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Provision 2 or 3: Eligibility for Title I


Nutrition Services Division Management Bulletin

To: Sponsors of the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program, County Superintendents of Schools, Diocesan Superintendents of Schools

Number: 98-118

Attention: Food Service Directors

Date: December 1998

From: School Nutrition Programs

Subject: Numbers of Free/Reduced Price Eligible Children for Title I in Provision 2 and Provision 3 Schools


This management bulletin transmits All Points Bulletin (APB) SP-99-06 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). The APB addresses the issue of a school’s eligibility for Title I funding when it participates in the National School Lunch Program’s Provision 2 or Provision 3 reimbursement claiming alternatives.

Title I is an enrichment program that allocates funds to local education agencies based on the level of poverty in a school’s attendance area. One of the criteria for measuring poverty is the percentage of students approved for free or reduced price meals. Schools using Provision 2 or Provision 3 do not collect free and reduced price meal eligibility information on an annual basis. In consultation with the U.S. Department of Education, FNS has determined that schools using Provision 2 or Provision 3 may use their base year percentages of free, reduced price, and paid students for purposes of applying for Title I funding throughout subsequent years of the Provision 2 or Provision 3 cycle.

Attachment available in hard copy only.

Questions:   School Nutrition Programs Unit | SNPInfo@cde.ca.gov
Last Reviewed: Friday, April 18, 2025
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