Food and Nutrition Programs

School Year (SY) 2025-2026 Annual Renewal of Student Eligibility Information

To:Local Education Agencies (LEAs) of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
From:Robert M. Leshin, Director, Office for Food and Nutrition Programs
Date:July 1, 2025

This memorandum serves to notify all participating NSLP sponsors that the annual renewal of student eligibility information may begin as of July 1st, 2025. FNP makes resources available to assist school districts in this process. Traditional claiming schools (counting meals in the free, reduced price and paid categories), Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) schools and Residential Child Care Institutions (RCCIs) have different requirements for renewing eligibility. These differences and the specific resources available for each school type are detailed throughout the memo. Please review each section for important requirements as it pertains to the schools in your district.

Universal School Meals and Student Eligibility

The Massachusetts legislature has made breakfast and lunch at no cost permanent for all students in participating NSLP schools. While students can access free breakfast and lunch regardless of eligibility, it remains imperative that districts continue to renew and update eligibility information for their students. Ensuring all free and reduced price eligible students are counted will help maximize federal funding and offset state funding for universal school meals.

Additionally, students who qualify for free or reduced price meals will automatically be enrolled in Sun Bucks (formerly Summer EBT). Sun Bucks provides families with eligible school age children grocery buying benefits during the summer months when school is not in session.

The letters to households and public release templates are available in the document and reference library of the security portal. They reflect messaging that meals are offered at no cost but encourages families to apply to maximize access to federal funding and eligibility for Sun Bucks benefits. Household letters also explain the need for these notices despite there being no direct impact on a student's ability to access free meals. Districts may want to include more information about other discounts provided for school related activities if applicable. See the "Sharing of Information" form detailed in the Optional Forms section below.

Eligibility Renewal Procedures

Schools collect eligibility information in three ways:

  • Direct Certification
  • Meal Benefit Applications
  • Other Source Categorical Eligibility

Traditional Claiming

  • Direct Certification
  • Meal Benefit Applications
  • Categorical Eligibility

CEP

  • Direct Certification
  • Categorical Eligibility

RCCIs (Day Students Only)

  • Direct Certification
  • Meal Benefit Applications (optional)
  • Categorical Eligibility

Direct Certification

Direct certification remains the primary method by which all School Food Authorities (SFAs) collect student eligibility information for Child Nutrition Programs. RCCIs that do not enroll day students are the only exception.

Traditional Claiming Schools must conduct direct certification at least three times during the school year via the MA Virtual Gateway. From (7CFR 245.6(b)(3)(A)):

  • Direct certification must be conducted within the following timeframe:
    1. At or around the beginning of the school year (i.e., July 1);
    2. Three months after the beginning of the school year; and
    3. Six months after the beginning of the school year.

Community Eligibility Provision schools (CEP) and Provision 2 Non Base Year schools are required to conduct direct certification at least once annually.

FNP recommends monthly direct certification matching. This provides maximum funding for traditional claiming schools and the most up to date data for state reporting for all districts.

Notification of Direct Certification

Directly certified students must receive the Notice of Certification for free or reduced price meals. Subsequent direct certification efforts are required for students who were not initially directly certified and who are currently eligible for reduced price or paid meals. This includes students qualified with a meal benefit application. Newly enrolled students' meal benefit status must be determined through direct certification at the time of enrollment. Students transferring from another LEA within the state may bring their eligibility determination for the current school year (2025-2026).

Virtual Gateway Access

All districts (except RCCIs that do not enroll day students) must have access to the Virtual Gateway to conduct direct certification. Districts should ensure they are able to conduct direct certification by making sure any change in personnel is updated by the district's Access Administrator for the Virtual Gateway. Please contact your DESE consultant if you need assistance with Virtual Gateway access.

Meal Benefit Applications

The annual Massachusetts Free and Reduced Price School Meals Household Application Packet documents, updated for SY 25-26, are available in the Document and Reference Library of the DESE Security Portal. LEAs must use the current year's documents (and templates) as they include this school year's mandatory USDA and MA DESE information.

Web-based applications: Any Local Educational Agency that uses a web-based application must report the system as a determining official on the district's Free and Reduced Price Policy Statement. The Scanned and Web-Based Application Checklist must also be completed and submitted in the compliance packet, (please contact your DESE NSLP consultant). The checklist ensures that the scanned or web-based household application process meets the requirements. Any web-based application identified as not meeting the USDA requirements may result in fiscal action.

As a reminder, applications cannot be distributed, made available, or processed either in an online format or electronically, at the end of the school year for the next year (July 1 – June 30).

Verification: All meal benefit applications approved for free or reduced price benefits are subject to the verification process. The verification process can begin on or before October 1 and must be completed by November 15, 2025. Direct verification must be utilized via the MA Virtual Gateway to see if any students selected for verification can be verified without having to use the paper verification process.

