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Direct Certification Requirements

This Management Bulletin (MB) reminds School Food Authorities (SFA) [Local Educational Agencies (LEA) participating in federal meal programs] that implementing a Direct Certification (DC) process is mandatory, and notifies SFAs about U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidance regarding improving the DC process, by outlining two requirements for SFAs: (1) the frequency of DC data matching and (2) elimination of the DC “letter method” to qualify eligible students and households for free meals. 

Action Required: (1) Frequency of Matches

Title 7, Code of Federal Regulations; Section 245.6(b)(3) requires SFAs to conduct DC matching activities at least three times per school year, including but not limited to, the following:

• At or around the beginning of the school year
• Three months after the initial effort
• Six months after the initial effort

DC can occur through two methods:

1. SFAs can contact local county welfare office(s) to obtain a list of students who are eligible for CalFresh (formerly Food Stamps) or California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) benefits.
2. SFAs can download DC data from the statewide California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) after it has matched California Department of Education (CDE) student enrollment data to CalFresh and CalWORKs benefit data from the California Department of Social Services.

Please note that SFAs can meet this “three times per school year” matching requirement by checking DC data from the CALPADS for at least two of the three occurrences, because the CALPADS refreshes the DC data monthly.

Action Required: (2) Eliminating the Letter Method

SFAs need to directly certify children receiving CalFresh or CalWORKs benefits without relying solely on “the letter method.” The letter method is a process where a household provides an SFA with a letter from a local Welfare Office certifying the household’s CalFresh or CalWORKs eligibility to obtain a student’s free meal benefits.

LEAs must ensure they have a method in place to directly exchange eligibility information from CalFresh or CalWORKs officials or from the CALPADS, and not require households to provide them with a letter from a welfare agency certifying the household’s CalFresh/CalWORKs benefits.

Details Regarding the Methods of Direct Certification

State Level Data Matching

The CDE has established a statewide DC matching process that pairs student level data stored in the CALPADS against statewide CalFresh and CalWORKs benefit recipient data stored in the CDSS’ data system. The CALPADS provides the DC match results to all public schools, county offices of education (COE), and charter schools through its electronic notification process.

SFAs may find instructions on how to implement DC using the CALPADS on the CDE Direct Certification Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/sn/directcert.asp.  

Private schools, public school districts, charter schools, and COEs may establish a local agreement with the county Department of Social or Welfare Services to match students against those children receiving CalFresh/CalWORKs benefits.  

To verify CalFresh participation, local welfare or social service office contacts can be obtained on the CDE CalFresh County Contacts for DC Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/sn/directcertcountycontacts.asp.

If you have any questions about using the CALPADS, please contact the CALPADS service desk by e-mail at calpads-support@cde.ca.gov or visit the CDE CALPADS Service Request Form CDE Web page at http://www2.cde.ca.gov/calpadshelp/. 

If you have any questions regarding this MB or DC policy requirements, please contact Naaz Rathore, School Nutrition Programs Specialist, by phone at 916-445-4839 or by e-mail at nrathore@cde.ca.gov.

Sandip Kaur, Acting Director

Nutrition Services Division