60502 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 11, 2000 / Proposed Rules

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food and Nutrition Service

7 CFR Parts 210, 226, 235, 245

RIN 0584–AC 72

National School Lunch Program, Child

and Adult Care Food Program, State

Administrative Expense Funds,

Determining Eligibility for Free and

Reduced Price Meals and Free Milk in

Schools: Reimbursement for Snacks in

Afterschool Care Programs

AGENCY: Food and Nutrition Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would

incorporate the provisions of the

William F. Goodling Child Nutrition

Reauthorization Act of 1998 regarding

reimbursement of afterschool snacks in

the regulations governing the National

School Lunch Program and the Child

and Adult Care Food Program.

Corresponding technical amendments

are also proposed to the regulations

governing the State Administrative

Expense Funds and Determining

Eligibility for Free and Reduced Price

Meals and Free Milk in Schools. Under

this proposed rule, certain afterschool

care programs would earn

reimbursement for snacks served which

meet program requirements. This rule,

as proposed, would be expected to

increase consumption of nutritious

snacks in afterschool care programs.

DATES: To be assured of consideration,

written comments must be postmarked

on or before January 9, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to

Robert M. Eadie, Chief, Policy and

Program Development Branch, Child

Nutrition Division, Room 1007, Food

and Nutrition Service, USDA, 3101 Park

Center Drive, Alexandria, Virginia

22302. You may also submit comments

electronically at CNDProposal@fns.gov.

All written submissions will be

available for public inspection in Room

1007 at this address during regular

business hours (8:30 am to 5 pm)

Monday through Friday. Since

comments are being accepted

simultaneously on several separate

rulemakings, commentors on this

proposed rule are asked to label their

comments ‘‘Reimbursement for Snacks

in Afterschool Care Programs.’’

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mary Jane Whitney (National School

Lunch Program and Commodity Schools

Program) or Ron Ulibarri (Child and

Adult Care Food Program) at the above

address or by telephone at (703) 305–

2590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On October 31, 1998, President

Clinton signed Public Law 105–336, the

William F. Goodling Child Nutrition

Reauthorization Act of 1998 (Child

Nutrition Reauthorization Act). The

Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act

(Act) expanded the availability of

snacks for both the National School

Lunch Program (NSLP) and the Child

and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).

Specifically, the Act expanded the

availability of snacks in the CACFP so

that snacks served to children aged 12

to 18 in afterschool care programs

located in the area of a school in which

at least 50 percent of the children

enrolled are certified as eligible to

receive free or reduced price meals can

be claimed for reimbursement. The Act

also expanded the NSLP to permit the

service of afterschool snacks to children

aged 12 to 18 and further expanded the

eligibility of schools to ensure more

schools can avail themselves of

reimbursement for snacks served

afterschool.

For ease of reference, we refer only to

the NSLP and CACFP in this preamble.

The proposed rule makes clear that the

afterschool supplement would also be

available in the Commodity School

Program. The statutory authority for the

NSLP afterschool supplement is in

section 17A of the Richard B. Russell

National School Lunch Act (NSLA) (42

U.S.C. 1766a); the CACFP provisions are

in section 17(r) of the NSLA (42 U.S.C.

1766(r)). Throughout this preamble, the

commonly used terms ‘‘afterschool

snack(s)’’ and ‘‘snack(s)’’ are used in

lieu of the term ‘‘supplement(s).’’

Commenters will find additional

discussion of this terminology in Part 4.I

of this preamble.

The new afterschool snack component

provides reimbursement for snacks

served to children in certain afterschool

care programs. According to the

Conference Report that accompanied

this law (House Report 105–786),

Congress intended that these new

components provide nutrition

assistance to programs that offer the

types of activities known to help reduce

or prevent involvement in juvenile

crime. The House Committee on

Education and the Workforce further

noted in its report (House Report 105–

633) that ‘‘afterschool programs, which

operate between the end of a school day

and time when parents return from

work, provide a quality alternative to

juveniles with too much time on their

hands.’’ The proposed afterschool snack

components in the NSLP and CACFP

are an effort to support and promote

these afterschool programs.

This preamble is divided into five

parts. Part 1 discusses the proposed core

requirements for both the NSLP and

CACFP afterschool snack components.

Part 2 is a chart showing the

requirements with their regulatory

citations for the two programs as

contained in this proposed rule. We

included this chart in lieu of a detailed

preamble discussion of each provision

of this rule as an easy way to show the

proposed changes and to compare the

NSLP and CACFP requirements. Part 3

is a discussion, by program, of the

particular provisions of this proposed

rule that we think warrant elaboration.

Part 4 discusses some related changes

this rule proposes to make to the

regulations. Part 5 addresses

implementation dates.

Part 1—What Are the Proposed Core

Requirements?

Section I. What Are the Proposed Core

Requirements Under the NSLP?

A. Eligible Afterschool Care Programs

Under this proposal and in

accordance with the criteria set forth

under the NSLA, to be approved for

reimbursement under the new

afterschool snack component of the

NSLP, snacks must be served in an

eligible afterschool care program which

is operated or sponsored by a school or

school district which participates in the

NSLP (see Part 3.I.A below) and:

• Is organized primarily to provide

care for children after school;

• Has organized, regularly scheduled

activities (i.e., in a structured and

supervised environment); and

• Includes education or enrichment

activities.

These provisions are proposed at 7

CFR 210.4a, paragraphs (a) and (b).

Hereinafter, references to proposed

amendments to part 210 and 226 of Title

7 of the Code of Federal Regulations are

made to the appropriate section number

only.

Afterschool care programs would be

permitted to limit participation for

space, security considerations, special

needs or, where applicable, licensing

requirements. For example, afterschool

care programs designed to accommodate

special needs or with other limiting

factors, such as programs targeted to

children with learning disabilities or to

children who are academically gifted,

would be eligible for reimbursement.

Programs could include supervised

athletic activity along with education or

enrichment activities, such as those

typically sponsored by the Police

Athletic League, Boys and Girls Clubs

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 11, 2000 / Proposed Rules 60503

and the YWCA. The key requirement for

afterschool programs that include sports

would be that they are ‘‘open to all’’ and

would not limit membership for reasons

of athletic ability, or would not exist

principally for the pursuit of

competitive athletics.

B. Ineligible Afterschool Care Programs

Under this proposal, organized

interscholastic athletic programs or

community level competitive sports

programs would not be approved as

afterschool care programs under the

NSLP. In the Conference Report that

accompanied the Child Nutrition

Reauthorization Act, the Conference

Committee declared its intent that

support for afterschool snacks would

not be provided to members of athletic

teams. This limitation is found at

§ 210.4a(b)(2) of this proposed rule.

C. Eligible Children

Under the proposal, children would

be eligible to participate in the

afterschool snack service in traditional

schools (see paragraphs (a) and (b) in

the definition of ‘‘School,’’ § 210.2), if

they participate in an approved

afterschool care program and are age 18

or under. However, the Conference

Report that accompanied the Child

Nutrition Reauthorization Act indicated

that snacks could be claimed for

children who turn 19 during the school

year. Therefore, this proposed rule

would allow reimbursement to be

claimed for snacks served to these

children until the end of the school year

in which they turn 19.

Reimbursement could also be claimed

for students with disabilities (see

definition of ‘‘Student with

disabilities’’, § 210.2), regardless of their

age, who participate in a school program

of high school grade or under. This

provision is found at § 210.4a(c) of this

proposed rule.

Children enrolled in a residential

child care institution (RCCI) would be

eligible to participate in an approved

afterschool care program’s snack service

if they are age 18 or under at the start

of the school year. Snacks could be

claimed for children who turn 19 during

the school year. This provision is also

found at § 210.4a(c) of this proposed

rule.

There would be no minimum age for

participation. Even snacks served after

school to pre-primary children could be

claimed as long as the children are

attending class in a school (e.g., Head

Start or Even Start) and are participating

in an approved afterschool care program

after their regularly scheduled school

day.

D. Days of Service

Under this proposal, the afterschool

snack component in the NSLP would

only operate on days that school is in

session. This would include snacks

served in afterschool care programs

operated for children attending summer

school, but would not include

weekends, holidays, or school

vacations. Snacks served after school to

children attending schools that operate

on a year-round basis also would be

claimed through the afterschool snack

component of the NSLP, assuming the

other eligibility requirements are met.

These provisions are found at

§ 210.4a(m) of this proposed rule.

Organizations that offer programs

during summer vacations may be

eligible to participate in the Summer

Food Service Program (SFSP).

E. Number of Afterschool Snacks

Claimed

Under the proposal, school food

authorities would claim reimbursement

for no more than one afterschool snack

per child per day. Any excess

afterschool snacks that are produced

could be offered, but would not be

claimed for reimbursement. This

provision is found at § 210.4a(k) of this

proposed rule.

F. Afterschool Snack Meal Pattern

The proposal would require that

afterschool snacks meet the meal pattern

requirements set forth in § 210.10(n),

What are the requirements for

afterschool snacks?. This provision is

consistent with section 17A(c) of the

Act which requires that the content of

meal supplements specified under the

CACFP be applied to the content of

snacks served under the NSLP. Portions

for children ages 13 through 18 would

follow the portions stipulated for

children ages 6 through 12. Even though

this proposed rule does not require

larger portions for children ages 13–18,

we would recommend that older

children in afterschool care programs be

offered larger portions based on their

greater food energy requirements. Under

the proposal, if schools offer choices of

snacks or choices within the snack meal

pattern, children who are eligible for

free or reduced price snacks would be

allowed to take any snack or choice

offered as a part of the reimbursable

snack. This requirement is found at

§ 210.4a(l) of this proposed rule.

G. Reimbursement

Under this proposal and consistent

with the provisions of section 17A of

the Act, school food authorities may

claim reimbursement for afterschool

snacks served in any facility selected as

a site of an eligible afterschool care

program, but only those afterschool care

program sites that are ‘‘area eligible’’

would automatically receive

reimbursement at the free rate for all

snacks. (‘‘Area eligibility’’ is discussed

in Part 1.I.H of this preamble.) In this

case, free and reduced price

applications would not be required.

Reimbursement for snacks served at

schools or sites that are not ‘‘area

eligible’’ would depend on the

eligibility status of the child (i.e. free,

reduced price, or paid). In this case, free

and reduced price applications would

be required to establish eligibility status.

Generally, sites would not need to

distribute new free and reduced price

applications. In most cases, the families

of children participating in the

afterschool care program would have

already applied for free and reduced

price meals in connection with the

lunch component of the NSLP or the

School Breakfast Program. In these

cases, the school food authority

sponsoring the afterschool care program

would use the free and reduced price

meal determinations made for purposes

of school lunches or breakfasts as

documentation for free and reduced

price afterschool snacks. If children in

a school’s afterschool care program are

from another school, the school

sponsoring the afterschool care program

would use the determinations made by

the children’s regular school as long as

it documents the source of the eligibility

information.

However, if the afterschool care

program that is not area eligible

includes children from schools that do

not participate in the NSLP lunch

component or the School Breakfast

Program, then the families for those

children would not have had the

opportunity to apply for free and

reduced price meals. Only in this

limited circumstance would a school

food authority sponsoring the

afterschool care program need to

distribute free and reduced price

applications and make eligibility

determinations for purposes of

afterschool snacks. These

determinations must be made in

accordance with 7 CFR part 245. These

provisions are found at § 210.4a(n) and

(o) of this proposed rule.

H. Area Eligibility

Under this proposal and consistent

with the provisions of section 17A of

the Act, a school would be ‘‘area

eligible’’ if at least 50 percent of the

enrolled children are certified eligible

for free or reduced price meals.

Additionally, a school or site would be

considered area eligible if it is located

60504 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 11, 2000 / Proposed Rules

in the attendance area of an elementary,

middle, or high school in which at least

50 percent of its enrolled children are

certified eligible for free or reduced

price meals. This provision is found at

§ 210.4a(i) of this proposed rule.

The State agency would determine

‘‘area eligibility’’ for each afterschool

care program site seeking to qualify as

area eligible based on information

provided by the school food authority.

This provision is found at § 210.4a (f) of

this proposed rule.

Area eligibility determinations would

be made each school year, although

FNS, the State agency, or the school

food authority could change the

determination if updated data indicates

that a school or site is no longer area

eligible. However, the State agency

would not routinely require

redeterminations of area eligibility

status based on updated data before the

school year has expired. We recognize

that frequent re-evaluation of area

eligibility is disruptive to program

operations and have tried to balance this

concern with the need for

accountability.

Area eligibility determinations would

be made using the free and reduced

price meal data for the preceding

October, or the other month the State

agency has designated pursuant to

§ 210.9(b), Agreements with State

agency, paragraph (20). School food

authorities would make area eligibility

determinations prior to beginning snack

service each school year. Typically, the

school food authority would make the

determination before the start of the

school year using the preceding

October’s free and reduced price meal

data. Area eligibility provisions are

found at § 210.4a(i) of this proposed

rule.

School food authorities could, at any

time during the school year, submit

more recent area eligibility data that

would qualify a site that was previously

not area eligible. However, only data for

October, or the other month designated

by the NSLP State agency for free and

reduced price data collection, would be

used. For example, a particular site is

not area eligible at the beginning of the

school year (August 1999) based on the

most recent October data (October

1998). That site could be determined to

be area eligible in January 2000 if the

new October data (October 1999) shows

an appropriate change.

In order to facilitate area eligibility

determinations, this rule proposes to

amend § 210.9(b)(20). School food

authorities would be required to provide

their State agency with a list of all

middle and high schools in their

jurisdictions in which at least 50

percent of the enrolled children are

certified eligible for free or reduced

price meals the preceding October, or

another State agency-designated month.

This is in addition to the list of

elementary schools that meet these

requirements that is currently required

by § 210.9(b)(20).

I. Claiming Reimbursement

Sections 210.7, Reimbursement for

school food authorities, and 210.8,

Claims for reimbursement, of existing

regulations establish procedures which

are designed to ensure the fiscal

accountability of the lunch and snack

service. Prior to the 1998 authorization

of the afterschool snack service, section

106(a) of the Child Nutrition and WIC

Reauthorization Act of 1989 added

section 17A (42 U.S.C.1766a) to the

NSLA. Under section 17A, elementary

and secondary schools that were

participating in the CACFP as of May

15, 1989 could be reimbursed for meal

supplements served in afterschool care

programs. Implementing regulations

issued in 1993 (58 FR 42483) made a

number of changes to the

reimbursement process specified in

§ § 210.7 and 210.8 to ensure that

Federal reimbursement is being

properly paid.

This proposed rule would make a

number of technical revisions to

§ § 210.7 and 210.8 to reflect the use of

the term ‘‘afterschool snacks’’ in lieu of

‘‘meal supplements’’. Additionally, this

proposal would make several revisions

to these sections in order to ensure the

fiscal integrity of the afterschool snack

service.

Under paragraph (c)(1)(iii) of existing

§ 210.7, school food authorities are

required to base Claims for

Reimbursement on lunch counts, taken

daily at the point of service, which

correctly identify the number of free,

reduced price and paid lunches served

to eligible children. This proposed rule

would revise this paragraph to require

school food authorities to base Claims

for Reimbursement on daily lunch and

afterschool snack counts. In recognition

of the unconventional nature of many

afterschool care programs, the

Department has determined not to

extend the requirement for point of

service meal counts to the afterschool

snack service. However, as discussed

further in part 1.I.J, we are requiring

schools to maintain daily attendance

rosters or sign-in sheets.