Other Source Categorical Eligibility

Districts can certify students through Other Source Categorical Eligibility. A child's eligibility for free benefits under Other Source Categorical Eligibility does not extend to any other child in the household. A child is Other Source Categorically Eligible if they are:

  • Enrolled in Federal Head Start
  • Enrolled in State or Indian Tribal Organization funded pre-kindergarten programs that use eligibility criteria that are identical or more stringent than Federal Head Start
  • Determined to be homeless by the LEA's homeless liaison or by an official of a homeless shelter
  • Determined to be a migrant by the State or local Migrant Education Program coordinator or homeless liaison
  • Determined to be a runaway who is identified by the local education liaison as receiving assistance through a program under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act
  • Determined to be a foster child whose care and placement is the responsibility of the State, or who is formally placed by a court with a caretaker household through which the State retains legal custody of the child

These students do not need to complete a meal benefit form to be certified, but the district must document student eligibility either through the organization that is providing the services or through the school's designated liaison. Many of the students eligible through these categories will be matched through direct certification. Other Source Categorical Eligibility remains an important process to ensure students qualifying through these categories are identified.

FNP Letter and Form Templates

In the document and reference library (DRL) of the security portal LEAs can find templates for traditional claiming, CEP schools, and Residential Child Care Institutions enrolling day students. This includes letters developed to assist districts in communicating with their respective school communities. The [bold, bracketed fields] indicate where LEAs need to insert school district specific information.

The DRL also includes required and optional form templates to provide to households.

Required Forms

The mandatory forms must be tailored to include district specific information before sending them to households. The LEA edited forms and letters need to be uploaded to DESE as part of the NSLP application renewal. The required forms and letters include:

  • MA SY 25-26 Free and Reduced Price School Meal Benefit Application and Instructions
    • Please be advised that outdated or unapproved documents may result in a fiscal disallowance.
  • MA meal benefit notification letters for both direct certification and meal benefit application determinations
    • Direct certification notification letters for CEP schools are available and are the only notification letters that are required for district wide CEP. Districts with both traditional claiming and CEP schools will need to provide direct certification and meal benefit application determination letters in the application packet under the "Letters to Households" component upload.
  • Verification documents and information for households selected for verification of eligibility information materials (CEP and Provision 2 non base year schools are exempt)
    • Verification letter templates must include your district's no-charge telephone number for verification assistance.
      • Notification of Selection for Verification of Eligibility — if household is not directly verified via the Virtual Gateway
      • Letter of Verification Results — Provide to households selected for verification (direct verification or paper method)
  • Hearing Procedure
    • A hearing procedure guidelines document is included for the district to use to develop their district specific hearing procedures.
      • Students whose application was denied or had a reduction in benefits as a result of the verification process must be provided with a written hearing procedure with the notice of reduction in benefits.

All households must be notified of their eligibility status. Households with children who are denied benefits must be given written notification of the denial. The notification must advise the household of the reason for the denial of benefits, the right to appeal, instruction on how to appeal, and a statement that the family may re-apply for free and reduced price meal benefits at any time during the school year. Households with children who are approved for free or reduced price benefits with an application may be notified in writing or orally.

Optional forms that may be provided to households

  • Limited English Proficiency Taglines Cover Page and USDA I Speak…
    • These documents should be included in the beginning of any communication sent to parents to assist in determining the language needs of a particular household. These documents are included in the Letters to Households and the Notification Letters. To accommodate a person with LEP use the translated USDA application package in their preferred language. Forty nine (49) different languages are available at Translated Model School Meals Application | Food and Nutrition Service . Additional instructions about diminishing participation barriers for Limited English Proficient (LEP) households are found in the Eligibility Manual for School Meals .
  • The Sharing of Information with Other Programs form is included in the packet and may be used for specific programs that are not covered by the federal/state education program authorized by law. The name of the program(s) must be identified on the release form and parental/guardian signature must be obtained prior to the release of any information. CEP Schools may include these forms when notifying households of direct certification matches if applicable. Parental consent is not required when sharing student eligibility information with other sponsors of Child Nutrition Programs such as the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). Please refer to the Eligibility Manual for School Meals for complete information.
  • Sharing Information with Medicaid/CHIP

Forms for District Use

  • SY 25-26 Income Eligibility Guidelines
    • Do not include the Income Eligibility Guidelines document as part of the application package. It is for school use only!
  • Public Media Release prototypes
    All participating districts with the exception of Residential Child Care Institutions must announce their participation in the National School Lunch Program annually per 7CFR 245.5(a). This announcement must include how children in their schools qualify for free and reduced price meals. The prototypes are available for traditional claiming schools, CEP districts, and districts with both traditional claiming schools and CEP schools.

If you have any questions regarding the USDA School Nutrition Programs, please contact your NSLP Consultant. Your consultant is listed at the bottom of the district application:





Last Updated: July 1, 2025



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