This report responds to the requirement of PL 110-246 to assess the effectiveness of state and local efforts to directly certify children for free school meals. Direct certification is a process conducted by the states and by local educational agencies to certify eligible children for free meals without the need for household applications.
The Department of Agriculture has submitted the following information collection requirement(s) to OMB for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This collection is a reinstatement, without change, of a previously approved collection for which approval has expired for the state agency Direct Certification Rate Data Element Report.
We received hundreds of submissions from schools throughout the United States, and USDA staff assessed each entry for use of USDA Foods, creativity, and overall photo quality. We enjoyed viewing the many worthy and inspiring photos, and narrowing them down to one winner was a difficult task!