I understand that questions continue to arise regarding the Free and Reduced Lunch Status that must be submitted through the APSCN system. Please remember that all districts are accountable for reporting through the Statewide Information System. The data submitted through APSCN is used to determine funding distributions for both state and federal programs.
One of the most important required data elements is whether a student is Free, Reduced, or Paid category with regard to the nutrition program. It is essential that a student be marked as 01 for Free, 02 for Reduced, or 03 for Paid status. Do not use the 04 category. This category is for direct certification and is NOT used for reporting purposes in the SIS system. If you district has already submitted your data with students designated with 04, or if your district has already coded students as 04 but has not submitted, please be advised that any student marked as an 04 will be converted to the 01 category when submitted.
Even though your district may be tracking the free or reduced status in another way, it is required that Free and Reduced and Paid status be indicated on the APSCN system for every student in your district.
If the category is left blank, those students are counted as Paid. Your Free and Reduced eligibility would be affected.
Again, many funding calculations use Free and Reduced Price meal status. It is imperative that the numbers for your students are reported accurately.
Your Pentamation screen may have additional choices from an old report. Disregard and only use 01, 02, 03 as previously indicated.
Thank you for your careful monitoring to ensure accurate reporting on this issue.