Not requiring a point of service meal

count is expected to provide some

operational flexibility. However, school

food authorities are reminded that they

must continue to ensure that the Claim

for Reimbursement accurately reflects

the number of free, reduced price and

paid lunches and afterschool snacks that

are served to children eligible for such

meals for each day of operation, Further,

the Claim for Reimbursement cannot

request payment for more than one

lunch and afterschool snack per child

per day.

This proposal would also make

revisions to the internal controls set

forth under existing § 210.8(a).

Currently, school food authorities are

required to establish internal controls

which ensure the accuracy of lunch

counts prior to the submission of the

monthly Claim for Reimbursement.

Under the proposed rule, the existing

on-site review requirements for

afterschool snack service would be

modified. These proposed modifications

are further discussed in Part 1.I.K of this

preamble.

This proposal would also revise

§ 210.8(a) to expand the comparisons of

daily free, reduced price and paid lunch

counts to include comparisons of

afterschool snack counts against data

which will assist in the identification of

snack counts in excess of the number of

free, reduced price and paid snacks

served each day to eligible children. The

Department is not proposing specific

data comparisons in order to provide

school food authorities with the

flexibility to design comparisons which

ensure the fiscal integrity of the

afterschool snack service under their

jurisdiction.

Finally, under the proposal, school

food authorities would be required to

expand the system for following up on

lunch counts which suggest the

likelihood of counting problems to

include afterschool snack counts which

also have the likelihood of problems.

J. Recordkeeping and Reporting

Requirements

In recognition of the fact that many

afterschool care programs operate on a

drop-in basis, this proposed rule would

not require school food authorities to

maintain traditional enrollment records

for the children who attend their

afterschool care programs. Instead, the

rule would require school food

authorities to maintain daily attendance

rosters, sign-in sheets or, with State

agency approval, other methods of

accurately recording attendance. This

information is needed to confirm the

child care aspects of the operation and

to support the meal counts reported on

the Claim for Reimbursement. This

provision is found at § 210.4a(q) of this

proposed rule.

The school food authority would

report the number of afterschool snacks

served by eligibility category and, for

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 11, 2000 / Proposed Rules 60505

each October, the number of schools

and sites claiming reimbursement for

afterschool snacks under the NSLP on

the monthly Claim for Reimbursement.

These provisions are found at § 210.4a(r)

and at § 210.8(c) of this proposed rule.

K. School Food Authority Monitoring

This rule proposes to revise the

current monitoring requirements for the

NSLP afterschool care programs. Under

§ 210.9(c), Afterschool care

requirements, paragraph (7) of existing

regulations, school food authorities are

required to review each afterschool

snack service site twice each year; the

first review must be made during the

first four weeks that school is in

operation. Under this proposal, the first

review would be required to be made

during the first six weeks of snack

service, thus providing school food

authorities with an additional two

weeks for review activities. The

proposed rule also clarifies that the

school food authority must review the

afterschool snack counting and claiming

system and compliance with meal

pattern requirements. These provisions

are found at § 210.4a(s) of this proposed

rule.

L. State Agency Monitoring

This proposed rule would add State

agency monitoring requirements to

§ 210.19(a), General Program

management. Under the proposed

paragraph, each State agency would be

required to determine whether school

food authorities claiming

reimbursement for afterschool snacks

under § 210.4a meet the requirements of

this part in order to establish whether

Claims for Reimbursement are properly

payable. Each State agency would be

required to conduct on-site reviews of at

least 10 percent, but not less than 1 site,

of each school food authority’s

afterschool snack service sites on the

same schedule required of

administrative reviews under

§ 210.18(c). Such reviews could be

conducted at the same time the school

food authority is scheduled for an

administrative review in accordance

with § 210.18. State agencies could also

conduct these evaluations in

conjunction with technical assistance

visits, other reviews, or separately.

These requirements are cross-referenced

at § 210.4a(t).

Section II. What Are the Proposed Core

Requirements Under the CACFP?

A. Eligible Institutions

Under this proposed rule, an ‘‘at-risk

afterschool care center’’ is a public or

private nonprofit organization (or

proprietary title XX center) eligible to

participate in the CACFP that provides

nonresidential care to children through

an approved afterschool care program in

an eligible area. (Area eligibility is

discussed in Part 1.II.I of this preamble.)

At-risk afterschool care centers receive

reimbursement at the free rate for all

snacks served to eligible children. Like

other centers in the CACFP, an at-risk

afterschool care center may participate

as an independent center by entering

into an agreement directly with the

State agency, or under the auspices of a

sponsoring organization which enters

into the agreement. This rule proposes

to include a definition of ‘‘at-risk

afterschool care center’’ in § 226.2.

(Licensing is discussed in Part 4.II of

this preamble.)

B. Eligible Afterschool Care Programs

Under the proposal, to receive

reimbursement under the afterschool

snack component of the CACFP, an atrisk afterschool care center must serve

snacks to eligible children in an eligible

afterschool care program. An eligible

afterschool care program:

• Is organized primarily to provide

care for children after school;

• Has organized, regularly scheduled

activities (i.e., in a structured and

supervised environment); and

• Includes education or enrichment

activities.

Afterschool care program

requirements are found at § 226.17a(b)

of this proposed rule.

Afterschool care programs would be

permitted to limit participation for

space, security considerations, special

needs or, where applicable, licensing

requirements. For example, afterschool

care programs designed to accommodate

special needs or with other limiting

factors, such as programs targeted to

children with learning disabilities or to

children who are academically gifted,

would be eligible for reimbursement.

Programs could include supervised

athletic activity along with education or

enrichment activities, such as those

typically sponsored by the Police

Athletic League, Boys and Girls Clubs

and the YWCA. The key requirement for

afterschool programs that include sports

would be that they are ‘‘open to all’’ and

would not limit membership for reasons

of athletic ability, or would not exist

principally for the pursuit of

competitive athletics.

C. Ineligible Afterschool Care Programs

Under the proposal, organized

interscholastic athletic programs or

community level competitive sports

programs would not be approved as

afterschool care programs under the

CACFP. This prohibition is found at

§ 226.17a (b)(2) of this proposed rule.

D. Eligible Children

Under the proposal, children would

be eligible to participate if they are

students who participate in an approved

afterschool care program and are age 18

or under. However, the Conference

Report that accompanied the Child

Nutrition Reauthorization Act indicated

that snacks could be claimed for

children who turn 19 during the school

year. Therefore, this proposed rule

would allow reimbursement to be

claimed for snacks served to these

children until the end of the school year

in which they turn 19. Reimbursement

may also be claimed for persons,

regardless of age, who meet the other

requirements and are determined by the

State agency to have one or more

disabilities and are enrolled in a child

care institution which serves a majority

of persons age 18 and under. This

provision is found at § 226.17a(c) of this

proposed rule.

As in the NSLP, there would be no

minimum age for participation. Even

snacks served after school to preprimary children could be claimed as

long as the children are attending class

in a school (e.g., Head Start or Even

Start) and are participating in an

approved afterschool care program after

their regularly scheduled school day.

E. Days of Service

Under this proposal, the CACFP atrisk afterschool care centers would

receive reimbursement for snacks served

on any day during the regular school

year, including weekends, holidays, and

school vacations that fall during the

regular school year. In fact, a CACFP atrisk afterschool care center could choose

to operate only on weekends, holidays

and school vacations during the regular

school year. However, CACFP at-risk

afterschool care centers would not be

reimbursed for snacks served during

summer vacations, because the Child

Nutrition Reauthorization Act explicitly

limits reimbursement to snacks served

during the ‘‘regular’’ school year. These

provisions are found at § 226.17a(l) of

this proposed rule.

Organizations that offer programs

during summer vacations may also be

eligible to participate in the Summer

Food Service Program (SFSP). CACFP

at-risk afterschool care centers that

qualify for the SFSP would be able to

claim 2 meals, or 1 meal and 1 snack,

per child per day under that Program.

For schools that operate on a year-round

basis, snacks served afterschool in the

summer to children could be claimed

through the afterschool care

60506 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 11, 2000 / Proposed Rules

components of either the NSLP or

CACFP, assuming the other eligibility

requirements are met.

F. Number of Snacks Claimed

Under the proposal, reimbursement

may be claimed for one snack per child

per day. An at-risk afterschool care

center that provides care to a child

under another component of the CACFP

during the same day could not claim

reimbursement for more than two meals

and one snack, or one meal and two

snacks, per child per day, including the

afterschool snack. All meals and any

snacks would be claimed in accordance

with the requirements for the applicable

component of the CACFP (e.g., child

care centers, outside-school-hours care

centers). This provision is found at

§ 226.17a(j) of the proposed rule.

G. Snack Meal Pattern

The proposal would require that

snacks meet the meal pattern for

supplemental food (snacks) in

§ 226.20(a)(4) or (c)(4). Portions for

children ages 13 through 18 would

follow the portions stipulated for

children ages 6 through 12. This

provision is found at § 226.17a(k) of this

proposed rule. Even though this

proposed rule does not require larger

portions for children ages 13–18, we

would recommend that afterschool care

programs offer larger portions for older

children based on their greater food

energy requirements.

H. What Reimbursement Do At-Risk

Afterschool Care Centers Earn?

Under the proposal, CACFP

afterschool care programs must be ‘‘area

eligible’’ in order to qualify as at-risk

afterschool care centers. As such, all

snacks would be reimbursed at the free

rate. Applications for free and reduced

price meals would not be required for

at-risk afterschool care centers. This

provision is found at § 226.17a(m) of the

proposed rule.

Afterschool care programs that do not

meet area eligibility criteria would not

receive reimbursement for afterschool

snacks under the at-risk component of

the CACFP. However, such programs

could be eligible to participate in the

CACFP as outside-school-hours care

centers, provided they meet all of the

requirements established for these

facilities under the CACFP regulations.

If they meet the criteria set forth in

§ 210.4a, they may be eligible to

participate in the NSLP afterschool

snack component.

I. Area Eligibility

As mentioned above, only those

afterschool care programs that are ‘‘area

eligible’’ (i.e., located in an eligible area)

could claim reimbursement as an at-risk

afterschool care center. Under this

proposal, an afterschool care program

site would be located in an ‘‘eligible

area’’ if it is located in the attendance

area of an elementary, middle, or high

school in which at least 50 percent of

the enrolled children are certified

eligible for free or reduced price meals.

Area eligibility requirements are found

at § 226.17a(h) of this proposed rule.

Under this proposed rule, the State

agency would determine the area

eligibility for each afterschool care

program site seeking to qualify as area

eligible based on information provided

by the at-risk afterschool care center (for

independent centers), or by the

sponsoring organization of the at-risk

afterschool care center(s). This

provision is found at § 226.17a(e) of this

proposed rule. We would encourage

State agencies to provide technical

assistance to sponsoring organizations

and independent at-risk afterschool care

centers in obtaining the necessary

documentation of area eligibility.

Area eligibility determinations for the

CACFP would be made once every three

years. FNS, the State agency or the

sponsoring organization could change

the determination if updated data

indicates that an at-risk afterschool care

center is no longer area eligible.

However, the State agency may not

routinely require redeterminations of

area eligibility status based on updated

data before the three-year period has

expired. We decided to propose to make

the CACFP determinations valid for

three years to be consistent with the

statutory mandate for tiering

determinations for day care homes

participating in the CACFP. Tier I day

care home determinations based on

school data are valid for three years.

Area eligibility determinations would

be made using free and reduced price

school meal data for the preceding

October, or the other month the NSLP

State agency has designated pursuant to

§ 210.9(b)(20) of this proposed rule. Atrisk afterschool care centers could begin

program operations at any time during

the year. For example, if a particular site

is not area eligible at the beginning of

the school year (August 1999) based on

the most recent October data (October

1998), that site could be determined to

be area eligible in January 2000 if the

new October data (October 1999) shows

an appropriate change. These provisions

are found at § 226.17a(h)(2) of this

proposed rule.

As previously mentioned, in order to

facilitate area eligibility determinations,

this rule proposes to expand current

§ 210.9(b)(20) to require school food

authorities to provide their State agency

with a list of all middle and high

schools in their jurisdictions in which at

least 50 percent of the enrolled children

are certified eligible for free or reduced

price meals the preceding October, or

another State agency-designated month.

This is in addition to the list of

elementary schools that meet these

requirements that is currently required

by § 210.9(b)(20) to assist with tiering

determinations for day care homes in

the CACFP.

Under this proposed rule, § 210.19(f)

is similarly expanded to require this

information to be provided to the

CACFP State agency along with the list

of the qualifying elementary schools

already required to be provided.

Commenters should note that, unlike

tiering determinations, area eligibility

determinations for at-risk afterschool

care centers would be based on the

attendance area for any school in whose

attendance area the afterschool care

program is located, not just elementary

schools. Also unlike tiering

determinations, area eligibility could

not be established using census data

since, unlike tiering, the use of census

data is not authorized by statute.

J. Recordkeeping and Reporting

Requirements

This proposed rule would require atrisk afterschool care centers to maintain

a daily attendance roster, sign-in sheet

or, with State agency approval, other

methods of accurately recording

attendance. This information is needed

to confirm the child care aspects of the

operation and to support the meal

counts reported on the Claim for

Reimbursement. This provision is found

in § 226.17a(n) of this proposed rule.

This rule would not require at-risk

afterschool care centers to maintain

traditional enrollment records for the

children who attend their afterschool

care programs. This is in recognition

that many afterschool care programs

operate on a drop-in basis and do not

have specific enrollment procedures

and schedules for attendance. We are

proposing to amend the definition of

‘‘Enrolled child’’ in § 226.2 to include

this approach for at-risk afterschool care

centers. All other types of facilities

participating in the CACFP (i.e., day

care homes, child care centers, outsideschool-hours centers, and adult care

centers) would continue to be required

to have signed enrollment forms for

each child or adult in care.

K. Monitoring Requirements

This rule proposes to require sponsors

of at-risk afterschool care centers to

monitor their centers three times a year.

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Although they serve similar

populations, sponsors of outside-schoolhours care centers will still be required

to monitor their centers six times a year

(§ 226.16(d)(4)(iv)). We are evaluating

whether to reduce the frequency for

monitoring sponsored outside-schoolhours care centers in the CACFP and

expect to address this provision in an

upcoming rule on CACFP management

improvement. This provision for at-risk

afterschool care centers is found at

§ 226.16(d)(4)(iii) and § 226.17a(p) of

this proposed rule.

In addition, this rule proposes to

require State agencies to conduct a

technical assistance visit to each newly

participating independent at-risk

afterschool care center. The visit would

be required during the first 90 days of

the center’s program operations. At the

visit, the State agency would be

required to examine meal pattern

compliance. The State agency would

also confirm the accuracy of the

documentation submitted and used by

the State agency to determine the

eligibility of the center’s afterschool care

program and the center’s area eligibility.

These visits are expected to ensure that

the new at-risk afterschool centers are

off to a strong start. Without this new

requirement, it would be possible under

the current review requirements in

§ 226.6(l) that the State agency would

not visit a new at-risk afterschool care

center until its fourth year of operation.

These provisions are found at

§ 226.6(l)(4) and § 226.17a(p) of this

proposed rule.

Part 2—How Do the Afterschool Snack

Components in the NSLP and CACFP

Compare in This Proposed Rule?

The chart below summarizes the

proposed requirements for afterschool

care programs in the NSLP and CACFP

and provides the regulatory citations

established by this proposed rule. A

more detailed discussion of some of the

requirements follows in Part 3 of this

preamble.

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Part 3—What Are the Program-Specific

Issues?

This part highlights issues raised by

the afterschool snack component that

are program specific.

Section I. Issues Specific to the NSLP

A. Must the Afterschool Care Program

Be Operated Directly by the School?

