This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

65777 

Vol. 88, No. 185 

Tuesday, September 26, 2023 

FEDERAL LABOR RELATIONS 

AUTHORITY 

5 CFR Part 2429 

Miscellaneous and General 

Requirements 

AGENCY: Federal Labor Relations 

Authority. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final rule adopts, 

without change, an interim final rule 

published in the Federal Register on 

July 10, 2023, with a correction 

published on July 12, 2023. The rule 

permits parties to proceedings before 

the Federal Labor Relations Authority’s 

(FLRA’s) three-Member, decisional 

component (the Authority) to 

voluntarily request—in individual cases 

filed through the FLRA’s electronicfiling (eFiling) system—that the 

Authority use electronic mail (email) to 

serve the requesting parties any 

decisions, orders, and notices 

(Authority documents) issued in those 

individual cases. 

DATES: This final rule is effective on 

September 26, 2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Erica Balkum, Chief, Office of Case 

Intake and Publication at ebalkum@

flra.gov or at: (771) 444–5805. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On July 

10, 2023, the FLRA published an 

interim final rule in the Federal 

Register at 88 FR 43425, amending its 

regulations to permit parties to 

proceedings before the Authority to 

voluntarily request—in individual cases 

filed through the FLRA’s eFiling 

system—that the Authority use email to 

serve the requesting parties any 

Authority documents issued in those 

individual cases. The Federal Register 

notice: stated that it had an effective 

date of July 11, 2023; solicited written 

comments; and requested that any such 

comments be submitted by August 10, 

2023. 

Then, on July 12, 2023, the Federal 

Register issued a correction in 88 FR 

44191, changing (1) the interim final 

rule’s effective date to July 10, 2023, and 

(2) the due date for comments to August 

9, 2023. 

The FLRA has received only two 

comments on the interim final rule, both 

of which were submitted after the 

corrected, August 9, 2023 due date for 

comments. The FLRA has nonetheless 

opted to consider both comments. Cf. 

Reytblatt v. NRC, 105 F.3d 715, 723 

(D.C. Cir. 1997) (stating that ‘‘[a]gencies 

are free to ignore . . . late filings,’’ but 

not holding that agencies are required to 

do so) (emphasis added) (quoting 

Personal Watercraft Indus. Ass’n v. 

Dep’t of Com., 48 F.3d 540, 543 (D.C. 

Cir. 1995)). 

One commenter, a federal agency, 

fully supported the rule but suggested a 

specific technical change in the FLRA’s 

eFiling system outside the scope of the 

rule. The other commenter, the owner 

and chief executive officer of a 

government-contracting company, did 

not directly address the rule but 

generally discussed document-based 

business processes. 

Neither comment warrants changing 

the rule. Therefore, based on the 

rationale set forth in the interim final 

rule and this document, the FLRA is 

adopting the provision of the interim 

final rule as a final rule with no 

changes. The FLRA appreciates the 

comments submitted in response to the 

interim final rule, and will take under 

advisement the recommended change to 

the eFiling system. 

Administrative Procedure Act 

On July 10, 2023, the FLRA published 

an interim final rule (88 FR 43425) and 

determined that there was a basis under 

the Administrative Procedure Act for 

issuing the interim final rule with 

immediate effect. On July 12, 2023, the 

Federal Register issued a correction (88 

FR 44191). The FLRA has considered all 

relevant input and information 

contained in the comments submitted in 

response to the interim final rule and 

has concluded that no changes to the 

interim final rule are warranted. The 

FLRA is adopting the provisions of the 

interim final rule as a final rule with no 

changes. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification 

Pursuant to section 605(b) of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 

605(b), the Chairman of the FLRA has 

determined that this final rule will not 

have a significant impact on a 

substantial number of small entities, 

because this final rule applies only to 

Federal agencies, Federal employees, 

and labor organizations representing 

those employees. 

Executive Order 12866, Regulatory 

Review 

The FLRA is an independent 

regulatory agency and thus is not 

subject to the requirements of E.O. 

12866 (58 FR 51735, Sept. 30, 1993). 

Executive Order 13132, Federalism 

The FLRA is an independent 

regulatory agency and thus is not 

subject to the requirements of E.O. 

13132 (64 FR 43255, Aug. 4, 1999). 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995 

This final rule will not result in the 

expenditure by state, local, and tribal 

governments, in the aggregate, or by the 

private sector, of $100,000,000 or more 

in any one year, and it will not 

significantly or uniquely affect small 

governments. Therefore, no actions were 

deemed necessary under the provisions 

of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995. 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996 

This action is not a major rule as 

defined by section 804 of the Small 

Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act of 1996. This final rule will 

not result in an annual effect on the 

economy of $100,000,000 or more; a 

major increase in costs or prices; or 

significant adverse effects on 

competition, employment, investment, 

productivity, innovation, or on the 

ability of United States-based 

companies to compete with foreignbased companies in domestic and 

export markets. 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

The amended regulations contain no 

additional information collection or 

record-keeping requirements under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 

U.S.C. 3501, et seq. 

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 2429 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Government employees, 

Labor management relations. 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with RULES1
65778 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 185 / Tuesday, September 26, 2023 / Rules and Regulations 

1On July 29, 2016, the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) published the final rule, 

National School Lunch Program and School 

Breakfast Program: Eliminating Applications 

through Community Eligibility as Required by the 

Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 [81 FR 

50194, July 29, 2016], which codified CEP 

requirements that were implemented through 

statute and policy guidance, at § 245.9(f). 

