In order to allocate Title I funds for school year 1999-2000, the Title I office needs local school districts to provide the number of students with approved free lunch applications from October 1998 by the county in which they live. Use the same count of children with approved free lunch applications as you have entered on the October Claim for Reimbursement submitted to the Child Nutrition Unit of the Department of Education. ONLY FREE LUNCH ELIGIBLES are used to allocate Title I funds. The number reported on both forms must be the same. If your district includes preschool and/or GED free lunch eligibles on the Claim for Reimbursement, enter all such free lunch eligibles on Line 5. Students below the age of 5 and above the age of 17 are not counted when distributing Title I funds [see 20 USC 6333 Public Law 103-382, Section 1124(c) Children To Be Counted (1)(A)]. Adjustments to the free lunch count at a later date cannot be accepted unless the change is the result of an audit.
It is essential that we have this data from every district since it affects all districts in your county and the surrounding counties. Please reply no later than January 15, 1999, using the attached form.
Please return this form to:
Arlen Jones, Title I, ESEA Coordinator
Arkansas Department of Education
#4 State Capitol Mall, Room 202-B
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201-1071