Under the proposal, a school seeking

to participate in the NSLP afterschool

snack component would participate

through its school food authority

(§ 210.4a(a)). There may be individual

afterschool care programs sponsored by

one or more schools under the

jurisdiction of the school district or a

single afterschool care program operated

by the school district at one or more

sites. At least one school in the school

food authority would have to participate

in the NSLP lunch component.

While the afterschool care program

would be ‘‘sponsored or operated’’ by a

school or school district, this does not

mean that the school or school district

would have to carry out the day-to-day

management of the program. A school or

school district could contract with

another organization (such as the YWCA

or a Boys and Girls Club) to manage the

afterschool care program on its behalf.

However, the school or school district

would be required to retain overall

administrative responsibility for the

afterschool care program and the school

food authority must retain

administrative and fiscal responsibility

for the snack service. Furthermore, the

school food authority would be the

party that enters into the agreement

with the State agency and would

assume full responsibility for meeting

all program requirements.

B. Do the Point of Service Requirements

Apply to the Afterschool Snack

Component?

This proposed rule would not impose

point of service count requirements (as

discussed in Part 1.I.I of this preamble).

However, accurate daily meal counts

would continue to be required. State

agencies may require point of service

counts.

C. Does the Competitive Foods

Requirement Apply?

This proposed rule would amend the

competitive foods provision found at

§ 210.11(b) to extend the prohibition on

the sale of foods of minimal nutritional

value in food service areas to the

afterschool snack periods.

D. May Schools Choose To Claim

Snacks Through the CACFP Instead?

Under the proposal, schools may

claim reimbursement for afterschool

snacks either under the NSLP or

CACFP. If a school claims afterschool

snacks under the CACFP, the school

would be required to meet all

requirements for at-risk afterschool care

centers, outside-school-hours care

centers, or child care centers in that

Program and keep CACFP records

separate from the NSLP records.

Afterschool snacks may not be claimed

by CACFP at-risk afterschool care

centers in the summer. Therefore,

schools wishing to claim reimbursement

for afterschool snacks served in

afterschool care programs after summer

school classes would do so: (1) Through

the NSLP; (2) as a CACFP child care

center or outside-school-hours care

center; or (3) as an area eligible ‘‘open

site’’ through the Summer Food Service

Program (Refer to 7 CFR 225.2).

Section II. Issues Specific to the CACFP

A. What Would Be the Difference

Between At-Risk Afterschool Care

Centers and Outside-School-Hours Care

Centers?

Prior to enactment of the Child

Nutrition Reauthorization Act,

organizations operating afterschool care

programs could participate in the

CACFP as either outside-school-hours

care centers, or, if they also provided

child care during the school day, as

traditional child care centers with an

afterschool care program. The new

afterschool snack component adds

another possibility—participation as an

at-risk afterschool care center. Under

this proposed rule, the main differences

between participation as an outsideschool-hours care center and an at-risk

afterschool care center would be:

• All snacks served in at-risk

afterschool care centers are reimbursed

at the free rate; reimbursement in

outside-school-hours care centers is

based on the child’s eligibility for free,

reduced price, or paid meals;

• Snacks served to all children

through age 18 may be reimbursed in atrisk afterschool care centers; only meals

and snacks served to children through

age 12 may be reimbursed in outsideschool-hours care centers;

• At-risk afterschool care centers

must be area eligible;

• Only one snack per child per day

may be claimed by at-risk afterschool

care centers; outside-school-hours care

centers may claim two meals and one

snack or one meal and two snacks per

child per day;

• At-risk afterschool care centers may

only receive reimbursement for snacks

served after school; outside-schoolhours care centers may receive

reimbursement for meals and snacks

served before and after school; and

• At-risk afterschool care centers may

only receive reimbursement during the

regular school year, including weekends

and holidays; outside-school-hours care

centers can receive reimbursement

during periods of school vacation,

including weekends, holidays, and

summer.

The following chart compares the

requirements for the existing afterschool

care centers to the proposed at-risk

afterschool care center requirements.

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B. May For-Profit Organizations

Participate as At-Risk Afterschool Care

Centers?

A proprietary title XX center is a forprofit organization that provides

nonresidential child care for which it

receives funds under Title XX of the

Social Security Act for not less than 25

percent of its enrolled children, or 25

percent of its licensed capacity,

whichever is less. Under this proposal,

a proprietary title XX center could

participate in the CACFP as an at-risk

afterschool care center, but only if it

also participates as a child care center

or an outside-school-hours care center.

Due to the drop-in nature of many

afterschool care programs, children who

only participate in the afterschool care

program would not be counted in

determining an organization’s eligibility

as a proprietary title XX center. This

means that a for-profit organization

seeking to serve as an at-risk afterschool

care center could participate only if it

qualifies as a proprietary title XX center

based on the enrollment of its

traditional child care program (i.e., the

center receives funds under title XX of

the Social Security Act for not less than

25 percent of the children enrolled in

the traditional child care program). If

the center qualifies as a proprietary title

XX center, then it could claim

reimbursement for snacks served in an

at-risk afterschool care center if: (1) It

operates an approved afterschool care

program; (2) it is located in an eligible

area; and (3) the snacks are served to

eligible children after their school day.

Similarly, private for-profit

organizations participating in the Iowa/

Kentucky demonstration projects under

section 17(p) of the NSLA could serve

as at-risk afterschool care centers, under

the requirements described above.

C. Should the Children Participating in

the At-Risk Afterschool Component Be

Included in a Center’s Enrollment for

the Purpose of Determining the

Claiming Percentage or Blended Rate?

Under this proposal, children who

only participate in the at-risk

afterschool component would not be

counted as enrolled children for the

purposes of determining claiming

percentages/blended rates. Children

who participate in both the at-risk snack

component of the program and in at

least one meal service of the traditional

child care program at a center would be

required to have signed income

eligibility statements on file. Such

children would be included in the

center’s enrollment for the purpose of

determining claiming percentages/

blended rates. We are proposing to

amend § 226.9(b)(2) of the regulations to

reflect this requirement.

Part 4—What Other Changes Does This

Proposed Rule Make?

I. Terminology

As mentioned previously, this rule

proposes to use the terms ‘‘afterschool

snack’’ (for the NSLP) and ‘‘snack’’ (for

the CACFP) rather than ‘‘meal

supplement’’ in order to conform to the

more commonly used terminology. We

have proposed conforming changes

throughout the NSLP and CACFP

regulations, including the addition of

the definition of ‘‘Afterschool snack’’ in

§ 210.2 and the definition of ‘‘Snack’’ in

§ 226.2.

II. CACFP Licensing

The Child Nutrition Reauthorization

Act also revised the current CACFP

licensing requirements in section

17(a)(1)(C) of the NSLA to facilitate

CACFP participation of organizations

that provide care outside of school

hours. This applies both to outsideschool-hours care centers and to the

new at-risk afterschool care centers.

Under the change, these centers are

required to be licensed only if Federal,

State, or local licensing is required. If

licensing is not required, they must only

meet State or local health and safety

requirements. This change is found in

§ 226.6(d)(1)(vi) of this proposed rule.

III. Maximum Number of Meals

Section 708(d) of the Personal

Responsibility and Work Opportunity

Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104–

193) amended section 17(f)(2)(B) of the

NSLA (42 U.S.C. 1766(f)(2)(B)) to reduce

the number of meals that may be

claimed by participating centers in the

CACFP. The statutorily revised

maximum is two meals and one

supplement and took effect August 22,

1996. State agencies were informed of

this change in an August 13, 1996,

memorandum. This proposed rule

makes conforming changes throughout

the CACFP regulations and clarifies that

one meal and two supplements also

satisfies the new limit.

IV. Correction to Part 235

The statute authorizing State

administrative expense (SAE) funds

does not reference the NSLP afterschool

care component. Thus, State

expenditures for the NSLP afterschool

snack component will not ‘‘earn’’ SAE

funds. However, the CACFP at-risk

afterschool snack expenditures (which

are made under section 17 of the NSLA)

will. This proposed rule would correct

an error in the SAE regulations that may

cause confusion on this matter. Section

235.4(a)(1) incorrectly states that the

amount of SAE funds allocated to each

State agency is equal to one percent of

the funds expended by the State in the

second preceding fiscal year under

sections 4 and 11 of the NSLA, and

sections 3, 4, and 17A of the Child

Nutrition Act of 1966. However, there is

no section 17A in the Child Nutrition

Act; therefore, this rule proposes to

delete that reference. We wish to point

out that this provision is taken directly

from section 7(a)(1) of the Child

Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C.

1776(a)(1)); that section does not

contain the erroneous cite to section

17A of the Child Nutrition Act. Nor

does that section reference funds

expended under section 17A of the

NSLA (the authorizing statute for the

afterschool snack component in the

NSLP).

Part 5—What Are the Implementation

Dates?

The afterschool snack provisions of

the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act

were made effective retroactive to

October 1, 1998. To facilitate immediate

implementation of these provisions, we

provided guidance to State agencies on

how to claim reimbursement for

afterschool snacks under this new law.

Executive Order 12866

This proposed rule has been

determined to be ‘‘significant’’ and was

reviewed by the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) under Executive

Order 12866. The Department has

prepared a regulatory impact analysis

which indicates an estimated USDA

cost of $308 million over 5 years. The

regulatory impact analysis can be

obtained from Mr. Eadie at the address

listed in the ADDRESSES section of this

preamble.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

This proposed rule has been reviewed

with regard to the requirements of the

Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C.

601–612). Pursuant to that review,

Shirley R. Watkins, Under Secretary for

Food, Nutrition, and Consumer

Services, has certified that this proposed

rule would not have a significant impact

on a substantial number of small entities

because of the optional nature of the

snack service. Schools or institutions

choose whether they wish to participate

in this additional meal service. Because

most schools or institutions that will

choose to add a snack service are

already participating in the NSLP or the

CACFP, the snack service will not have

a significant paperwork or reporting

burden because it is incorporated under

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the existing agreement and Claim for

Reimbursement.

Executive Order 12372

The NSLP, SAE funds, and CACFP are

listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic

Assistance Programs under 10.555,

10.560, and 10.558, respectively. For the

reasons set forth in the final rule in 7

CFR part 3015, subpart V, and related

Notice (48 FR 29115), these programs

are included in the scope of Executive

Order 12372 which requires

intergovernmental consultation with

State and local officials. Since

enactment of the Act in 1998, the

Department informally consulted with

State administering agencies, Program

sponsors, and NSLP and CACFP

advocates on ways to effectively

implement the service of afterschool

snacks. Discussions with State agencies

took place at the Biennial State

Directors’ Meeting held in 1999 and at

multiple State agency meetings held at

various times throughout 1999 and

2000. Discussions with school food

service personnel took place at various

meetings sponsored by the American

School Food Service Association and in

a variety of other small and large group

meetings.

Executive Order 12988

This proposed rule has been reviewed

under Executive Order 12988, Civil

Justice Reform. This rule is intended to

have preemptive effect with respect to

any State or local laws, regulations or

policies which conflict with its

provisions or which would otherwise

impede its full implementation. This

rule is not intended to have retroactive

effect unless so specified. Prior to any

judicial challenge to the application of

the provisions of this rule, all applicable

administrative procedures must be

exhausted.

In the NSLP, the administrative

procedures are set forth under the

following regulations: (1) School food

authority appeals of State agency

findings as a result of an administrative

review must follow State agency hearing

procedures as established pursuant to 7

CFR 210.18(q); (2) school food authority

appeals of FNS findings as a result of an

administrative review must follow FNS

hearing procedures as established

pursuant to 7 CFR 210.30(d)(3); and (3)

State agency appeals of SAE fund

sanctions (7 CFR 235.11(b)) must follow

FNS Administrative Review Process as

established pursuant to 7 CFR 235.11(f).

In the CACFP, the administrative

procedures are set forth at: (1) 7 CFR

226.6(k), which establishes appeal

procedures; and (2) 7 CFR 226.22 and 7

CFR part 3015, which address

administrative appeal procedures for

disputes involving procurement by State

agencies and institutions.

Public Law 104–4

Title II of the Unfunded Mandates

Reform Act of 1995 (UMRA), Pub. L.

104–4, establishes requirements for

Federal agencies to assess the effects of

their regulatory actions on State, local

and tribal governments and the private

sector. Under section 202 of the UMRA,

the FNS generally must prepare a

written statement, including a cost

benefit analysis, for proposed and final

rules with ‘‘Federal mandates’’ that may

result in expenditures to State, local or

tribal governments, in the aggregate, or

the private sector, of $100 million or

more in any one year. When such a

statement is needed for a rule, section

205 of the UMRA generally requires

FNS to identify and consider a

reasonable number of regulatory

alternatives and adopt the least costly,

more cost-effective or least burdensome

alternative that achieves the objectives

of the rule.

This proposed rule contains no

Federal mandates (under the regulatory

provisions of Title II of the UMRA) for

State, local and tribal governments or

the private sector of $100 million or

more in any one year. Thus, this

proposed rule is not subject to the

requirements of sections 202 and 205 of

the UMRA.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

This proposed rule contains

paperwork burdens that are subject to

review and approval by the Office of

Management and Budget. In accordance

with the Paperwork Reduction Act of

1995, 44 U.S.C. 3507, this notice invites

the general public and other public

agencies to comment on the information

collection contained in this proposed

rule.

Written comments must be received

on or before December 11, 2000.

Comments concerning the information

collection aspects of this proposed rule

should be sent to the Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs,

Office of Management and Budget

(OMB), Room 10235, New Executive

Office Building, Washington, DC 20503,

Attention: Desk Officer for the FNS. A

copy of these comments may also be

sent to Mr. Eadie at the address listed

in the ADDRESSES section of this

preamble. Commentors are asked to

separate their information collection

requirements comments from their

comments on the remainder of this

proposed rule.

OMB is required to make a decision

concerning the collection of information

contained in this proposed rule between

30 and 60 days after the publication of

this document in the Federal Register.

Therefore, a comment to OMB is best

assured of having its full effect if OMB

receives it within 30 days of

publication. This does not affect the

deadline for the public to comment to

the Department on the proposed

regulation. These information collection

requirements will not become effective

until approved by OMB.

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether

the proposed collection of information

is necessary for the proper performance

of the functions of the agency, including

whether the information will have

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the

agency’s estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection of information

including the validity of the

methodology and assumptions used; (c)

ways to enhance the quality, utility and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the

burden of the collection of information

on those who respond, including

through the use of appropriate

automated, electronic, mechanical, or

other technological collection

techniques or other forms of information

technology.

The title, description, and respondent

description of the information

collections are shown below with an

estimate of the annual reporting and

recordkeeping burdens. Included in the

estimates is the time for reviewing

instructions, searching existing data

sources, gathering and maintaining the

data needed and completing and

reviewing the collection of information.

Title: 7 CFR part 210, National School

Lunch Program.

OMB Number: 0584–0006.

Expiration Date: March 31, 2003.

Title: 7 CFR part 226, Child and Adult

Care Food Program.

OMB Number: 0584–0055.

Expiration Date: May 31, 2001.

Title: 7 CFR part 245, Determining

Eligibility for Free and Reduced Price

Meals and Free Milk in Schools.

OMB Number: 0584–0026.

Expiration Date: September 30, 2001.

Type of Request: Revision of currently

approved collections.

Abstract: This rule proposes to codify

the provisions of the William F.

Goodling Child Nutrition

Reauthorization Act of 1998 regarding

reimbursement of afterschool snacks in

the NSLP and the CACFP.

Corresponding technical amendments

are also proposed to the regulations

governing the SAE Funds and

Determining Eligibility for Free and

Reduced Price Meals and Free Milk in

Schools.