2 Identified students include students living in 

households participating in SNAP, Temporary 

Assistance for Needy Families, and FDPIR. 

Identified students also include those who are 

homeless, migrant, runaway, in foster care, or 

enrolled in Head Start. In some States, students are 

directly certified through Medicaid direct 

certification demonstration projects. Students in 

States participating in the Medicaid direct 

certification demonstration projects are only 

included in the ISP if they are certified for free 

meals (not reduced price meals). 

3CEP schools only claim meals at the free and 

paid reimbursement rates. CEP schools do not claim 

reduced price meals. 

■ Accordingly, the interim final rule 

published in the Federal Register on 

July 10, 2023, at 88 FR 43425—and 

corrected on July 12, 2023, at 88 FR 

44191—is adopted as a final rule 

without change. 

Approved: September 21, 2023. 

Rebecca J. Osborne, 

Federal Register Liaison, Federal Labor 

Relations Authority. 

[FR Doc. 2023–20892 Filed 9–25–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7627–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Food and Nutrition Service 

7 CFR Part 245 

[FNS–2022–0044] 

RIN 0584–AE93 

Child Nutrition Programs: Community 

Eligibility Provision—Increasing 

Options for Schools 

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service 

(FNS), Department of Agriculture 

(USDA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: This final rule amends the 

Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) 

regulations by lowering the minimum 

identified student percentage (ISP) from 

40 percent to 25 percent. Lowering the 

minimum ISP will give States and 

schools greater flexibility to offer meals 

to all enrolled students at no cost when 

financially viable. As a result of this 

rule, more schools are eligible to 

participate in CEP and experience the 

associated benefits, such as increasing 

students’ access to healthy, no-cost 

school meals; eliminating unpaid meal 

charges; reducing stigma; and 

streamlining Program administration 

and meal service operations. 

DATES: This rule is effective October 26, 

2023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michelle Frey, Branch Chief, Policy 

Design Branch, School Meals Policy 

Division—4th Floor, Food and Nutrition 

Service, 1320 Braddock Place, 

Alexandria, VA 22314, telephone: 703– 

305–2590. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Community Eligibility Provision 

(CEP) is an option for eligible schools to 

offer meals at no cost to all enrolled 

students without collecting household 

applications. Authorized by the 

Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 

(HHFKA) and codified in regulations at 

7 CFR 245.9(f), CEP is a reimbursement 

alternative for eligible local educational 

agencies (LEAs) and schools 

participating in both the National 

School Lunch Program (NSLP) and 

School Breakfast Program (SBP).1 CEP 

eliminates the need for schools to 

collect household income applications 

by sharing eligibility data between 

specific Federal assistance programs, 

which can reduce administrative burden 

for both schools and families. 

To be eligible for CEP, an individual 

school, group of schools, or LEA must 

meet or exceed the established, 

minimum identified student percentage 

(ISP) in the school year prior to 

implementing CEP. The ISP is the 

percentage of enrolled students who are 

certified for free school meals without 

submitting a household application, 

such as those directly certified through 

specific Federal benefits programs (e.g., 

the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 

Program (SNAP) and the Food 

Distribution Program on Indian 

Reservations (FDPIR)). For CEP, 

students who are certified for free meals 

without a household application are 

‘‘identified students’’ (42 U.S.C. 

1759a(a)(1)(F)(i); 7 CFR 245.9(f)(1)(ii)) 2

The ISP is calculated by dividing the 

total number of identified students by 

the total number of enrolled students: 

Under current regulations, the 

minimum ISP is 40 percent; therefore, to 

be eligible for CEP, an individual 

school, group of schools, or LEA must 

have an ISP greater than, or equal to, 40 

percent (ISP ≥40 percent) as of April 1 

of the school year prior to implementing 

CEP (7 CFR 245.9(f)(3)(i)). 

The ISP determines eligibility to 

participate in CEP and is also the basis 

of Federal reimbursements for meals 

served to students in CEP schools. The 

National School Lunch Act (NSLA) 

gives the Secretary discretion to 

establish a CEP ‘‘multiplier’’ between 

1.3 and 1.6 that is used to determine the 

percentage of meals that CEP schools 

claim at the free and paid 

reimbursement rate levels (42 U.S.C. 

1759a(a)(1)(F)(vii)(II)(aa)). To promote 

CEP financial viability, USDA codified 

a multiplier of 1.6 (7 CFR 

245.9(f)(4)(vi)). The ISP is multiplied by 

1.6 to calculate the percentage of meals 

reimbursed at the Federal free rate. Any 

remaining meals, up to 100 percent, are 

reimbursed at the Federal paid rate.3

% Meals reimbursed at Federal free rate 

= ISP × 1.6 

% Meals reimbursed at Federal paid rate 

= 100¥% meals reimbursed at 

Federal free rate 

CEP requires that LEAs must pay, 

with non-Federal funds, any costs of 

offering free meals to all students that 

exceed the Federal assistance provided. 

If all operating costs are covered by the 

Federal assistance provided, then LEAs 

are not required to contribute nonFederal funds (7 CFR 245.9(f)(4)(vii)). 

On March 23, 2023, USDA published 

a proposed rule in the Federal Register 

(88 FR 17406), seeking to lower the 

minimum ISP to 25 percent, and make 

related, conforming changes to CEP 

regulatory text at 7 CFR 245.9(f). 


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