ADE Director's Communication Memo Form


Memo Number : IA-04-098

Date Created : 04/15/2004

Attention:

Superintendents
Co-op Directors
other: Food Service Directors

Type of Memo: Regulatory
Response Required: Yes
   
Section:   Internal Administration - Dr. Bobbie Davis
Subject:
Direct Certification Program - School Lunch Program

Regulatory Authority:
7CFR Part 245.6a, Part 245.11

Contact Person:
Louann Griswood

Phone Number:
501-324-9502

E-mail:
lgriswood@arkedu.k12.ar.us

Direct Certification Program

Direct certification, as defined by USDA regulations, allows school food authorities to determine children eligible for free meals based on eligibility for food stamps. Regulations also allow a computerized list as documentation of eligibility. This list will replace the application for free meals and will eliminate the verification of applications for all children determined eligible by direct certification.

Changes to the Direct Certification Process

1. All Arkansas school districts will participate in direct certification process of eligible students.
2. To expedite the district notification, each district is required to submit the district contact form by April 27, 2004. An email distribution list will be prepared to expedite communications to districts in case this new data process does not work. A correct email address as well as home phone number and home address for the Direct Certification Contact person must be turned in to Child Nutrition for contact purposes.
3. At this time school districts using the Pentamation system for student data will not be required to submit student data on disks. CNU, ADE is working with APSCN to pull the student data automatically for the matching process. If the test pull is not satisfactory, districts will be notified by May 14, 2004 to submit the student data on disks as in previous years.
4. The following school districts who do not submit data through Pentamation will be required to submit all student data using the Direct Certification Procedures listed below by no later than May 14, 2004:

· Lake Hamilton School District
· Little Rock School District
· North Little Rock School District
· Pulaski County School District

5. Student data for any school district involved in annexation or consolidation will automatically be transferred to the district receiving the students. The transferred student data will be organized using the former district school rollover data prior to annexation and consolidation. CNU,ADE does not have the capability to transfer students to new assigned school locations.

Direct Certification Procedures (for school districts that CANNOT be pulled by APSCN, as listed in number 4 above)

This process will provide a direct certification list for each school in the district; the district will provide the 2004-2005 required information for each school by May 14, 2004. This information is to be provided on IBM compatible 3-inch computer diskette(s). The diskette(s) must be 1.44 density. The district file may be sent by email to Melissa Harris at mharris@arkedu.k12.ar.us. If a file is emailed, it must contain the information and be in the same layout as described in this memo. PLEASE PUT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT NAME IN THE SUBJECT LINE OF THE EMAILED FILE. If this is sent by email please follow up with a phone call to Missy Harris at 501.324.9502 to insure that it was received.

Social Security numbers with birth dates must be accurate for each student. Social Security numbers with less than 9 digits need not be sent. The social security number must belong to the student, not the student's parent. If social security numbers are not available, use the student ID numbers provided by the Department of Education. Please make every attempt to remove any student who is no longer enrolled in the school(s), for example, graduates and transferred students. Replace quote signs " " around nicknames and street names with parentheses (). Quote signs should only be at the beginning of a field and at the end of the field. See example below:

INCORRECT CODING: "John "Corky", "Smith", "125"G"Street", "City", "State"
CORRECT CODING: "John (Corky) Smith", "125 G Street", "City", "State"

The files must be an ASCII file, with quotes and comma delimited. CNU, ADE cannot accept typed or handwritten listings, only diskettes and email attachments.

The file that will be created from the submitted text file(s) is as follows:

FIELD....................FIELD
NAME....................LENGTH (A=ALPHA)

*School LEA number A7 - Required
Must be the school the student will attend for the 2004-2005 school year.
Social Security number A9 - Required
Last name A25 - Required
First name A25 - Required
Address A20 - If Provided
City A20 - If Provided
State A2 - If Provided
Zip Code A10 - If Provided
Birth date A6 - Required
Parents names A40 - If Provided
**Grade A2 - Required

* LEA numbers must be used to identify files. Please ensure that the LEA number is correct.

**Grade must be the level the student will be in during the 2004-2005 school year, not the grade for the current school year.

IF THE ASCII WITH QUOTES AND COMMA DELIMITED FILE DOES NOT MEET ALL OF THESE REQUIREMENTS, IT WILL NOT BE PROCESSED.

If the name field exceeds the field length, the information in that field will be shortened on the district report. Only those students with valid social security numbers and valid birth dates will be used in the matching operation at the Department of Human Services. Social Security Numbers and Grades must be in fields by themselves.

After the diskette is created, open it to make sure that it contains the records, i.e. open "chldnut.dat". Review the data for mistakes within each field. Keep a district copy of the file that is sent to CNU.

THE FOLLOWING SCHOOL DISTRICTS SHOULD RETURN DISKETTES:

Lake Hamilton School District
Little Rock School District
North Little Rock School District
Pulaski County School District

Send to:

Attn: Missy Harris
Arkansas Department of Education
Child Nutrition Unit
2020 W. Third, Suite 404
Little Rock, AR 72205-4465

DO NOT SEND TO ADE BUILDING AT 4 CAPITOL MALL.


Attachments:

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