COE Classrooms on School Campuses

This Management Bulletin (MB) clarifies the extent to which County Office of Education (COE) Special Education/Alternative Education classrooms on public school campuses are considered separate sites under the public school’s National School Lunch Program (NSLP) agreement.

Are COE classrooms on public school sites considered separate sites?

No. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the COE should not be listed as a separate site under the school food authority’s (SFA) NSLP agreement if the SFA has an interagency agreement with a COE to administer the NSLP (e.g., provide meals, certify eligibility, and claims meals).

Should reimbursable meals served to COE students be counted and claimed separately?

No. If the SFA and the COE have entered into an interagency agreement (as described above), and the students are served meals in the same cafeteria or in the classroom, the COE students should be included in the school’s regular total meal count.

Do I need to notify the NSD about COE classrooms on public school campuses?

Yes. The USDA requires that SFAs notify the Nutrition Services Division (NSD) whenever they enter into a new interagency agreement with a COE or anytime the interagency agreement is modified or changed. SFAs should notify the NSD of new or modified agreements by sending a signed copy of the interagency agreement to:

California Department of Education
School Nutrition Programs Unit
1430 N Street, Suite 4503
Sacramento, CA 95814

If COE classrooms are now counted and claimed with the public school site, how do I remove the COE sites in the Child Nutrition Information and Payment System (CNIPS)?

To remove the existing COE site(s) from your School Nutrition Programs Site List in the CNIPS before the site has been approved by the NSD:

• Access the CNIPS at the following Web site https://cnips.cde.ca.gov/Splash.aspx
• Enter your User ID and Password into the spaces provided
• Select Applications in the dark blue tool bar
• Select Application Packet
• Select school year
• Select Site Application(s)-School Nutrition Programs
• Select the COE site by name
• Select the Effective Date to access the site application
• Select Delete in the upper right hand corner
• Select the red Delete button to confirm

To remove the existing COE site(s) from your School Nutrition Programs Site List in the CNIPS after the site has been approved by the NSD:

• Complete the Site Drop Form, which is listed as Form Caseload SNP in the Download Forms section of CNIPS, and fax to the number provided. The NSD will remove the COE site(s).

Note: Please ensure that you include the COE classroom enrollment in the corresponding school site’s total enrollment, which is listed as Question 14 in the CNIPS site application. Also include the COE’s lunches claimed from two years prior to Question 13 in the corresponding site’s CNIPS site application.

If you have any questions regarding this MB, please contact your SNP County Specialist. The SNP County Specialist list is available in the Child Nutrition Information and Payment System Download Forms section, Form ID Caseload SNP.