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Provisions for operating the

afterschool snack component are similar

under the two programs, yet are

distinguished enough to fit easily into

the two larger programs, the NSLP or

CACFP. For example, the afterschool

snack component under both programs

serves the same age group (ages 18 and

under at the start of the school year) and

must provide care that includes

education or enrichment activities. On

the other hand, the times that the

component is available vary between

the NSLP and CACFP. Under the NSLP,

afterschool snacks may be provided

only on days when school is in session,

whereas afterschool snacks under the

CACFP may be provided on weekends,

holidays, or during vacations that occur

during the regular school year. These

similarities and differences illustrate

how the afterschool snack component

mirrors the features and goals of the

larger programs.

By utilizing similar features of the

‘‘parent’’ program (i.e., the NSLP or the

CACFP), this proposed rule would place

fewer new information collection

burdens on State agencies and local

program administrators than might have

otherwise been necessary. Thus, we

estimate that most of the reporting or

recordkeeping burdens that normally

would accompany a new program can

be contained within existing burdens.

In accordance with the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995, the Department

is providing the public with the

opportunity to provide comments on the

information collection requirements of

the proposed rule as noted below:

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List of Subjects

7 CFR Part 210

Food and Nutrition Service, Grant

programs—education, Grant programs—

health, Infants and children, Nutrition,

Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, School breakfast and

lunch programs, Surplus agricultural

commodities.

7 CFR Part 226

Accounting, Aged, Day care, Food and

Nutrition Service, Food assistance

programs, Grant programs—health,

Indians, Individuals with disabilities,

Infants and children, Intergovernmental

relations, Loan programs, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, Surplus

agricultural commodities.

7 CFR Part 235

Food and Nutrition Service, Food

assistance programs, Grant programs—

education, Grant programs—health,

Infants and children, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements, School

breakfast and lunch programs.

7 CFR Part 245

Civil rights, Food and Nutrition

Service, Food assistance programs,

Grant programs—education, Grant

programs—health, Infants and children,

Milk, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, School breakfast and

lunch programs.

For reasons set forth in the preamble,

7 CFR Parts 210, 226, 235, and 245 are

proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 210—NATIONAL SCHOOL

LUNCH PROGRAM

1. The authority citation for part 210

is revised to read as follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 1751–1760, 1766a,

1769,1779.

2. In § 210.1:

a. Revise the last two sentences of

paragraph (a); and

b. Remove the word ‘‘lunches’’ in the

second sentence of paragraph (b) and

add in its place the word ‘‘meals’’.

The revision reads as follows:

§ 210.1 General purpose and scope.

(a) * * * Pursuant to this Act, the

Department provides States with cash

assistance and donated foods to assist

schools with serving nutritious meals to

children each school day. To meet the

Program’s objectives, schools must serve

meals that are nutritionally adequate in

accordance with the applicable

provisions of this part 210 to assist

participating children with learning the

relationship between proper eating

habits and good health.

* * * * *

3. In § 210.2:

a. Remove the definitions of

‘‘Afterschool care program’’, ‘‘Free

lunch’’, ‘‘Reduced price lunch’’, and

‘‘Subsidized lunch’’;

b. Add definitions for ‘‘Afterschool

snack’’, ‘‘Area eligibility’’, ‘‘Free meal’’,

‘‘Meal’’, ‘‘Paid meal’’, and ‘‘Reduced

price meal’’;

c. Revise the first sentence of the

definition of ‘‘Average Daily

Participation’’;

d. Revise paragraph (c) in the

definition of ‘‘Child’’ and add a new

paragraph (d);

e. Remove the words ‘‘lunch

program’’ in the first sentence of the

definition of ‘‘Commodity School

Program’’ and add in their place the

words ‘‘school food service’’;

f. Revise the definition of ‘‘Donated

foods’’;

g. Remove the word ‘‘meal’’ in the

second sentence of the definition of

‘‘Menu item’’ and add in its place the

word ‘‘lunch’’;

h. Revise the definition of ‘‘National

School Lunch Program’’;

i. Remove the reference to ‘‘1954’’ in

the definition of ‘‘Nonprofit’’ and add in

its place a reference to ‘‘1986’’; and

j. Remove the word ‘‘lunches’’ in the

definition of ‘‘Reimbursement’’ and add

in its place the word ‘‘meals’’.

The additions and revisions read as

follows:

§ 210.2 Definitions.

* * * * *

Afterschool snack means a meal

supplement that meets the meal pattern

requirements specified in § 210.10(n).

Area eligibility means a determination

that an afterschool care program site is

located in a needy area as provided for

in § 210.4a(i).

* * * * *

Average Daily Participation means the

average number of children, by

eligibility category, participating in the

lunch service each operating day. * * *

Child means—* * * (c) for purposes

of reimbursement for afterschool snacks

in a ‘‘School’’, that term is defined in

paragraphs (a) and (b) of the definition

of that term, a student participating in

an approved afterschool care program

who is either age 18 or under at the start

of the school year or is a student of any

age who meets the definition of a

‘‘Student with disabilities’’ and who is

participating in a school program as

authorized by paragraph (a) of this

definition; or (d) for purposes of

reimbursement for afterschool snacks in

a ‘‘School’’ as provided for in paragraph

(c) of that definition, a student

participating in an approved afterschool

care program must be age 18 or under

at the start of the school year.

* * * * *

Donated foods means food

commodities donated by the

Department for use in the National

School Lunch Program or the

Commodity School Program.

* * * * *

Free meal means a meal served under

the Program to a child eligible for free

meals under part 245 of this chapter or

to a child participating in an approved

afterschool care program at an area

eligible site. Neither the child nor any

member of the household may be

required to pay or to work in order to

receive the free meal.

* * * * *

Meal means food that meets the

requirements for a lunch or an

afterschool snack in § 210.10.

* * * * *

National School Lunch Program

means the Program under which

participating schools operate a nonprofit

school food service in accordance with

this part 210. The Program may include

serving both lunches and afterschool

snacks.

* * * * *

Paid meal means a meal served under

the Program to a child who is either not

eligible for or who elects not to receive

free or reduced price meals under part

245 of this chapter.

* * * * *

Reduced price meal means a meal

served under the Program to a child

eligible for reduced price meals under

part 245 of this chapter, for which the

price is less than the school food

authority’s full price of the meal and

which does not exceed the maximum

allowable reduced price specified under

part 245 of this chapter or in

§ 210.4a(j)(2). Neither the child nor any

member of the household may be

required to work in order to receive a

reduced price meal.

* * * * *

4. In § 210.4:

a. Revise paragraph (a);

b. Add a new sentence at the end of

paragraph (b)(2);

c. Revise paragraph (b)(3);

d. Remove paragraph (b)(4); and

e. Amend paragraph (c) introductory

text by adding a new second sentence.

The revisions and additions read

follows:

60526 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 11, 2000 / Proposed Rules

§ 210.4 Cash and donated food assistance

to States.

(a) General. To the extent funds are

available, FNS will make cash

assistance available in accordance with

this section to each State agency for

meals served to children under the

Program.

(b) * * *

(2) * * * FNS will provide additional

donated foods for use in lunches and

afterschool snacks when they are

available.

(3) Cash assistance for afterschool

snacks. (i) Cash assistance is provided to

each State agency for all afterschool

snacks served to children in accordance

with the provisions of § 210.4a. The

total cash assistance provided to a State

agency may not exceed the lesser of:

(A) The amounts reported to FNS as

paid to school food authorities in

accordance with § 210.5(d)(3); or

(B) The total calculated by

multiplying the number of afterschool

snacks reported to FNS in accordance

with § 210.5(d)(1) for each month during

the fiscal year by the applicable rate.

(ii) The cash assistance rates for

afterschool snacks are adjusted annually

to reflect changes in the food away from

home series of the Consumer Price

Index for all Urban Consumers. These

adjustments are announced by Notice in

the Federal Register in July of each year

and are effective on July 1 of each year.

(c) * * * FNS will also make cash

assistance available to each State agency

for afterschool snacks served in

commodity schools in the same manner

as it is provided in the National School

Lunch Program. * * *

* * * * *

5. Add a new § 210.4a to read as

follows:

§ 210.4a Afterschool snacks.

(a) When is a school food authority

eligible to receive reimbursement for

afterschool snacks? A school food

authority is eligible to receive

reimbursement for afterschool snacks

when it has an agreement with the State

agency for one or more schools to serve

lunches under the National School

Lunch Program and a school or school

district operates or sponsors an eligible

afterschool care program as provided in

paragraph (b) of this section.

(b) What is an eligible afterschool care

program? (1) Eligible program. For the

purposes of paragraph (a) of this section,

an eligible afterschool care program is

one which:

(i) Is organized primarily to provide

care for children after school;

(ii) Has organized, regularly

scheduled activities (i.e., in a structured

and supervised environment);

(iii) Includes education or enrichment

activities; and

(iv) Is sponsored or operated by the

school or school district.

(2) Eligibility limitation. Organized

athletic programs engaged in

interscholastic or community level

competitive sports are not eligible

afterschool care programs.

(c) What are the eligibility

requirements for children participating

in an approved afterschool care

program?

(1) Requirements for children in

schools. In schools, as provided for in

paragraphs (a) and (b) of the definition

of ‘‘School’’ in § 210.2, school food

authorities may claim reimbursement

for afterschool snacks served to children

who meet the conditions in paragraph

(c) of the definition of ‘‘Child’’ in

§ 210.2 . In such schools, a school food

authority may claim reimbursement for

a ‘‘Student with disabilities’’ (as defined

in § 210.2) who is any age.

(2) Requirements for children in

residential child care institutions. In

residential child care institutions, as

provided for in paragraph (c) of the

definition of ‘‘School’’ in § 210.2, school

food authorities may claim

reimbursement for afterschool snacks

served who meet the conditions in

paragraph (d) of the definition of

‘‘Child’’ in § 210.2.

(d) Must the afterschool care program

be located in a school? No. Any facility

selected as a site of an eligible

afterschool care program may

participate in the afterschool snack

service.

(e) How does a school food authority

apply for the afterschool snack

component of the Program?

(1) Application. An official of the

school food authority must make

written application to the State agency

for any school or site in which it desires

to operate an afterschool snack service

under National School Lunch Program.

(2) Required information. At a

minimum, the school food authority

must submit:

(i) A description of how the

afterschool care program meets the

eligibility criteria in paragraph (b) of

this section;

(ii) A list of all schools and/or sites;

(iii) An indication of which schools

and/or sites the school food authority is

requesting area eligibility for; and

(iv) Documentation which permits the

State agency to confirm that schools

and/or sites for which area eligibility is

requested meet the criteria in paragraph

(i)(1) of this section.

(f) How does the State agency approve

the application?

(1) State agency approval. The

responsibility for approval rests with

the State agency. The State agency must

evaluate the description(s) of the

afterschool care program(s) to determine

if they meet the criteria in paragraph (b)

of this section. The State agency must

review the documentation provided by

the school food authority for any school

or site requesting area eligibility.

(2) Agreement. Upon approval, the

State agency amends the existing

agreement between the State agency and

the school food authority outlined in

§ 210.9. The amendment must describe

the approved afterschool care

program(s), list the approved sites and

indicate whether they meet the criteria

for area eligibility as provided for in

paragraph (i)(1) of this section. The

amendment must also require the school

food authority to comply with the

applicable requirements of this part 210

for the afterschool snack service.

(g) What is the application process in

subsequent years? Prior to beginning

afterschool snack service in each

subsequent year, the school food

authority must provide the information

described in paragraphs (e)(2)(ii)

through (e)(2)(iv) of this section for all

schools and/or sites. The school food

authority must also provide information

about any substantive changes to the

afterschool care program(s) to determine

if it continues to meet the criteria in

paragraph (e)(2)(i) of this section. The

State agency reviews and approves the

application and amends the agreement

as discussed in paragraph (f) of this

section.

(h) What if school food authorities

wish to add new at-risk afterschool care

sites after application approval? School

food authorities wishing to add new

afterschool care sites after application

approval must provide the State agency

with the information specified in

paragraph (e) of this section. The State

agency would then follow the

procedures established under paragraph

(f) of this section.

(i) What is area eligibility?

(1) General. A school is area eligible

if at least 50 percent of its enrolled

children are certified as eligible for free

or reduced price meals or if it is located

in the attendance area of an elementary,

middle, or high school in which at least

50 percent of the enrolled children are

certified eligible for free or reduced

price meals. A site is area eligible if it

is located in the attendance area of an

elementary, middle, or high school in

which at least 50 percent of the enrolled

children are certified eligible for free or

reduced price meals.

(2) Data used. Area eligibility

determinations must be based on the

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 11, 2000 / Proposed Rules 60527

total number of children approved for

free and reduced price meals for the

preceding October or another month the

State agency has designated pursuant to

§ 210.9(b)(20). If the State agency

decides to choose another month, it

must do so for the entire State.

(j) What may a school food authority

charge for afterschool snacks?

(1) Free afterschool snacks. School

food authorities may not charge for

afterschool snacks served to children

who are eligible for free meals or who

participate at an area eligible school or

site.

(2) Reduced price afterschool snacks.

School food authorities may charge no

more than 15 cents for afterschool

snacks served to children eligible for

reduced price meals at non-area eligible

schools or sites.

(3) Paid afterschool snacks. School

food authorities may set the charge for

afterschool snacks served to children

from households who are not eligible for

free or reduced price meals at non-area

eligible sites.

(k) How many snacks may be claimed

for reimbursement? School food

authorities may claim reimbursement

for no more than one afterschool snack

per child per day. Any excess

afterschool snacks that are produced

may be offered, but may not be claimed

for reimbursement.

(l) What are the meal pattern

requirements for afterschool snacks?

Afterschool snacks must meet the meal

pattern requirements for afterschool

snacks in § 210.10(n). If schools or sites

offer choices of snacks or choices within

the snack meal pattern, children who

are eligible for free or reduced price

snacks must be allowed to take any

snack or choice offered as a part of the

reimbursable snack. The afterschool

snack must be priced as a unit.

(m) When may snacks be served?

School food authorities may claim

reimbursement only for afterschool

snacks served in an afterschool care

programs after a child’s school day on

days when school is in session. School

food authorities may claim afterschool

snacks served in approved afterschool

care programs operated for children

attending a summer school program

which is an integral part of the

curriculum or an actual extension of the

local educational program. School food

authorities may not claim afterschool

snacks served on days when school is

not in session (i.e. weekends, holidays,

or school vacations).

(n) What reimbursements do schools

earn?

(1) At area eligible sites. All

afterschool snacks served in area

eligible sites are reimbursed at the free

afterschool snack rate.

(2) At non-area eligible sites. For

afterschool snacks served in sites that

are not area eligible, the reimbursement

rate depends on the eligibility status of

the child (i.e. free, reduced price, or

paid).

(o) How do schools determine

eligibility status in non-area eligible

sites? School food authorities must

determine and document the income

eligibility (in accordance with part 245

of this chapter) of the children served in

sites that are not area eligible. School

food authorities may use the free and

reduced price determinations made for

purposes of free and reduced price

lunches and/or breakfasts as

documentation for free and reduced

price afterschool snacks.

(p) How do schools claim

reimbursement? To be entitled to

reimbursement under this part 210, each

school food authority must ensure that

Claims for Reimbursement are limited to

the number of free, reduced price and

paid afterschool snacks that are served

to children eligible for free, reduced

price and paid afterschool snacks for

each day of operation. In order to obtain

reimbursement for afterschool snacks,

school food authorities must follow the

procedures set forth in § 210.7 and

§ 210.8, as applicable.

