Establishing the Sample Pool

To establish the sample pool, SFAs must count the number of approved free and reduced applications on file for the entire SFA as of October 1. The sample pool depends on the number of approved applications, paper or electronic, and is not based on the number of children eligible for free and reduced priced benefits. If October 1 falls on a weekend or a school break, use the next operating day to establish the sample pool.

SFAs have the option to begin verification prior to October 1, once they begin the application approval process for the current school year. This option may ease the administrative burden for particularly large SFAs who receive several household income applications. However, the sample pool must still be based on the number of applications on file as of October 1. See the Beginning Verification Prior to October 1 tab for additional details.

Applications submitted for “mixed households,” which include children who are eligible based on income and others based on Other Source Categorical Eligibility, are subject to verification and must be included in the sample pool.

Applications with case numbers that are not certified through direct certification are subject to verification and should be included in the sample pool.

Verification must take place after an application has been approved.

Do NOT include:

  • Households that are matched through the Direct Certification Matching Process (DCMP) for SNAP/Medicaid, and those students who have been identified as living in the same household as the certified student receiving SNAP/Medicaid benefits
  • Certification letters for SNAP/TANF from the local assistance agencies
  • Foster children who are identified by a list or letters from social services and voluntary placement agencies
  • Migrant children who have been identified by the district's Migrant Education Program
  • Runaway or homeless children who have been identified by the district's McKinney-Vento school district liaison
  • Children participating in federally funded Head Start/Even Start

*When carrying over eligibility for the first 30 operating days for students whose free or reduced eligibility was determined in the previous school year, do not count these applications in your verification pool and do not verify eligibility. The carryover applications were subject to the verification process in the previous school year.

Beginning Verification Prior to October 1

The National School Lunch Act states that verification must be based on a school’s sample size as of October 1 each school year.  However, SFAs are now allowed to begin verification once they begin the application approval process for the current school year and have approved applications on file. This means SFAs are not required to wait until October 1 to initiate the verification process and may instead choose to begin conducting verification once they begin the application approval process for the current school year.

When beginning verification prior to October 1, SFAs must:

  • Decide how often to sample applications (weekly, every other week, etc.)
  • Include in each sample pool only applications approved since the last sample was selected
  • Select either 3 percent or 1.5 percent of approved applications, as required by the sampling method, each time. Round down to the nearest whole number to prevent over sampling

On or around October 1:

  • Sample the final set of applications, selecting only from the applications approved since the last sampling
  • Calculate the number of applications selected for verification to date (including the October sample)
  • Calculate 3% or 3,00 (or 1.5%, if applicable) of all applications approved as of October 1, rounding up to the next whole number
    • If the number of applications selected to date is less than 3%/1.5% number, fill the remainder of the sample by selecting randomly from error prone, categorically eligible, or all applications, approved since the beginning of the school year as required for the sampling method
    • If there are not enough applications of the required type, then sample randomly from all applications

Please note that all existing statutory and regulatory requirements continue to apply when using this approach, but the timing and sampling process is tailored to accommodate the extended timeframe during which verification is being conducted.