does not have one. Local
educational agencies must inform selected households that:
(i) Section 9 of the Richard B. Russell
National School Lunch Act requires
that, unless the child’s Food Stamp
Program/FDPIR case number or other
FDPIR identifier or TANF case number
was provided, households selected for
verification must provide the social security number of each adult household
member;
(ii) In an adult member does not posses a social security number, that
adult member must indicate that s/he
does not possess one;
(iii) Provision of a social security
number is not mandatory but if a social security number is not provided
for each adult household member or an
indication is not made that he/she does
not possess one, benefits will be terminated;
(iv) The social security numbers may
be used to identify household members
in carrying out efforts to verify the
correctness of information stated on
the application and continued eligibility
for
the
program.
These
verification efforts may be carried out
through program reviews, audits, and
investigations and may include contacting offices administering meanstested programs or the State employment security office and checking documentation produced by household
members to prove the amount of income received. These verification efforts may also include contacting employers to determine income.
(v) The provisos in paragraphs
(f)(1)(i) through (f)(1)(iv) of this section
must be provided to the attention of
each adult household member disclosing his/her social security number.
State agencies and local educational
agencies must ensure that the notice
complies with section 7 of Public Law
93–579 (Privacy Act of 1974).
(vi) Households notified of their selection for verification must also be informed that, in lieu of any information
that would otherwise be required, they
can submit proof that the children are
members of a household receiving assistance under the Food Stamp Program, FDPIR or TANF as described in

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Food and Nutrition Service, USDA

§ 245.6a

paragraph (f)(3) of this section to verify
the free meal eligibility of a child who
is a member of a household receiving
assistance under the Food Stamp Program, FDPIR or TANF household.
Households must also be informed that,
in lieu of any information that would
otherwise be required, they may request that the local educational agency
contact the appropriate officials to
confirm that their children are homeless, as defined under section 725(2) of
the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(2)); are
served by a runaway and homeless
youth grant program established under
the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act
(42 U.S.C. 5701 et seq.); or are migratory as defined in section 1309 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6399). Households
notified
of
their
selection
for
verification shall be advised that failure to cooperate with verification efforts will result in the termination of
benefits.
(2) Documentation timeframe. Households selected and notified of their selection for verification must provide
documentation of income. The documentation must indicate the source,
amount and frequency of all income
and can be for any point in time between the month prior to application
for school meal benefits and the time
the household is requested to provide
income documentation.
(3) Food Stamp FDPIR or TANF recipients. On applications where households
have furnished Food Stamp Program or
TANF case numbers or FDPIR case
numbers or other FDPIR identifiers,
verification shall be accomplished by
confirming with the Food Stamp Program, FDPIR, or TANF office that at
least one child who is eligible because
a case number was furnished, is a member of a household participating in one
of the eligible programs in paragraph
(a)(1) of this section. The household
may also provide a copy of ‘‘Notice of
Eligibility’’ for the Food Stamp Program, FDPIR or the TANF Program or
equivalent
official
documentation
issued by the Food Stamp Program,
FDPIR or TANF office which confirms
that at least one child who is eligible
because a case number was provided is
a member of a household receiving as-

sistance under the Food Stamp Program, FDPIR or the TANF program.
An identification card for these programs is not acceptable as verification
unless it contains an expiration date. If
it is not established that at least one
child is a member of a household receiving assistance under the Food
Stamp Program, FDPIR or the TANF
program (in accordance with the timeframe in paragraph (f)(2) of this section), the procedures for adverse action
specified in paragraph (j) of this section must be followed.
(4) Household cooperation. If a household refuses to cooperate with efforts
to verify, eligibility for free or reduced
price benefits shall be terminated in
accordance with paragraph (j) of this
section. Households which refuse to
complete the verification process and
which are consequently determined ineligible for such benefits shall be
counted toward meeting the local educational agency’s required sample of
verified applications.
(5) Telephone assistance. The local
educational agency shall provide a
telephone number to households selected for verification to call free of
charge to obtain information about the
verification process. The telephone
number must be prominently displayed
on the letter to households selected for
verification.
(6) Followup attempts. The local educational agency shall make at least
one attempt to contact any household
that does not respond to a verification
request. The attempt may be through a
telephone call, e-mail, mail or in person and must be documented by the
local educational agency. Non-response
to the initial request for verification
includes no response and incomplete or
ambiguous responses that do not permit the local educational agency to resolve the children’s eligibility for free
or reduced price meal and milk benefits. The local educational agency may
contract with another entity to conduct followup activity in accordance
with § 210.21 of this chapter, the use and
disclosure of information requirements
of the Richard B. Russell National
School Lunch Act and this section.

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§ 245.6a

7 CFR Ch. II (1–1–11 Edition)

(7) Eligibility changes. Based on the
verification activities, the local educational agency shall make appropriate modifications to the eligibility
determinations made initially. The
local educational agency must notify
the household of any change. Households must be notified of any reduction
in benefits in accordance with paragraph (j) of this section. Households
with reduced benefits or that are
longer eligible for free or reduced price
meals must be notified of their right to
reapply at any time with documentation of income or participation in one
of the eligible programs in paragraph
(a)(1) of this section.
(g) Direct verification. Local educational agencies may conduct direct
verification activities with the eligible
programs defined in paragraph (a)(1) of
this section and with the public agency
that administers the State plan for
medical assistance under title XIX of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396
et seq.), (Medicaid), and under title
XXI of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.), the State Children’s Health Insurance Program
(SCHIP) as defined in § 245.2. Records
from the public agency may be used to
verify income and program participation. The public agency’s records are
subject to the timeframe in paragraph
(g)(5)
of
this
section.
Direct
verification must be conducted prior to
contacting the household for documentation.
(1) Names submitted. The local educational agency must only submit the
names of school children certified for
free or reduced price meal benefits or
free milk to the agency administering
an eligible program, the Medicaid program or the SCHIP program. Names
and other identifiers of adult or nonschool children must not be submitted
for direct verification purposes.
(2) Eligible programs. If information
obtained through direct verification of
an application for free or reduced price
meal benefits indicates a child is participating in one of the eligible programs in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, no additional verification is required.
(3) States with Medicaid Income Limits
of 133%. In States in which the income
eligibility limit applied in the Med-