(q) What additional recordkeeping is

required for the snack service? In

addition to the other records required by

this part 210, school food authorities or

schools must maintain daily attendance

rosters, sign-in sheets or, with State

agency approval, other methods which

result in accurate recording of daily

attendance.

(r) What additional reporting is

required for the snack service? In

addition to other reporting requirements

under this part 210, school food

authorities must submit a claim for

reimbursement as specified in § 210.8.

(s) What are the monitoring

requirements for the school food

authority? Twice each school year, the

school food authority must review each

afterschool care program site’s

afterschool snack counting and claiming

system and compliance with the

afterschool snack meal pattern

requirements. The first review must be

made during the first six weeks of snack

service each school year.

(t) What are the monitoring

requirements for State agencies? State

agency monitoring requirements are set

forth in § 210.19(a)(7).

(u) What are the other requirements

for afterschool snacks? School food

authorities must comply with all

applicable requirements in this part 210

except point of service counts as

specified in § § 210.7(c)(1)(iii),

210.7(c)(2), and 210.9(b)(9)).

6. In § 210.5, revise the third sentence

of paragraph (d)(1) to read as follows:

§ 210.5 Payment process to States.

* * * * *

(d) * * *

(1) * * * For the month of October as

of the last day of operation, the final

report must include the total number of

children approved for free lunches; the

total number of children approved for

reduced priced lunches; the total

number of children enrolled in

participating public schools, private

schools, and residential child care

institutions, respectively; and the total

number of public schools/sites, private

schools/sites and residential child care

institutions, respectively, claiming

reimbursements for meals under the

National School Lunch Program. * * *

* * * * *

§ 210.6 [Amended]

7. In § 210.6, remove the words

‘‘lunches and meals supplements’’ in

the first sentence and add in their place

the word ‘‘meals’’.

8. In § 210.7:

a. Revise paragraph (a);

b. Revise the heading and first

sentence of paragraph (b);

c. Revise the introductory text in

paragraph (c);

d. Revise paragraph (c)(1)

introductory text;

e. Revise paragraph (c)(1)(i);

f. Revise paragraph (c)(1)(ii)

introductory text;

g. Revise paragraph (c)(1)(iii);

h. Revise paragraph (c)(1)(iv);

i. Revise paragraph (c)(1)(v); and

j. Revise paragraph (d).

The revisions read as follows:

§ 210.7 Reimbursement for school food

authorities.

(a) General. Reimbursement payments

to finance nonprofit school food service

operations must be made only to school

food authorities operating under a

written agreement with the State

agency. Subject to the provisions of

§ 210.8(c), such payments may be made

for meals served in accordance with

provisions of this part 210 and part 245

of this chapter in the calendar month

preceding the calendar month in which

the agreement is executed. These

reimbursement payments include

general cash assistance for all lunches

served to children under the National

School Lunch Program. Reimbursement

payments also include special cash

assistance payments for free or reduced

price lunches served to children

60528 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 11, 2000 / Proposed Rules

determined eligible for such benefits

under the National School Lunch and

Commodity School Programs.

Reimbursement payments will also be

made for afterschool snacks served in

approved afterschool care programs in

accordance with § 210.4a.

(b) Assignment of rates for lunch. At

the beginning of each school year, State

agencies must establish the per meal

rates of reimbursement for lunches for

school food authorities participating in

the Program. * * *

(c) Reimbursement limitations. To be

entitled to reimbursement under this

part 210, each school food authority

must ensure that Claims for

Reimbursement are limited to the

number of free, reduced price and paid

meals that are served to children eligible

for free, reduced price and paid meals,

respectively, for each day of operation.

(1) Meal count system. To ensure that

the Claim for Reimbursement accurately

reflects the number of meals, by

eligibility category, served to eligible

children for each day of operation, the

school food authority must, at a

minimum:

(i) Correctly approve each child’s

eligibility for free and reduced price

meals based on the requirements

prescribed under part 245 of this

chapter;

(ii) Maintain a system to issue benefits

and to update the eligibility of children

approved for free or reduced price

meals. The system must:

* * * * *

(iii) Base Claims for Reimbursement

on meal counts, taken daily, that

correctly identify the number of free,

reduced price and paid lunches and

afterschool snacks served to eligible

children each day. For lunches, the

counts must be taken daily, at the point

of service, or in accordance with a point

of service alternative authorized under

paragraph (c)(2) of this section;

(iv) Correctly record, consolidate and

report those lunch and afterschool snack

counts on the Claim for Reimbursement;

and

(v) Ensure that Claims for

Reimbursement do not request payment

for any excess meals produced, as

prohibited in § 210.10(a)(2) or nonProgram meals (i.e., a la carte or adult

lunches) or for more than one lunch and

one afterschool snack per child per day.

* * * * *

(d) Reimbursement for afterschool

snacks. State agencies must reimburse

school food authorities for afterschool

snacks at the rates set in § 210.4(b)(3).

9. In § 210.8:

a. Revise paragraph (a) introductory

text;

b. Add a new sentence at the end of

paragraph (a)(1);

c. Revise paragraph (a)(2) introductory

text and paragraph (a)(2)(i) introductory

text;

d. Remove the word ‘‘meal’’ in

paragraphs (a)(2)(ii) and (a)(3)(ii) and

add in its place the word ‘‘lunch’’;

e. Revise paragraph (a)(4);

f. Revise paragraph (b)(2) introductory

text;

g. Revise the second sentence of

paragraph (b)(2)(ii);

h. Remove the word ‘‘lunch’’ in

paragraph (b)(3) and add in its place the

word ‘‘meal’’;

i. Revise the first sentence of

paragraph (b)(4);

j. Revise the second sentence of

paragraph (c) introductory text;

k. Revise the second sentence of

paragraph (c)(1);

l. Revise the first sentence of

paragraph (c)(2); and

m. Revise the second sentence of

paragraph (d).

The revisions and addition read as

follows:

§ 210.8 Claims for reimbursement.

(a) Internal controls. The school food

authority must establish internal

controls which ensure the accuracy of

meal counts prior to the submission of

the monthly Claim for Reimbursement.

At a minimum, these internal controls

for meal counting and claiming must

include: An on-site review of the

counting and claiming system employed

by each school within the jurisdiction of

the school food authority; comparisons

of daily free, reduced price and paid

meal counts against data which will

assist in the identification of meal

counts in excess of the number of free,

reduced price and paid meals served

each day to children eligible for such

meals; and a system for following up on

those meal counts which suggest the

likelihood of counting problems.

(1) * * * On-site review requirements

for afterschool snacks are set forth in

§ 210.4a(s).

(2) School food authority claims

review process. Prior to the submission

of a monthly Claim for Reimbursement,

each school food authority must review

the meal count data for each school

under its jurisdiction to ensure the

accuracy of the monthly Claim for

Reimbursement. The objective of this

review is to ensure that monthly claims

include only the number of free,

reduced price and paid lunches and

afterschool snacks served on any day of

operation to children currently eligible

for such lunches and afterschool snacks.

(i) Any school food authority that was

found by its most recent administrative

review conducted in accordance with

§ 210.18, to have no lunch counting and

claiming violations may:

* * * * *

(4) Follow-up activity. The school

food authority must promptly follow-up

through phone contact, on-site visits or

other means when the internal controls

used by schools in accordance with

paragraph (a)(2) of this section or the

claims review process used by schools

suggest the likelihood of meal count

problems. When problems or errors are

identified, the meal counts must be

corrected prior to submission of the

monthly Claim for Reimbursement.

Improvements to the meal count system

must also be made to ensure that the

meal counting system consistently

results in meal counts of the actual

number of reimbursable free, reduced

price and paid lunches and afterschool

snacks served for each day of operation.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(2) State agency claims review

process. The State agency must review

each school food authority’s Claim for

Reimbursement, on a monthly basis, in

an effort to ensure that monthly claims

are limited to the number of free and

reduced price lunches and afterschool

snacks served, by type, to eligible

children.

* * * * *

(ii) * * * Such alternative analyses

must meet the objective of ensuring that

the monthly Claims for Reimbursement

are limited to the numbers of free and

reduced price lunches and afterschool

snacks served, by type, to eligible

children.

* * * * *

(4) Corrective action. The State agency

must promptly take corrective action

with respect to any Claim for

Reimbursement which includes more

than the number of lunches and/or

afterschool snacks served, by type, to

eligible children. * * *

(c) * * * Such data must include, at

a minimum, the number of free, reduced

price and paid lunches and afterschool

snacks served to eligible children. * * *

(1) * * * Unless otherwise approved

by FNS, the Claim for Reimbursement

for any month must include only

lunches and afterschool snacks served

in that month except if the first or last

month of operation for any school year

contains 10 operating days or less, such

month may be combined with the Claim

for Reimbursement for the appropriate

adjacent month. * * *

(2) October data. For the month of

October as of the last day of operation,

the State agency must also obtain, either

through the Claim for Reimbursement or

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 11, 2000 / Proposed Rules 60529

other means: the total number of

children approved for free lunches; the

total number of children approved for

reduced price lunches; the total number

of children enrolled in the school food

authority and the total number of

schools and sites claiming

reimbursement for meals under the

National School Lunch Program. * * *

(d) * * * Following the receipt of

claims, the State agency must make

adjustments, as necessary, to ensure that

the total amount of payments received

by the school food authority for the

fiscal year does not exceed an amount

equal to the number of lunches and

afterschool snacks by reimbursement

type served to children times the

respective payment rates assigned by

the State in accordance with § 210.7(b).

***

10. In § 210.9:

a. Revise paragraphs (b)(5) through

(b)(7);

b. Revise the first sentence of

paragraph (b)(8);

c. Revise paragraph (b)(9);

d. Remove the word ‘‘lunches’’ in first

sentence of paragraph (b)(18) and add in

its place the word ‘‘meals’’;

e. Revise paragraphs (b)(19) and

(b)(20); and

f. Remove paragraph (c).

The revisions read as follows:

§ 210.9 Agreement with State agency.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(5) Serve lunches, during the lunch

period, which meet the minimum

requirements prescribed in § 210.10;

and serve snacks after the end of the

school day which meet the applicable

requirements in § 210.10;

(6) Price the lunch and afterschool

snack as units;

(7) Serve meals free or at a reduced

price to all children who are determined

by the school food authority to be

eligible for such meals under part 245

of this chapter and serve afterschool

snacks free to all children at area

eligible sites in accordance with

§ 210.4a(i);

(8) Claim reimbursement at the

assigned rates only for reimbursable

free, reduced price and paid meals

served to eligible children in accordance

with part 210. * * *

(9) Count the number of meals in

accordance with § 210.7(c);

* * * * *

(19) Retain the individual

applications for free and reduced price

meals submitted by families for a period

of 3 years after the end of the fiscal year

to which they pertain or as otherwise

specified under paragraph (b)(17) of this

section.

(20) No later than December 31,

provide the State agency with a list of

all elementary, middle and high schools

under its jurisdiction in which 50

percent or more of enrolled children

have been determined eligible for free or

reduced price meals as of the last

operating day the preceding October.

The State agency may designate a month

other than October for the collection of

this information, in which case the list

must be provided to the State agency

within 60 calendar days following the

end of the month designated by the

State agency. In addition, each school

food authority must provide information

on the boundaries of the attendance

areas for the elementary, middle and

high schools identified as having 50

percent or more of enrolled children

certified for free or reduced price meals.

Each school food authority must

provide this information when available

for the schools under its jurisdiction,

and upon the request of:

(i) At-risk afterschool care center;

(ii) Sponsoring organization of at-risk

afterschool care centers; or

(iii) A sponsoring organization of day

care homes participating in the Child

and Adult Care Food Program.

11. In § 210.10, revise paragraph (n) to

read as follows:

§ 210.10 What are the nutrition standards

and menu planning approaches for lunches

and the requirements for afterschool

snacks?

* * * * *

(n) What are the requirements for

afterschool snacks? (1) Minimum

components. In order to be reimbursed,

afterschool snacks must contain two

different components from the following

four:

(i) A serving of fluid milk, as defined

in paragraph (m)(1)(ii) of this section, as

a beverage, or on cereal, or used in part

for each purpose;

(ii) A serving of meat or meat

alternate. Nuts and seeds and their

butters listed in program guidance are

nutritionally comparable to meat or

other meat alternates based on available

nutritional data. Acorns, chestnuts, and

coconuts are excluded and must not be

used as meat alternates due to their low

protein content. Nut or seed meals or

flours must not be used as a meat

alternate except as defined under

appendix A to this part: Alternate Foods

for Meals;

(iii) A serving of vegetable(s) or

fruit(s) or full-strength vegetable or fruit

juice, or an equivalent quantity of any

combination of these foods. Juice may

not be served when milk is served as the

only other component;

(iv) A serving of whole-grain or

enriched bread; or an equivalent serving

of cornbread, biscuits, rolls, muffins,

etc., made with whole-grain or enriched

meal or flour; or a serving of cooked

whole-grain or enriched pasta or noodle

products such as macaroni, or cereal

grains such as rice, bulgur, or corn grits;

or an equivalent quantity of any

combination of these foods.

(2) Afterschool snacks for infants.

Afterschool snacks for infants must

contain the following:

(i) Birth through 3 months: 4–6 fluid

ounces of breast milk or iron-fortified

infant formula.

(ii) 4 through 7 months: 4–6 fluid

ounces of breast milk or iron-fortified

infant formula.

(iii) 8 through 11 months: 2–4 fluid

ounces of breast milk or iron-fortified

infant formula or full strength fruit

juice; 0–1⁄2 slice of crusty bread or 0–2

cracker type products made from wholegrain or enriched meal or flour that are

suitable for an infant for use as a finger

food when appropriate. To improve the

nutrition of participating children over

one year of age, additional foods may be

served with the afterschool snacks as

desired.

(3) Minimum quantities. In order to be

reimbursed, afterschool snacks must

contain the following quantities of the

required components. (Note: Juice may

not be served when milk is served as the

only other component.) Children older

than age 12 may be served larger

portions based on the greater food needs

of older boys and girls, but must be

served no less than the minimum

quantities specified for children age 6

through 12.

60530 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 11, 2000 / Proposed Rules

BILLING CODE 3410–30–C

* * * * *

§ 210.11 [Amended]

12. In § 210.11:

a. Remove the word ‘‘lunch’’ and add

the word ‘‘meal’’ in its place in

paragraph (a)(1); and

b. In paragraph (b):

(i) Remove the word ‘‘lunches’’ and

add in its place the word ‘‘meals’’ in the

first sentence;

(ii) Remove the word ‘‘lunch’’ and

add in its place the word ‘‘meal’’ in the

second sentence; and

(iii) Remove the words ‘‘lunch

period’’ and add in their place the

words ‘‘meal periods’’ in the third

sentence.

13. In § 210.15, revise paragraphs

(b)(3) and (b)(4) to read as follows:

§ 210.15 Reporting and recordkeeping.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(3) Participation records to

demonstrate positive action toward

providing one lunch per child per day

as required under § 210.10(a)(2) and one

afterschool snack per child per day

under § 210.4a;

(4) Currently approved and denied

applications for free and reduced price

meals and a description of the

verification activities, including verified

applications, and any accompanying

source documentation in accordance

with § 245.6a of this chapter.

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 11, 2000 / Proposed Rules 60531

14. In § 210.16:

a. revise the second sentence in

paragraph (a); and

b. revise the first sentence in

paragraph (b)(1).

The revisions read as follows:

§ 210.16 Food service management

companies.

