If you have already submitted the School Nutrition Programs (SNP) 2025–26 Verification Report, please disregard this notification.
This email provides school food authorities (SFA) with information on annual verification reporting requirements.
By January 15, 2026, SFAs operating the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) SFAs must submit their annual verification report (VR) to the California Department of Education (CDE) Nutrition Services Division (NSD) through the Child Nutrition Information and Payment System (CNIPS). The report requires SFAs that participate in the NSLP or SBP to report the verification results of their annual free and reduced-price (F\RP) application process to the CDE. The CDE then reports consolidated verification results for all SFAs on the NSLP or SBP to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). These reporting requirements are specific to the SNPs. Any verification activities specific to Universal Benefits Applications for the SUN Bucks program must not be included in this report.
Please note, even if your district or agency is not required to conduct verification activities (e.g., because your schools participate in the Community Eligibility Provision or Provision 2 in a non-base year), all SFAs must complete and submit the VR in the CNIPS.
Important Information about the Verification Report
For all SFAs required to report direct certification (DC) data, the USDA requires SFAs and the CDE to individually report on the number of students directly certified through CalFresh, California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs), Medi-Cal, and through other programs. In compliance with federal regulations, the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) provides a Certification Status code that designates the program of eligibility as follows:
S–Student is eligible for free meals only through CalFresh
T–Student is eligible for free meals only through CalWORKS
M–Student is eligible for free meals only through Medi-Cal
R–Student is eligible for reduced-price meals through meeting the income eligibility criteria of Medi-Cal
N–Student is not directly certified for F/RP meals, because no match was found
SFAs without Access to CALPADS
SFAs without access to CALPADS, such as private schools, nonpublic schools, and residential childcare institutions with day students must report the data received through their local match process. The DC data obtained through the local county department of social or welfare services must be entered in the VR. Please note, SFAs without access to CALPADS will not have Medi-Cal DC data to report.
SNP Verification Resources
For helpful resources in completing the verification process, please visit the CDE SNP Verification Materials web page.
Additionally, the NSD has created a new training video to assist SFAs in completing the mandatory verification reporting. The Verification Reporting training video is accessible through the NSD Learning Site. SFAs must complete a self-registration process before taking the training course. After registering, enter Verification in the search field to be directed to the Verification Reporting training. For help completing the self-registration process, please download LMS 001 – Learning Management System Account Setup Job Aid located in the CNIPS Download Forms section. If you need assistance or have questions regarding registration, please email at NSDLearning@cde.ca.gov.
Contact Information
If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact your SNP County Specialist. A current list of SNP Specialists is available on the SNP Specialist Directory web page. You can also email snpinfo@cde.ca.gov.