icaid program or in SCHIP is not more
than 133% of the official poverty line or
in States that otherwise identify
households that have income that is
not more than 133% of the official poverty line, records from these agencies
may be used to verify eligibility. If information obtained through direct
verification
with
these
programs
verifies the household’s eligibility status, no additional verification is required.
(4) States with Medicaid Income Limits
between 133%–185%. In States in which
the income eligibility limit applied in
the Medicaid program or in SCHIP exceeds 133% of the official poverty line,
direct verification information must
include either the percentage of the official poverty line upon which the applicant’s Medicaid participation is
based or Medicaid income and Medicaid
household size in order to determine
that the applicant is either at or below
133% of the Federal poverty line, or is
between 133% and 185% of the Federal
poverty line. Verification for children
approved for free meals is complete if
Medicaid data indicates that the percentage is at or below 133% of the Federal poverty line. Verification for children approved for reduced price meals
is complete if Medicaid data indicates
that the percentage is at or below 185%
of the Federal poverty line. If information
obtained
through
direct
verification
with
these
programs
verifies eligibility status, no additional
verification is required.
(5) Documentation timeframe. For the
purposes of direct verification, documentation must be the most recent
available but such documentation must
indicate eligibility for participation or
income within the 180-day period ending on the date of application. In addition, local educational agencies may
use documentation, which must be
within the 180-day period ending on the
date of application, for any one month
or for all months in the period from the
month prior to application through the
month direct verification is conducted.
The information provided only needs to
indicate eligibility for participation in
the program at that point in time, not
that the child was certified for that
program’s benefits within the 180-day
period.

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(6) Incomplete information. If it is the
information provided by the public
agency does not verify eligibility, the
local educational agency must conduct
verification in accordance with paragraph (f) of this section. In addition,
households must be able to dispute the
validity of income information acquired through direct verification and
shall be given the opportunity to provide other documentation.
(h) Verification reporting and recordkeeping requirements. By March 1, each
local educational agency must report
information related to its annual
statutorily required verification activity, which excludes verification conducted in accordance with paragraph
(c)(7) of this section, to the State agency in accordance with guidelines provided by FNS.
(i) Nondiscrimination. The verification
efforts shall be applied without regard
to race, sex, color, national origin, age,
or disability.
(j) Adverse action. If verification activities fail to confirm eligibility for
free or reduced price benefits or should
the household fail to cooperate with
verification efforts, the school or local
educational agencyshall reduce or terminate benefits, as applicable, as follows: Ten days advance notification
shall be provided to households that
are to receive a reduction or termination of benefits, prior to the actual
reduction or termination. The first day
of the 10 day advance notice period
shall be the day the notice is sent. The
notice shall advise the household of:
(1) The change;
(2) The reasons for the change;
(3) Notification of the right to appeal
and when the appeal must be filed to
ensure continued benefits while awaiting a hearing and decision;
(4) Instructions on how to appeal; and
(5) The right to reapply at any time
during the school year. The reasons for
ineligibility shall be properly docu-

mented and retained on file at the local
educational agency.
(Sec. 803, Pub. L. 97–35, 95 Stat. 521–535 (42
U.S.C. 1758))
[48 FR 12510, Mar. 25, 1983, as amended at 49
FR 26034, June 26, 1984; 52 FR 19275, May 22,
1987; 55 FR 19240, May 9, 1990; 56 FR 32950,
July 17, 1991; 56 FR 33861, July 24, 1991; 64 FR
50744, Sept. 20, 1999; 64 FR 72474, Dec. 28, 1999;
66 FR 48328, Sept. 20, 2001; 68 FR 53489, Sept.
11, 2003; 72 FR 63795, Nov. 13, 2007; 73 FR 76859,
Dec. 18, 2008]

§ 245.7 Hearing procedure for families
and local educational agencies.
(a) Each local educational agency of
a school participating in the National
School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program or the Special Milk Program or of a commodity only school
shall establish a hearing procedure
under which:
(1) A family can appeal from a decision made by the local educational
agency with respect to an application
the family has made for free or reduced
price meals or for free milk, and
(2) The local educational agency can
challenge the continued eligibility of
any child for a free or reduced price
meal or for free milk. The hearing procedure shall provide for both the family and the local educational agency:
(i) A simple, publicly announced
method to make an oral or written request for a hearing;
(ii) An opportunity to be assisted or
represented by an attorney or other
person;
(iii) An opportunity to examine, prior
to and during the hearing, any documents and records presented to support
the decision under appeal;
(iv) That the hearing shall be held
with reasonable promptness and convenience, and that adequate notice
shall be given as to the time and place
of the hearing;
(v) An opportunity to present oral or
documentary evidence and arguments
supporting a position without undue
interference;
(vi) An opportunity to question or refute any testimony or other evidence
and to confront and cross-examine any
adverse witnesses;
(vii) That the hearing shall be conducted and the decision made by a
hearing official who did not participate

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