(a) * * * However, no school or

school food authority may contract with

a food service management company to

operate an a la carte food service unless

the company agrees to offer free,

reduced price and paid reimbursable

meals to all eligible children. * * *

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(1) The invitation to bid or request for

proposal contains a 21-day cycle menu

developed in accordance with the

provisions of § 210.10 to be used as a

standard for the purpose of basing bids

or estimating average cost per lunch

and/or afterschool snack. * * *

* * * * *

15. In § 210.18:

a. revise paragraph (i)(4)(iv);

b. revise the second sentence of

paragraph (l)(2); and

c. revise the last sentence of

paragraph (l)(4).

The revisions read as follows:

§ 210.18 Administrative reviews.

* * * * *

(i) * * *

(4) * * *

(iv) If the State agency did not

evaluate the certification, count and

milk/meal service procedures for the

School Breakfast Program (part 220)

and/or the Special Milk Program for

Children (part 215) or the afterschool

snack service (§ 210.4a) in those schools

selected for the administrative review

and participating in those Programs, the

State agency must do so for those

schools selected for the first follow-up

review.

* * * * *

(1) * * *

(2) * * * Subsequent to the State

agency’s acceptance of the corrective

actions (and a follow-up review, when

required), payments will be released for

all meals served in accordance with the

provisions of this part during the period

the payments were withheld. * * *

* * * * *

(4) * * * Subsequent to the

documentation of compliance, any

withheld administrative funds will be

released and payment will be released

for any meals served in accordance with

the provisions of this part during the

period the payments were withheld.

* * * * *

16. In § 210.19:

a. Remove the word ‘‘lunches’’ and

add the word ‘‘meals’’ in its place in the

fifth sentence of paragraph (a)(2);

b. Add a new paragraph (a)(7);

c. Revise paragraph (c)(2)(i);

d. Revise the last sentence of

paragraph (c)(2)(ii);

e. Revise paragraph (c)(2)(iii); and

f. Revise paragraph (f).

The revisions and addition read as

follows:

§ 210.19 Additional responsibilities.

(a) * * *

(7) Compliance with afterschool snack

requirements. Each State agency shall

determine whether school food

authorities claiming reimbursement for

afterschool snacks comply with the

provisions of § 210.4a. Each State

agency shall conduct on-site reviews of

at least 10 percent, but not less than 1

site, of each school food authority’s

afterschool snack service sites on the

same schedule required of

administrative reviews under

§ 210.18(c). Such reviews may be

conducted at the same time the school

food authority is scheduled for an

administrative review in accordance

with § 210.18. State agencies may also

conduct these evaluations in

conjunction with technical assistance

visits, other reviews, or separately.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(2) * * *

(i) The State agency must identify the

school food authority’s correct

entitlement and take fiscal action when

any school food authority claims or

receives more Federal funds than earned

under § 210.7. In order to take fiscal

action, the State agency must identify

accurate counts of reimbursable lunches

and afterschool snacks through available

data, if possible. In the absence of

reliable data, the State agency must

reconstruct the lunch and afterschool

snack counts in accordance with

procedures established by FNS.

(ii) * * * The State agency must

ensure that any Claim for

Reimbursement, filed subsequent to the

reviews conducted under § 210.18 and

prior to the implementation of

corrective action, is limited to meals

eligible for reimbursement under this

part 210.

(iii) In taking fiscal action, State

agencies must assume that children

determined by the reviewer to be

incorrectly approved for free and

reduced price meals participated at the

same rate as correctly approved children

in the corresponding category.

* * * * *

(f) Cooperation with the Child and

Adult Care Food Program. On an annual

basis, the State agency must provide the

State agency which administers the

Child and Adult Care Food Program

with a list of all elementary, middle,

and high schools in the State

participating in the National School

Lunch Program in which 50 percent or

more of enrolled children have been

determined eligible for free or reduced

price meals as of the last operating day

of the preceding October, or another

month specified by the State agency.

Lists must be provided by February 1 of

each year or, if data is based on a month

other than October, within 90 calendar

days following the end of the month

designated by the State agency. The

State agency may provide updated free

and reduced price enrollment data on

individual schools to the State agency

which administers the Child and Adult

Care Food Program only when unusual

circumstances render the initial data

obsolete. In addition, the State agency

must provide the current list, upon

request, to at-risk afterschool care

centers and sponsoring organizations of

at-risk afterschool care centers or

sponsoring organizations of day care

homes participating in the Child and

Adult Care Food Program.

17. In § 210.23, revise paragraph (a) to

read as follows:

§ 210.23 Other responsibilities.

(a) Free and reduced price meals.

State agencies and school food

authorities must ensure that meals are

made available free or at a reduced price

to all children who are determined by

the school food authority to be eligible

for such benefits. The determination of

a child’s eligibility for free or reduced

price meals is to be made in accordance

with part 245 of this chapter.

* * * * *

18. In § 210.24, revise the last

sentence to read as follows:

§ 210.24 Withholding payments.

* * * Subsequent to the State

agency’s acceptance of the corrective

actions, payments will be released for

any meals served in accordance with the

provisions of this part during the period

the payments were withheld.

PART 226—CHILD AND ADULT CARE

FOOD PROGRAM

1. The authority citation for part 226

is revised to read as follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 1758, 1759a, 1765,

and 1766.

2. In part 226:

a. Remove the words ‘‘supplement’’ or

‘‘supplements’’ wherever they appear in

60532 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 11, 2000 / Proposed Rules

the following sections and add the

words ‘‘snack’’ or ‘‘snacks’’,

respectively, in their place:

§ 226.4(b)(7);

§ 226.4(b)(8);

§ 226.4(b)(9);

§ 226.13(b);

§ 226.15(e)(4);

§ 226.17(b)(8);

§ 226.19(b)(4);

§ 226.19(b)(6);

§ 226.19a(b)(9);

§ 226.20(b)(4) introductory text;

§ 226.25(g)(1)(i)(C); and

b. remove the words ‘‘supplemental

food’’ wherever they appear in the

following sections and add the word

‘‘snacks’’ in their place:

§ 226.20(a)(4);

§ 226.20(b)(1)(iii)

§ 226.20(b)(2)(iii);

§ 226.20(b)(3)(iii);

§ 226.20(c)(4); and

§ 226.20(d)(2).

3. In § 226.2:

a. Add new definitions of ‘‘At-risk

afterschool care center’’, ‘‘Eligible area’’,

‘‘Iowa/Kentucky demonstration project

center’’, ‘‘Person with disabilities’’, and

‘‘Snack’’ in alphabetical order;

b. Revise the definitions of ‘‘CACFP

child care standards’’, ‘‘Child care

facility’’, ‘‘Children’’, ‘‘Nonpricing

program’’, ‘‘Pricing program’’,

‘‘Proprietary title XX center’’, ‘‘Reduced

price meal’’, and ‘‘Sponsoring

organization’’;

c. Add a new sentence to the end of

the definition of ‘‘Enrolled child’’;

d. Revise the first sentence in the

definition of ‘‘Free meal’’;

e. Add the words ‘‘at-risk afterschool

care center,’’ in the definition of

‘‘Independent center’’ after the words

‘‘child care center,’’;

f. Add the words ‘‘at-risk afterschool

care center,’’ in the definition of

‘‘Institution’’ after the words ‘‘child care

center,’’; and

g. Add the words ‘‘in accordance with

§ 226.6(d)(1)’’ in the first sentence of the

definition of ‘‘Outside-school-hours care

center’’ after the words ‘‘licensed or

approved’’.

The new definitions and revisions

read as follows:

§ 226.2 Definitions.

* * * * *

At-risk afterschool care center means

a public or private nonprofit

organization (or a proprietary title XX

center, as defined in this section)

eligible to participate in the CACFP that

provides nonresidential child care to

children after school through an

approved afterschool care program in an

eligible area. An at-risk afterschool care

center may participate in the Program as

an independent center or under the

auspices of a sponsoring organization.

CACFP child care standards means

the Child and Adult Care Food Program

child care standards developed by the

Department for alternate approval of

child care centers and day care homes

by the State agency under the provisions

of § 226.6(d)(2) and (d)(3).

* * * * *

Child care facility means a child care

center, day care home, at-risk

afterschool care center, or outsideschool-hours care center under the

auspices of a sponsoring organization.

Children means:

(a) Persons age 12 and under;

(b) Persons age 15 and under who are

children of migrant workers;

(c) ‘‘Person with disabilities’’ as

defined in this section; and

(d) For at-risk afterschool care centers,

students who are enrolled in an

approved afterschool care program and

who either are age 18 or under at the

start of the school year or who are any

age and meet the definition of ‘‘Person

with disabilities’’ as defined in this

section.

* * * * *

Eligible area means the attendance

area of an elementary, middle, or high

school in which at least 50 percent of

the enrolled children are certified

eligible for free or reduced price school

meals.

Enrolled child * * * For at-risk

afterschool care centers, ‘‘enrolled

child’’ means a child participating in an

approved afterschool care program.

* * * * *

Free meal means a meal served under

the Program to: a participant from a

family that meets the income standards

for free school meals; a child who is

automatically eligible for free meals by

virtue of food stamp, FDPIR or AFDC

recipiency; a child who is a Head Start

participant; a child participating in an

approved at-risk afterschool care

program; or an adult participant who is

automatically eligible for free meals by

virtue of food stamp or FDPIR

recipiency or is a SSI or Medicaid

participant. * * *

* * * * *

Iowa/Kentucky demonstration project

center means any private for-profit

center:

(a) Providing nonresidential child

care;

(b) In which at least 25 percent of the

enrolled children or 25 percent of the

licensed capacity, whichever is less,

meet the income eligibility criteria for

free or reduced price meals. However,

children who only participate in the atrisk afterschool snack component of the

Program must not be considered in

determining this percentage; and

(c) Participating in the demonstration

project under section 17(p) of the

National School Lunch Act.

* * * * *

Nonpricing program means an

institution, child care facility, or adult

day care facility in which there is no

separate identifiable charge made for

meals served to participants.

* * * * *

Person with disabilities means a

person of any age who has one or more

disabilities, as determined by the State

agency, and who is enrolled in an

institution or child care facility serving

a majority of persons who are age 18

and under.

* * * * *

Pricing program means an institution,

child care facility, or adult day care

facility in which a separate identifiable

charge is made for meals served to

participants.

* * * * *

Proprietary title XX center means:

(a) Any private, for profit center

which provides nonresidential child

care services for which it receives

compensation from amounts granted to

the States under title XX of the Social

Security Act; and in which title XX

child care beneficiaries were at least 25

percent of enrolled eligible participants

or licensed capacity, whichever is less,

during the calendar month before initial

application or annual reapplication for

Program participation. (Children who

only participate in the at-risk

afterschool snack component of the

Program must not be considered in

determining this percentage); or

(b) Any private, for profit center

which provides nonresidential adult

day care services for which it receives

compensation from amounts granted to

the States under title XX of the Social

Security Act; and in which title XX

adult beneficiaries were at least 25

percent of enrolled eligible participants

during the calendar month before initial

application or annual reapplication for

Program participation.

Reduced price meal means a meal

served under the Program to a

participant from a family which meets

the income standards for reduced price

school meals. Any separate charge

imposed must be less than the full price

of the meal, but in no case more than

40 cents for a lunch or supper, 30 cents

for a breakfast, and 15 cents for a snack.

Neither the participant nor any member

of his family may be required to work

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 11, 2000 / Proposed Rules 60533

in the food service program for a

reduced price meal.

* * * * *

Snack means a meal supplement

which meets the meal pattern

requirements specified in § 226.20(a)(4).

Sponsoring organization means a

public or nonprofit private organization

which is entirely responsible for the

administration of the food program in:

(a) One or more day care homes;

(b) A child care center, at-risk

afterschool care center, outside-schoolhours care center, or adult day care

center which is a legally distinct entity

from the sponsoring organization;

(c) Two or more child care centers, atrisk afterschool care centers, outsideschool-hours care center, or adult day

care centers; or

(d) Any combination of child care

centers, at-risk afterschool care centers,

outside-school-hours care centers, adult

day care centers, and day care homes.

The term ‘‘sponsoring organization’’

also includes a for-profit organization

which is entirely responsible for

administration of the Program in any

combination of two or more child care

centers, at-risk afterschool care centers,

adult day care centers and outsideschool-hours care centers which are part

of the same legal entity as the

sponsoring organization, and which are

proprietary title XIX or XX centers, as

defined in this section.

* * * * *

4. In § 226.4:

a. Revise paragraph (a);

b. Redesignate paragraphs (c) through

(j) as paragraphs (d) through (k),

respectively;

c. Add a new paragraph (c);

d. Remove the word ‘‘supplements’’

wherever it appears in newly

redesignated paragraphs (d)(7) through

(d)(9), and add in its place the word

‘‘snacks’’;

e. Revise the first sentence of newly

redesignated paragraph (h)(2).

The revisions and addition read as

follows:

§ 226.4 Payments to States and use of

funds.

(a) Availability of funds. For each

fiscal year based on funds provided to

the Department, FNS must make funds

available to each State agency to

reimburse institutions for their costs in

connection with food service

operations, including administrative

expenses, under this part 226. Funds

must be made available in an amount no

less than the sum of the totals obtained

under paragraphs (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), and

(i) of this section. However, in any fiscal

year, the aggregate amount of assistance

provided to a State under this part 226

must not exceed the sum of the Federal

funds provided by the State to

participating institutions within the

State for that fiscal year and any funds

used by the State under paragraphs (i)

and (k) of this section.

* * * * *

(c) At-risk afterschool care center

funds. For snacks served to children in

at-risk afterschool care centers, funds

will be made available to each State

agency in an amount equal to the total

calculated by multiplying the number of

snacks served in the Program within the

State to such children by the national

average payment rate for free snacks

under section 11 of the National School

Lunch Act.

* * * * *

(h) * * *

(2) The rate for snacks served in child

care centers, at-risk afterschool care

centers, adult day care centers and

outside-school-hours care centers will

be adjusted annually, on July 1, on the

basis of changes in the series for food

away from home of the Consumer Price

Index for All Urban Consumers

published by the Department of Labor.

***

* * * * *

5. In § 226.6:

a. Revise paragraph (b)(7);

b. Remove the first sentence and add

three sentences in its place in paragraph

(b)(8);

c. Add a new paragraph (b)(11);

d. Revise the heading of paragraph (d)

and paragraph (d)(1) introductory text;

e. Remove the period at the end of

paragraph (d)(1)(v) and add in its place

the word ‘‘; or’’;

f. Add a new paragraph (d)(1)(vi);

g. Remove the words ‘‘and outsideschool-hours care centers’’ in paragraph

(d)(2)(i)(A)(2);

h. Remove paragraph (d)(2)(ii);

i. Revise the second sentence of

paragraph (d)(3) and paragraph (f)(9);

j. Add new paragraphs (f)(12) and

(l)(4); and

k. Remove the words ‘‘, outsideschool-hours care centers,’’ and

‘‘,outside-school-hours care center,’’

wherever they appear in paragraph (n).

The additions and revisions read as

follows:

§ 226.6 State agency administrative

responsibilities.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(7) Submission of documentation that

all child care centers, at-risk afterschool

care centers, adult day care centers,

outside-school-hours care centers and

day care homes for which application is

made are in compliance with Program

licensing/approval provisions;

(8) For proprietary title XX child care

centers and proprietary title XX at-risk

afterschool care centers, submission of

documentation that they are currently

providing nonresidential day care

services for which they receive

compensation under title XX of the

Social Security Act. Each such center

must also certify that at least 25 percent

of its enrolled children or 25 percent of

its licensed capacity (whichever is less)

were title XX beneficiaries during the

most recent calendar month. However,

children who only participate in the atrisk afterschool snack component of the

Program must not be considered in

determining this percentage. * * *

* * * * *

(11) For at-risk afterschool care

centers:

(i) Documentation sufficient to

determine if each afterschool care

program meets the eligibility

requirements in § 226.17a(a);

(ii) Information about any substantive

changes to the afterschool care program

whenever such changes occur (even if

the changes do not affect the eligibility

of the afterschool care program); and

(iii) Documentation of area eligibility

at least once every three years thereafter.

