Agreement to Participate in the School Nutrition Programs New On-Line Entry for 2003-2004

COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

P.O. BOX 2120

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120

SUPTS. MEMO NO. 5

June 20, 2003

REGULATORY

TO:

Division Superintendents

FROM:

Jo Lynne DeMary

Superintendent of Public Instruction

SUBJECT:

Agreement to Participate in the School Nutrition Programs New On-Line Entry for 2003-2004

Administrative Superintendents Memo #21, dated May 2, 2003, described a new Web-based system developed for the School Nutrition Programs (SNPweb). Federal regulations governing School Nutrition Programs require each school division to enter into a legal Agreement with the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) annually to participate in the National School Lunch, School Breakfast, Special Milk, and/or Afterschool Snack Programs.

The SNPweb System is a secure, Web-based program that is used for on-line creation and submission of the Annual Agreement to participate in the federal school nutrition programs. This new system replaces the manual submission of the Annual Agreement and the Uniform Policy Statement for Free and Reduced Price Meals. Additionally, the system will be used to create and submit monthly claims for reimbursement and the required verification and financial reports. It also will provide standard reports for local use. The previous electronic claims reimbursement software will be retired on July 21, 2003. The VDOE Single Sign-On for Web Systems (SSWS) is the portal for gaining secure access to the SNPweb system.

You have previously designated an SSWS administrator as your representative for assigning log-ins and passwords and for granting access rights to all VDOE Web applications, including the new SNPweb system. As superintendent, you remain the legal signature authority and you are the individual responsible for entering into this Annual Agreement with VDOE. You also must ensure compliance with all federal regulations.

School divisions that use a food service management company (FSMC) in the operation of their school nutrition programs may not delegate this authority to any employee of the food service management company. Federal regulations require that the school division ...Retain signature authority on the State Agency-School Division Annual Agreement, free and reduced price meal applications, and all claims. (7CFR 210.16 Para. a. 5)

Critical Timelines:

July 1, 2003: Submission of the completed on-line Annual Agreement for VDOEs review and approval. Training on how to complete this submission was provided to every school division between May 19, 2003 and June 19, 2003.

July 20, 2003: Last day for submission of all SY 2002-2003 claims for reimbursement including June 2003 using the existing (old) E-claim software.

July 21-July 31,2003: VDOEs old and new School Nutrition Programs systems are not available to school divisions. VDOE will be converting all 19942003 SNP data and claims from the old system to the new system.

August 1, 2003: New SNPweb system will be available to accept July 2003 claim submissions and annual financial reports.

August 31, 2003: On-line Annual Financial report for school year 2002-2003 due to VDOE.

During this transition year, after VDOE has approved the on-line Annual Agreement, a hard copy of the Agreement signed by VDOE, and the supporting documents will be mailed to school divisions. The Agreement packet must be maintained on file at the school division and be readily accessible during a review or audit of the School Nutrition Programs. Federal reimbursement for meals cannot be paid for school year 2003-2004 until the Annual Agreement is approved.

In addition to the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP) the following programs are available under certain circumstances.

Special Milk Program: School divisions that have students attending split session kindergarten programs who do not have access to the School Breakfast and Lunch Programs and/or schools that do not participate in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs may apply to participate in the Special Milk Program for children. The Special Milk Program section of the on-line agreement must be complete for each site that wishes to participate.

Afterschool Snack Program: School divisions may also receive federal reimbursement for snacks served to students in an after school program. To qualify for federal reimbursement, the after school programs must meet the following criteria as originally outlined in Regulatory Superintendents Memo #2, dated April 30, 1999:

a. Must participate in the National School Lunch Program;

b. The school division, not an outside organization, must operate or sponsor the after school program;

c. Must provide children with educational or enrichment activities;

d. Must be operated after the regularly scheduled school day;

e. Must be regularly scheduled in an organized, structured, and supervised environment.

The Afterschool Snack Program section of the on-line Annual Agreement must be completed for each site that wishes to participate.

Mandatory School Breakfast Program: The Code of Virginia (22.1-16 and 22.1-17) requires school divisions to establish a school breakfast program in each school in which 25 percent or more of the currently enrolled children are eligible for free or reduced price meals as of October 31 of the preceding school year. New or realigned schools shall use student free and reduced price eligibility and membership data as of October 31 of the school year in which the school is opened or realigned. Any new or realigned school with 25 percent or more of the currently enrolled children eligible for free or reduced price meals shall begin a school breakfast program by the first operating day of January in the current school year. Please review eligibility data for each of your schools before completing this Letter of Agreement. If any of your schools meet this criteria, a breakfast program must be established.

Adult meals: The purpose of the school nutrition program is to safeguard the health and well-being of our nations children. Meals served to adults are not eligible for federal reimbursement, nor do they count toward determining the value of donated food assistance. Federal reimbursements, students meal payments, and other nonprofit food service revenues cannot be used to subsidize meals served to adults. Breakfasts and lunches served to administrators, teachers, custodians, and other adults must be priced so that the adult payment is sufficient to cover the overall cost of the meals, including the value of any donated foods, and must be greater than any of the student meal prices.

Please ensure that the director of your School Nutrition Programs complies with this regulatory information by the required deadlines.

Questions regarding the on-line Annual Agreement should be directed to the school nutrition specialist assigned to your division or to Catherine Digilio Grimes, director, School Nutrition Programs, at (804) 225-2074.

JLD/CDG/idl