Policy and ARM for SBP

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Policy Updates and News

Administrator’s Reference Manual (ARM) Update

SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual

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Publication Name	Download	About	Program Name
Complete ARM			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 01. Program Overview			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 02. Program Application & Agreement			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 02a. Meal Pattern Certification			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 03. Civil Rights & Confidentiality			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 04. Eligibility Determination			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 05. Special Provision Options			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 06. Verification of Eligibility			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 07. Breakfast Meals			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 08. Lunch Meals			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 09. Pre-Kindergarten Meals			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 10. Afterschool Snacks & Meals			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 11. Summer Meals			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 12. Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 13. Special Milk Program			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 14. USDA Foods			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 14a. USDA Foods Processing			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 15. Program Integrity			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 16. Financial System			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 16a. Contract Management			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 17. Procurement			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 17a. Procurement Procedures			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 17b. Buy American			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 17c. Cooperative Purchasing			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 18. Food Service Contracts			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 19. Meal Pricing			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 20. Counting & Claiming			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 21. Meal Service			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 22. Competitive Foods			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 23. Food Product Documentation			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 24. Disaster Situations			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 25. Meal Accommodations			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 26. Food Safety			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 27. Professional Standards			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 28. Residential Child Care Centers			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 29. Local Wellness Policy, Stakeholder Engagement			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 30. Records Retention			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Section 31. Administrative & Other Compliance Reviews			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Definitions and Acronyms			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual
Contact Information			SBP Handbook: Administrator's Reference Manual

USDA Policy

USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) issues policy memoranda to provide guidance on implementing NSLP. Click here to see these memos on the USDA site.

State and Federal Law Concerning F&N Programs

USDA Certification of Compliance
Click here to view the USDA Certification of Compliance Webpage

USDA Certification of Compliance Worksheets

Click here to view the 3-Day Schedule Certification Worksheets
Click here to view the 4-Day Schedule Certification Worksheets
Click here to view the 5-Day Schedule Certification Worksheets
Click here to view the 6-Day Schedule Certification Worksheets
Click here to view the 7-Day Schedule Certification Worksheets

Click here to view the USDA Approved Certification of Compliance Tools and Software
Click here to view the USDA Approved Nutrient Analysis Software

Eligibility Manual: Determining and Verifying Eligibility for School Meals

The USDA Eligibility Manual is available at https://www.fns.usda.gov/cn/eligibility-manual-school-meals. This manual contains information on federal requirements regarding the determination and verification of eligibility for free and reduced price meals in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP). These provisions also apply to the determination of eligibility for free milk under the Special Milk Program (SMP). This manual is to be used in conjunction with Section 4, Determining Eligibility in the Administrator's Reference Manual (ARM).

New Texas School Nutrition Laws

HB 1305—Breakfast Mandate
Starting with School Year 2015-2016, public and charter schools that are mandated to offer breakfast may operate a locally funded breakfast program in lieu of the federally funded School Breakfast Program.

School districts or charter schools may have schools that operate the School Breakfast Program and other schools that operate a locally funded breakfast program. In these cases, the school district or charter school must fully fund its locally funded breakfast program from resources other than the Child Nutrition Program.

Locally funded breakfast programs are eligible for state compensatory funding. Please note state compensatory funding is administered by the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

HB 3562—Charge Policy
If a school district allows students to use prepaid meal cards or accounts to purchase school meals, the district must establish a grace period during which a student is able to charge meals after the prepaid funds are exhausted.

The school district must also notify the student’s parent or guardian that the student’s meal card or account balance is exhausted. The district is not allowed to charge a fee or interest in connection with meals purchased by the students during the grace period. When the school district notifies the student’s parent or guardian that the student has a negative balance, the district may set a repayment schedule for the meal charges.

Assistance available in English and Spanish. Please call 877-TEX-MEAL (877-839-6325) for help. Additional translations services available as well.

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

1. Mail:

U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or

2. Fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or

3. Email: program.intake@usda.gov.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

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