* * * * *

(d) Licensing/approval for child care

centers, at-risk afterschool care centers,

outside-school hours care centers and

day care homes. ***

(1) General. Each State agency must

establish procedures to annually review

information submitted by institutions to

ensure that all participating child care

centers, at-risk afterschool care centers

and outside-school hours care centers

and day care homes either:

* * * * *

(vi) If Federal, State or local licensing

or approval is not otherwise required,

at-risk afterschool care centers and

outside-school-hours care centers must

meet State or local health and safety

standards.

* * * * *

(3) * * * Licensing or approval is not

available when no Federal, State, or

local licensing/approval standards have

been established for child care centers

or day care homes; or no mechanism

exists to determine compliance with

licensing/approval standards. * * *

* * * * *

(f) * * *

(9) The State agency must comply

with the requirements of this paragraph

(f) for tiering and at-risk afterschool

center area eligibility determinations.

(i) General. Coordinate with the State

agency which administers the National

School Lunch Program to ensure the

receipt of a list of elementary, middle,

60534 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 11, 2000 / Proposed Rules

and high schools in the State in which

at least one-half of the children enrolled

are certified eligible to receive free or

reduced price meals.

(ii) Tiering data. The State agency

must provide the list of elementary

schools to sponsoring organizations of

day care homes by February 15 each

year unless the State agency that

administers the National School Lunch

Program has elected to base data for the

list on a month other than October. In

that case, the State agency must provide

the list to sponsoring organizations of

day care homes within 15 calendar days

of its receipt from the State agency that

administers the National School Lunch

Program. The State agency also must

provide each sponsoring organization of

day care homes with census data (as

provided to the State agency by FNS

upon its availability on a decennial

basis) showing areas in the State in

which at least 50 percent of the children

are from households meeting the

income standards for free or reduced

price meals.

(iii) Tiering determinations. The State

agency must ensure that the most recent

available data is used when the

determination of a day care home’s

eligibility as a tier I day care home (as

defined in § 226.2) is made using

elementary school or census data.

Determinations of a day care home’s

eligibility as a tier I day care home are

valid for one year if based on a

provider’s household income, three

years if based on elementary school

data, or until more current data are

available if based on census data.

However, a sponsoring organization, the

State agency, or FNS may change the

determination if information becomes

available indicating that a home is no

longer in a qualified area. The State

agency may not routinely require annual

redeterminations of the tiering status of

tier I day care homes based on updated

elementary school data during the threeyear period.

(iv) Area eligibility data. The State

agency must provide the list of

elementary, middle, and high schools to

at-risk afterschool care centers and

sponsoring organizations of at-risk

afterschool care centers upon request.

(v) At-risk afterschool care center area

eligibility determinations. The State

agency must determine the area

eligibility for each independent at-risk

afterschool care center. The State agency

must use the most recent data available

pursuant to paragraph (f)(9)(i) of this

section. The State agency must use

attendance area information that it has

obtained, or verified with the

appropriate school officials to be

current, within the last school year.

Area eligibility determinations are valid

for three years. However, the State

agency, a sponsoring organization, or

FNS may change the determination if

information becomes available

indicating that an at-risk afterschool

care center is no longer area eligible.

The State agency may not routinely

require redeterminations of area

eligibility based on updated school data

during the three-year period.

* * * * *

(12) Determine whether the

afterschool care programs of at-risk

afterschool care centers meet the

requirements of § 226.17a(a) before the

centers begin participating in the

Program and whenever information on

changes to the afterschool care programs

is submitted or otherwise becomes

available. The determinations must be

based on information submitted by the

sponsoring organization or, for

independent centers, by the at-risk

afterschool care centers.

* * * * *

(l) * * *

(4) Technical assistance visits to

independent at-risk afterschool care

centers. In addition to these reviews,

State agencies must conduct a technical

assistance visit to each newly

participating independent at-risk

afterschool care center. The visit must

be made during the first 90 days of

program operations. At the visit, the

State agency must confirm the accuracy

of the documentation provided by the

at-risk afterschool care center and used

by the State agency to determine

eligibility. The State agency must also

examine meal pattern compliance.

* * * * *

6. In § 226.7, revise paragraph (f) to

read as follows:

§ 226.7 State agency responsibilities for

financial management.

* * * * *

(f) Rate assignment. Each State agency

must require institutions (other than atrisk afterschool care centers, sponsoring

organizations of at-risk afterschool care

centers, and sponsoring organizations

for day care homes) to submit, not less

frequently than annually, information

necessary to assign rates of

reimbursement as outlined in § 226.9.

* * * * *

§ 226.8 [Amended]

7. In § 226.8, remove the references to

‘‘§ 226.4(h)’’ in the first sentence of

paragraph (b), the first sentence of

paragraph (c), and the first and second

sentences of paragraph (d), and add in

their places references to ‘‘§ 226.4(i)’’.

8. In § 226.9:

a. Add a new second sentence in

paragraph (a);

b. Revise paragraph (b) introductory

text; and

c. Revise paragraph (b)(2).

The addition and revisions read as

follows:

§ 226.9 Assignment of rates of

reimbursement for centers.

(a) * * * However, no rates should be

assigned for at-risk afterschool care

centers. * * *

(b) Except for at-risk afterschool care

centers, the State agency must either:

* * * * *

(2) Establish claiming percentages, not

less frequently than annually, for each

institution on the basis of the number of

enrolled participants eligible for free,

reduced price, and paid meals. Children

who only participate in the at-risk

afterschool snack component of the

Program must not be considered to be

enrolled participants for the purpose of

claiming percentages; or

* * * * *

9. In § 226.10, revise the third

sentence of paragraph (c) and add a new

fourth sentence to read as follows:

§ 226.10 Program payment procedures.

* * * * *

(c) * * * Independent proprietary

title XX child care centers and

independent proprietary title XX at-risk

afterschool care centers must submit the

number and percentage of the enrolled

participants, or the licensed capacity

receiving title XX benefits for the month

claimed for months in which not less

than 25 percent of the enrolled children

or 25 percent of licensed capacity,

whichever is less, were title XX

beneficiaries. However, children who

only participate in the at-risk

afterschool snack component of the

Program must not be considered in

determining this percentage. * * *

* * * * *

10. In § 226.11:

a. Revise the section heading, and

paragraphs (a), (b) and (c); and

b. Add a heading to paragraphs (d)

and (e).

The revisions and additions read as

follows:

§ 226.11 Program payments for child care

centers, at-risk afterschool care centers,

adult day care centers and outside-schoolhours care centers.

(a) Requirement for agreements.

Payments must be made only to

institutions operating under an

agreement with the State agency for the

meal types specified in the agreement

served at approved child care centers,

at-risk afterschool care centers, adult

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 11, 2000 / Proposed Rules 60535

day care centers and outside-schoolhours care centers. A State agency may

make payment for meals served in

accordance with provisions of the

Program in the calendar month

preceding the calendar month in which

the agreement is executed.

(b) Institution reporting.—(1) Child

and adult care institutions. Each child

care institution and each adult day care

institution must report each month to

the State agency the total number of

Program meals, by type (breakfasts,

lunches, suppers, and snacks), served to

children or adult participants,

respectively, except as provided in

paragraph (b)(2) of this section.

(2) Exception for proprietary title XIX

and title XX centers. For proprietary

title XX child care centers and

proprietary title XX at-risk afterschool

care centers, the reports required in

paragraph (b)(1) of this section must be

made only for calendar months during

which at least 25 percent of enrolled

children or 25 percent of licensed

capacity (whichever is less) were title

XX beneficiaries. Children who only

participate in the at-risk afterschool

snack component of the Program must

not be considered in determining this

percentage. For proprietary title XIX and

title XX adult day care centers, the

reports required in paragraph (b)(1) of

this section must be made only for

calendar months during which at least

25 percent of enrolled adult participants

were title XIX or title XX beneficiaries.

(c) Reimbursement.—(1) Child and

adult care institutions. Each State

agency must base reimbursement to

each approved child care institution and

adult day care institution on the number

of meals, by type, served to children or

adult participants multiplied by the

assigned rates of reimbursement, except

as provided in paragraph (c)(3) of this

section.

(2) At-risk afterschool care

institutions. Each State agency must

base reimbursement to each at-risk

afterschool care institution on the

number of snacks served to children

multiplied by the free rate for snacks,

except as provided in paragraph (c)(3) of

this section.

(3) Exception for proprietary title XIX

and title XX centers. For proprietary

title XX child care centers and

proprietary title XX at-risk afterschool

care centers, reimbursement must be

payable only for calendar months

during which at least 25 percent of

enrolled children or 25 percent of

licensed capacity (whichever is less)

were title XX beneficiaries. Children

who only participate in the at-risk

afterschool snack component of the

Program must not be considered in

determining this percentage. For

proprietary title XIX and title XX adult

day care centers, reimbursement must

be payable only for calendar months

during which at least 25 percent of

enrolled adult participants were title

XIX or title XX beneficiaries.

(4) Computation of reimbursement.

Except for at-risk afterschool care

centers, in computing reimbursement,

the State agency must either:

(i) Actual counts. Base reimbursement

to institutions on actual daily counts of

meals served, and multiply the number

of meals, by type, served to participants

eligible to receive free meals,

participants eligible to receive reduced

price meals, and participants not

eligible for free or reduced price meals

by the applicable national average

payment rate; or

(ii) Claiming percentages. Apply the

applicable claiming percentage or

percentages to the total number of

meals, by type, served to participants

and multiply the product or products by

the assigned rate of reimbursement for

each meal type; or

(iii) Blended rates. Multiply the

assigned blended per meal rate of

reimbursement by the total number of

meals, by type, served to participants.

(d) Limits on reimbursement. ***

(e) Institution recordkeeping. ***

11. In § 226.15:

a. Revise paragraphs (b)(4) and (b)(6);

b. Remove paragraph (e)(5) and

redesignate paragraphs (e)(6) through

(e)(14) as paragraphs (e)(5) through

(e)(13), respectively; and

c. Redesignate paragraphs (g) through

(k) as paragraphs (h) through (l),

respectively, and add a new paragraph

(g).

The revisions and addition read as

follows:

§ 226.15 Institution provisions.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(4) If an independent child care

center, independent at-risk afterschool

care center or independent outsideschool hours care center, documentation

that it meets the licensing/approval

requirements of § 226.6(d)(1); or, if an

independent adult day care center, the

licensing/approval requirements of

§ 226.19a(b)(3).

* * * * *

(6) For each proprietary title XX child

care center and proprietary title XX atrisk afterschool care center,

documentation that it provides

nonresidential day care services for

which it receives compensation under

title XX of the Social Security Act. Such

centers must also certify that at least 25

percent of the enrolled children or 25

percent of the licensed capacity

(whichever is less) were title XX

beneficiaries during the most recent

calendar month. However, children who

only participate in the at-risk

afterschool snack component of the

Program must not be considered in

determining this percentage. For each

proprietary title XIX or title XX adult

day care center, documentation that it

provides nonresidential day care

services for which it receives

compensation under title XIX or title XX

of the Social Security Act. Such centers

must also certify that at least 25 percent

of the adult participants enrolled during

the most recent calendar month were

title XIX or title XX beneficiaries.

Sponsoring organizations must provide

documentation and certification for

each proprietary title XIX or title XX

center under its jurisdiction.

* * * * *

(g) Area eligibility determinations for

at-risk afterschool care centers.

Sponsoring organizations of at-risk

afterschool care centers must provide

information, as required by the State

agency, which permits the State agency

to determine whether the centers they

sponsor are located in eligible areas.

Such information may include the most

recent free and reduced price school

data available pursuant to § 226.6(f)(9)

and attendance area information that it

has obtained, or verified with the

appropriate school officials to be

current, within the last school year.

* * * * *

12. In § 226.16:

a. Remove the word ‘‘and’’ at the end

of paragraph (d)(4)(ii), redesignate

paragraph (d)(4)(iii) as paragraph

(d)(4)(iv) and add a new paragraph

(d)(4)(iii); and

b. Revise paragraphs (f) and (h).

The addition and revisions read as

follows:

§ 226.16 Sponsoring organization

provisions.

* * * * *

(d) * * *

(4) * * *

(iii) Three times each year at each atrisk afterschool care center, provided at

least one review is made during each atrisk afterschool care center’s first six

weeks of Program operations and not

more than six months elapse between

reviews; and

* * * * *

(f) The State agency may require a

sponsoring organization to enter into

separate agreements for the

administration of separate types of

facilities (child care centers, at-risk

afterschool care centers, day care

60536 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 11, 2000 / Proposed Rules

homes, adult day care centers and

outside-school-hours care centers).

* * * * *

(h) Sponsoring organizations must

make payments of program funds to

child care centers, at-risk afterschool

care centers, adult day care centers and

outside-school-hours care centers

within five working days of receipt from

the State agency. These payments must

be made on the basis of the management

plan approved by the State agency. In

addition, payments must not exceed the

Program costs documented at each

facility during any fiscal year, except in

those States where the State agency has

chosen the option to implement a meals

times rates payment system. In those

States which implement this optional

method of reimbursement, such

disbursements must not exceed the rates

times the number of meals documented

at each facility during any fiscal year.

* * * * *

13. In § 226.17:

a. Revise paragraph (b)(1)

introductory text;

b. Revise paragraph (b)(3);

c. Add in the second sentence of

paragraph (b)(4), the words ‘‘(excluding

children receiving snacks in an

approved afterschool care program),’’

after the words ‘‘enrolled children’’; and

d. Revise paragraph (b)(5)

The revisions read as follows:

§ 226.17 Child care center provisions.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(1) Child care centers (except for atrisk afterschool care centers and

outside-school-hours care centers) must

have Federal, State, or local licensing or

approval to provide day care services to

children. If Federal, State or local

licensing or approval is not otherwise

required, at-risk afterschool care centers

and outside-school-hours care centers

must meet State or local health and

safety standards. Child care centers

which are complying with applicable

procedures to renew licensing or

approval may participate in the Program

during the renewal process, unless the

State agency has information which

indicates that renewal will be denied. If

licensing or approval is not available, a

center may participate if:

* * * * *

(3) Each child care center

participating in the Program must serve

one or more of the following meal types:

breakfast; lunch; supper; and snack.

Reimbursement may not be claimed for

more than two meals and one snack or

one meal and two snacks provided daily

to each child.

* * * * *

(5) A child care center with preschool

children may also be approved to serve

a breakfast, snack, and supper to schoolage children enrolled in an outsideschool-hours care program meeting the

criteria of § 226.19(b) which is distinct

from its day care program for preschoolage children. The State agency may

authorize the service of lunch to such

enrolled children who attend a school

which does not offer a lunch program

provided the limit of two meals and one

snack, or one meal and two snacks, per

child per day is not exceeded. A child

care center with preschool children may

also be approved to serve a snack to

school age children enrolled in an

afterschool care program meeting the

requirements of § 226.17a which is

distinct from its day care program for

preschool children, provided the limit

of two meals, and one snack, or one

meal and two snacks, per child per day

is not exceeded.

* * * * *

14. Add a new § 226.17a to read as

follows:

§ 226.17a At-risk afterschool care center

provisions.

(a) When is an organization eligible to

receive reimbursement for afterschool

snacks?

(1) Eligible organizations. In order to

be eligible to receive reimbursement,

organizations must meet all of the

following criteria.

(i) Organizations must meet the

definition of an ‘‘at-risk afterschool care

center’’ in § 226.2. An organization may

participate in the Program either as an

independent center or under the

auspices of a sponsoring organization.

Independent centers must comply with

the provisions of § 226.15. Public and

private nonprofit centers may not

participate under the auspices of a forprofit sponsoring organization.

(ii) Organizations must operate an

eligible afterschool care program, as

described in paragraph (b) of this

section.

(iii) Organizations must meet the

licensing/approval requirements in

§ 226.6(d)(1).

(iv) Except for proprietary title XX

centers, at-risk afterschool care centers

must be public, or have tax-exempt

status under the Internal Revenue Code

of 1986 or be currently participating in

another Federal program requiring

nonprofit status.

(2) Limitations. At-risk afterschool

care centers may only claim

reimbursement for snacks served to

children who are participating in an

approved afterschool care program. In

addition, such centers may only claim

reimbursement for snacks served at any

one time to children within the at-risk

afterschool care center’s authorized

capacity, and for snacks served at a

proprietary title XX center during a

calendar month in which at least 25

percent of the enrolled children or 25

percent of the licensed capacity

(whichever is less) were title XX

beneficiaries. However, children who

only participate in the at-risk

afterschool snack component of the

Program must not be considered in

determining this percentage.

(b) What is an eligible at-risk

afterschool care program?

(1) Eligible program. To be eligible for

reimbursement, an afterschool care

program must:

(i) Be organized primarily to provide

care for children after school or on

weekends, holidays, or school vacations

(except summer vacation) during the

regular school year;

(ii) Have organized, regularly

scheduled activities (i.e., in a structured

and supervised environment);

(iii) Include education or enrichment

activities; and

(iv) Be located in an eligible area, as

described in paragraph (h) of this

section.

(2) Eligibility limitation. Organized

athletic programs engaged in

interscholastic or community level

competitive sports are not eligible

afterschool care programs.

(c) What are the eligibility

requirements for children? At-risk

afterschool care centers may claim

reimbursement only for snacks served to

children who participate in an approved

afterschool care program and who either

are age 18 or under at the start of the

school year or meet the definition of

‘‘Person with disabilities’’ in § 226.2.

(d) How does an organization apply to

be an at-risk afterschool care center?

(1) Application. An official of the

organization must make written

application to the State agency for any

afterschool care program which it wants

to operate as an at-risk afterschool care

center.

(2) Required information. At a

minimum, an organization must submit:

(i) An indication that the applicant

organization meets the eligibility criteria

for organizations as specified in

paragraph (a) of this section;

(ii) A description of how the

afterschool care program(s) meets the

eligibility criteria in paragraph (b) of

this section;

(iii) In the case of a sponsoring

organization, a list of all applicant

afterschool care centers;

(iv) Documentation which permits the

State agency to confirm that all

applicant afterschool care centers are

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 11, 2000 / Proposed Rules 60537

located in an eligible area, as described

in paragraph (h) of this section.

(e) How does the State agency

approve the application?

(1) State agency approval. In addition

to establishing applicant eligibility (in

accordance with §§ 226.6(b), 226.15(b),

and 226.16(b)), the State agency must

determine the eligibility of the

afterschool care program for each

sponsored afterschool care center based

on the information submitted by the

sponsoring organization (see

§ 226.6(f)(12)). The State agency must

determine the eligibility of the

afterschool care programs of

independent afterschool care centers

(see § 226.6(f)(12)). An approved

organization must enter into an

agreement with the State agency as

described in paragraph (e)(2) of this

section.

(2) Agreement. The State agency must

enter into an agreement or amend an

existing agreement with an approved atrisk afterschool care center pursuant to

§ 226.6(f)(1). The amendment must

describe the approved afterschool care

program and list the approved centers.

The amendment must also require the

at-risk afterschool care center to comply

with the applicable requirements of this

part.

(f) What is the application process in

subsequent years? In addition to

renewing applicant eligibility (as

described in §§ 226.6(b), 226.15(b),

226.16(b)), the independent at-risk

afterschool care center or sponsoring

organization must advise the State

agency of any substantive changes to the

afterschool care program consistent with

the timeframes described in paragraph

(h)(2) of this section.

(g) What if sponsoring organizations

want to add new at-risk after school care

centers after application approval?

Sponsoring organizations that want to

add new at-risk afterschool care centers

must provide the State agency with the

information sufficient to demonstrate its

compliance with the requirements of

this section.

(h) What is ‘‘area eligibility’’? In order

to receive reimbursement for snacks

served in at-risk afterschool care

centers, such centers must be located in

an ‘‘Eligible area’’ as defined in § 226.2.

(1) Definition. An at-risk afterschool

care center is in an ‘‘eligible area’’ when

it is located in the attendance area of an

elementary, middle, or high school in

which at least 50 percent of the enrolled

children are certified eligible for free or

reduced price school meals.

(2) Data used. Area eligibility

determinations must be based on the

total number of children approved for

free and reduced price school meals for

the preceding October, or another

month designated by the State agency

that administers the National School

Lunch Program, pursuant to

§ 210.9(b)(20) of this chapter. If the State

agency chooses a month other than

October, it must do so for the entire

State. Area eligibility determinations are

valid for three years from the beginning

of the month in which the

determination was made.

(i) May an at-risk afterschool care

center charge for a snack? No, all

afterschool snacks served under this

section must be made available to

participating children at no charge.

(j) How many snacks may be claimed

for reimbursement? At-risk afterschool

care programs may claim

reimbursement only for one afterschool

snack per child per day. A center that

provides care to a child under another

component of the Program during the

same day may not claim reimbursement

for more than two meals and one snack,

or one meal and two snacks, per child

per day, including the afterschool snack.

All meals and any snacks in addition to

one snack per child per day must be

claimed in accordance with the

requirements for the applicable

component of the Program.

(k) What are the meal pattern

requirements for afterschool snacks?

Afterschool snacks must meet the meal

pattern requirements for snacks in

§§ 226.20(a)(4) and (c)(4).

(l) When may snacks be served? Atrisk afterschool care centers may claim

only snacks served in approved

afterschool care programs after a child’s

school day or on weekends, holidays, or

school vacations (except summer

vacation) during the regular school year.

(m) What reimbursements do at-risk

afterschool care centers earn? All

snacks served in at-risk afterschool care

centers will be reimbursed at the free

snack rate.

(n) What additional recordkeeping is

required for at-risk afterschool care

centers? In addition to the other records

required by this part, at-risk afterschool

care centers must maintain:

(1) Daily attendance rosters, sign-in

sheets or, with State agency approval,

other methods which result in accurate

recording of daily attendance;

(2) The number of snacks prepared or

delivered for each snack service;

(3) The number of snacks served to

participating children for each snack

service; and

(4) Menus for each snack service.

(o) What additional reporting is

required for the snack service? In

addition to other reporting requirements

under this part, at-risk afterschool care

centers must report the total number of

snacks served to eligible children.

(p) What are the monitoring

requirements for at-risk afterschool care

centers? State agencies must monitor

independent centers in accordance with

§ 226.6(l). Sponsoring organizations of

at-risk afterschool care centers must

monitor their centers in accordance

with § 226.16(d)(4)(iii).

15. In § 226.18, revise paragraph (c) to

read as follows:

§ 226.18 Day care home provisions.

* * * * *

(c) Each day care home must serve

one or more of the following meal

types—breakfast, lunch, supper, and

snack. Reimbursement may not be

claimed for more than two meals and

one snack, or one meal and two snacks,

provided daily to each child.

* * * * *

16. In § 226.19, revise paragraph (b)(1)

and (b)(5) to read as follows:

§ 226.19 Outside-school-hours care center

provisions.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(1) For purposes of Program

participation, outside-school-hours care

centers must have current Federal, State

or local licensing or approval to provide

organized child care services to enrolled

school-age children outside of school

hours only if Federal, State or local

licensing or approval is otherwise

required. If Federal, State or local

licensing or approval is not otherwise

required, outside-school-hours care

centers must meet State or local health

and safety standards. The main purpose

of the center must be the care and the

supervision of children. In cases where

Federal, State or local licensing or

approval is required, outside-schoolhours care centers which are complying

with applicable procedures to renew

licensing or approval may participate in

the Program during the renewal process,

unless the State agency has information

which indicates the renewal will be

denied.

* * * * *

(5) Each outside-school-hours care

center participating in the Program must

claim only the meal types specified in

its approved application and served in

compliance with the meal pattern

requirements of § 226.20.

Reimbursement may not be claimed for

more than two meals and one snack or

one meal and two snacks provided daily

to each child. In addition,

reimbursement may not be claimed for

meals served to children who are not

enrolled, or meals served to children at

any one time in excess of authorized

60538 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 11, 2000 / Proposed Rules

capacity, or for any meal served at a

proprietary title XX center during a

calendar month when less than 25

percent of enrolled children, or 25

percent of licensed capacity, whichever

is less, were title XX beneficiaries.

* * * * *

17. In § 226.19a, revise paragraph

(b)(5) to read as follows:

§ 226.19a Adult day care center

provisions.

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(5) Each adult day care center

participating in the Program must serve

one or more of the following meal

types—breakfast, lunch, supper, and

snack. Reimbursement may not be

claimed for more than two meals and

one snack, or one snack and two meals,

provided daily to each adult participant.

* * * * *

§ 226.20 [Amended]

18. In § 226.20(b)(4), remove the

words ‘‘Supplement (snack)’’ in the

table and add in their place the word

‘‘Snack’’.

19. In § 226.23:

a. Revise the first sentence in

paragraph (b);

b. Revise paragraph (c)(6);

c. Revise the second and third

sentences of paragraph (d); and

d. Add in the first sentence of

paragraph (e)(1)(i), the words ‘‘other

than at-risk afterschool care centers’’

after the word ‘‘institutions’’.

The revisions read as follows:

§ 226.23 Free and reduced-price meals.

* * * * *

(b) At-risk afterschool care centers,

sponsoring organizations of at-risk

afterschool care centers, and sponsoring

organizations of day care homes (which

may not serve meals at a separate charge

to children) and other institutions

which elect to serve meals at no

separate charge, must develop a policy

statement consisting of an assurance to

the State agency that all participants are

served the same meals at no separate

charge, regardless of race, color,

national origin, sex, age, or handicap

and that there is no discrimination in

the course of the food service. * * *

(c) * * *

(6) An assurance that the charges for

a reduced price lunch or supper will not

exceed 40 cents, that the charge for a

reduced price breakfast will not exceed

30 cents, and that the charge for a

reduced price snack will not exceed 15

cents.

(d) * * * All media releases issued by

institutions other than at-risk

afterschool care centers, sponsoring

organizations of at-risk afterschool care

centers, and sponsoring organizations of

day care homes, must include the

Secretary’s Income Eligibility

Guidelines for Free and Reduced Price

Meals. The release issued by all at-risk

afterschool care centers, sponsoring

organizations of at-risk afterschool care

centers and sponsoring organizations of

day care homes, and by other

institutions which elect not to charge

separately for meals, must announce the

availability of meals at no separate

charge. * * *

* * * * *

PART 235—STATE ADMINISTRATIVE

EXPENSE FUNDS

1. The authority citation for 7 CFR

part 235 continues to read as follows:

Authority: Secs. 7 and 10 of the Child

Nutrition Act of 1966, 80 Stat. 888, 889, as

amended (42 U.S.C. 1776, 1779).

2. In § 235.4, revise the first sentence

of paragraph (a)(1) and paragraph

(b)(3)(iii) to read as follows:

§ 235.4 Allocation of funds to States.

(a) * * *

(1) To each State which administers

the National School Lunch, School

Breakfast or Special Milk Programs an

amount equal to one (1) percent of the

funds expended by such State during

the second preceding fiscal year under

sections 4 and 11 of the National School

Lunch Act, as amended, and sections 3

and 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966,

as amended. * * *

* * * * *

(b) * * *

(3) * * *

(iii) The ratio of the number of free

and reduced price lunches served in

school food authorities under the

jurisdiction of the State agency during

the second preceding fiscal year to the

number of free and reduced price

lunches served in all States in the

second preceding fiscal year times

twenty (20) percent of the funds

designated by FNS for reviews

conducted under § 210.18 of this

chapter.

* * * * *

PART 245—DETERMINING ELIGIBLITY

FOR FREE AND REDUCED PRICE

MEALS AND FREE MILK IN SCHOOLS

1. The authority citation for 7 CFR

part 245 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 1772, 1773, 1779; and

42 U.S.C. 1751–60.

2. In § 245.1, revise the second

sentence of paragraph (a) to read as

follows:

§ 245.1 General purpose and scope.

(a) * * * Section 9 of the National

School Lunch Act, as amended, and

sections 3 and 4 of the Child Nutrition

Act of 1966, as amended, require

schools participating in any of the

programs and commodity schools to

make available, as applicable, free and

reduced price breakfasts, lunches, and

afterschool snacks and, at the option of

the School Food Authority for schools

participating only in the Special Milk

Program, free milk to eligible children.

* * * * *

3. In 245.2, revise paragraphs (f) and

(g) to read as follows:

§ 245.2 Definitions.

* * * * *

(f) Meal means a lunch, afterschool

snack, or breakfast which meets the

applicable requirements in § 210.10 and

§ 220.8 of this chapter.

* * * * *

(g) Reduced price meal means a meal

which meets all of the following criteria:

(1) The price must be less than the

full price of the meal;

(2) The price must not exceed 40

cents for a lunch, 30 cents for a

breakfast, and 15 cents for afterschool

snacks; and

(3) Neither the child nor any member

of his family must be required to supply

an equivalent value in work for the

school or the school’s food service.

* * * * *

4. In § 245.5, redesignate paragraphs

(a)(1)(ii) through (a)(1)(xi) as paragraphs

(a)(1)(iii) through (a)(1)(xii) and add a

new paragraph (a)(1)(ii) to read as

follows:

§ 245.5 Public announcement of the

eligibility criteria.

(a) * * *

(1) * * *

(ii) In schools participating in the

afterschool snack meal service in area

eligible sites, an explanation that all

children attending the afterschool care

program will receive free snacks;

* * * * *

§ 245.8 [Amended]

5. In § 245.8(e), remove the words

‘‘lunch or breakfast’’ and add in their

place the words ‘‘lunch, breakfast, or

6. In § 245.9, revise paragraph (a)

introductory text to read as follows:

§ 245.9 Special assistance certification

and reimbursement alternatives.

(a) A school food authority of a school

having at least 80 percent of its enrolled

children determined eligible for free or

reduced price lunches may, at its

option, authorize the school to reduce

annual certification and public

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 197 / Wednesday, October 11, 2000 / Proposed Rules 60539

notification for those children eligible

for free meals to once every two

consecutive school years. This

alternative is known as Provision 1 and

the following requirements must apply:

* * * * *

7. In § 245.11, revise the second

sentence of paragraph (a)(1) to read as

follows:

§ 245.11 Action by State agencies and

FNSROs.

(a) * * *

(1) * * * If the State agency elects to

establish a maximum price for reduced

price lunches, breakfasts, or afterschool

snacks in all schools that is less than the

maximum charge permitted under this

part, the State agency must establish the

price in its prototype policy. * * *

* * * * *

Dated: September 22, 2000.

Shirley R. Watkins,

Under Secretary, Food, Nutrition, and

Consumer Services.

[FR Doc. 00–25817 Filed 10–10–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–30–P