Join us for a webinar!
Join OSPI Child Nutrition Services as we discuss upcoming school year operations, USDA's transitional rule, and P-EBT!
Register for the School Meal Program Operations in SY 2022–23 Webinar Date: Thursday, May 19 Time: 1–2:30 pm PT
Please review the 4/18 School Meal Program Operations in SY 2022–23 article for more details and resources.
Questions? Please contact your School Meals Program Specialist.
Child Nutrition Services (CNS) is required to annually notify Local Education Agencies (LEAs) of their district-wide eligibility to participate in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). The SY 22-23 CEP Eligibility Report estimates the district-wide ISP and school level data using information from the Comprehensive Education Data and Research System (CEDARS) as of April 2022.
The CEP Eligibility Report identifies LEAs and individual schools in the following categories:
- Eligible to Participate – Identified Student Percentage (ISP) of at least 40%.
- Near Eligible to Participate – ISP greater than 30% but less than 40% (may be eligible to participate).
- LEAs currently participating in CEP in some capacity.
The reported ISP is an estimate. To receive approval, LEAs must calculate their actual ISP and submit source documentation representative of April 1, 2022. ISP’s must be validated by CNS prior to approval to operate CEP. Tools to help Local Education Agencies (LEAs) apply for CEP are posted to the CEP & Provision II Webpage.
CEP Expansion Signed into Law
HB 1878 Requirements
Governor Inslee signed House Bill 1878 into law on March 4, 2022. The new law requires participation in CEP for all schools with an ISP of 40%. This expands the work of HB 2660 (2020) which required CEP in non-high schools above 62.5% ISP. For more details about Identified Student Percentage, please review the CEP Reference Sheet.
State Funding will Supplement Federal Funds in Lower ISP Schools
The law also ensures that CEP schools will get the highest possible per-meal reimbursement. When a school’s Free Claiming Percentage (the ISP multiplied by 1.6 (federal multiplier)) is less than 100%, state funding will supplement federal reimbursement so that all meals served are reimbursed at the free rate
Please notify your program specialist if you intend to apply for CEP for the upcoming school year. CEP applications are due June 30, 2022.
Resources
CEP Questions? Please contact your program specialist.
Monthly claims are due by the 15th of each month following the claim period. All claims entered in WINS and in OK to Pay status will process for payment at the end of the month.
General Claiming Reminders
- Seamless Summer Option (SSO) Operators
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Correct your Average Daily Attendance (ADA) Meals claimed in excess of the CAP count for a site will result in a claim error. SSO sponsors should make Average Daily Attendance (ADA) revisions and have specialist approval prior to submitting monthly claims.
- Monthly claim data must be in "OK to Pay" status by 5:00 pm PT on the 15th.
- WINS will automatically log all users out of the system on the 15th of each month at exactly 5pm PT.
- Give yourself enough time to input all claiming data, preview errors, correct errors. Completing these steps will help you ensure the claim is in “OK to Pay” status.
- At 5 pm, the claim function is closed. This means that the system does not allow access to claims until after the monthly reconciliation process is complete. This can take up to two business days.
- Didn't submit your claim by the 15th? That's okay! Submit your monthly claim by the 60-day deadline.
- Example: The March 60-day claim deadline is May 31, 2022.
- Claim reimbursements that are not entered into WINS or not in OK to pay status will NOT process for payment by the end of the month.
- The 21–22 Claim Processing Dates Information Sheet takes weekends and holidays into consideration for the 60-day deadlines. You may want to print or bookmark this information.
- Refer to the Claims Reference Sheet for details on what to do if you don't submit your claims by the 60-day claim deadline.
- Errors must be resolved for claims to be paid. WINS has multiple edit checks to help resolve issues before your claim is submitted.
- WINS edit checks the number of approved operating days for each site to the number of operating days entered in the site claim. If these numbers don’t match, the claim will go into error status.
- Review the Claiming Error Messages in WINS Information Sheet for more details on possible errors.
- Pro-Tip: Always select “Preview Errors” at the bottom of each site claim once information is entered.
Claiming Resources
Questions? Please contact your School Meals Program Specialist.
OSPI Child Nutrition Services is opening a new grant opportunity!
Child Nutrition Services will soon be opening a grant opportunity for public school districts, charter schools, and Tribal Compact Schools with at least one school mandated to implement Breakfast after the Bell (BAB) and/or Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), in school year 2022-23.
Grant awards will be $10,000 each and used to purchase equipment and supplies to implement or expand BAB and/or CEP.
Application Details
Applications will be available soon in iGrants as Form Package 203. The grant will close June 6, 2022.
In preparing to apply, identifying equipment and receiving quotes, please also ensure all equipment will be on site by August 31, 2022.
The application will ask that you specify how the funding will be used to implement BAB or CEP. To award, a modified lottery system weighing applications based on local education agency-wide free and reduced-price percentage will be used.
Child Nutrition Services will notify everyone through the CNS Newsletters when the application opens.
Questions about the grant may be directed to Mikhail Cherniske at mikhail.cherniske@k12.wa.us
School Meal Programs Annual Training will be held 8/8 & 8/9 at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA.
OSPI Child Nutrition Services hosts an annual training for the upcoming school year. This training is meant to enhance your knowledge about the School Meal Programs and allow time for you to connect to other School Food Service Directors around the state. Training is free to attend; however, participants must pay for meals, parking, and any overnight stays.
How to Register
Registration information for all training options is planned to open on Monday, May 23. Registrants will need a pdEnroller account to register for this training, create your account early so you can register as soon as it’s available!
Monday, August 8 - Pre-Con Day
We are hosting a 'pre-con' day with two trainings.
- SY 2022–23 Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Awardee Annual Training
- New Director Training
Tuesday, August 9 - Annual Training
Planned training sessions will include a variety of topics for both new and seasoned staff. We will post a draft agenda including session descriptions to the NSLP Training webpage as soon as it is finalized.
The Annual Updates training will be recorded and posted to the NSLP Training webpage for those who are unable to attend this in-person training.
Questions? Please email Sam Brueske, Training and Communications Specialist.
The Institute of Child Nutrition (ICN) is the only federally funded national center dedicated to applied research, education and training, and technical assistance for child nutrition programs.
Civil Rights Training in English and Spanish!
School Meal Program sponsors are required to provide Civil Rights staff training at least annually. The ICN created a free e-learning training that reviews Civil Rights requirements and how customer service plays a role in nondiscrimination.
Staff must create a free account through the ICN iLearn platform to access the training.
Access the ICN Civil Rights Training in English
Access the ICN Civil Rights Training in Spanish
Questions? Visit the iLearn How-To Guide for additional information!
Congratulations to Erika Santana from Highline Public Schools, Northwest Regional Manager of the Year!
Erika Santana, Kitchen Lead at Seahurst Elementary for Highline Public Schools, was recently awarded Northwest Regional Manager of the Year by the national School Nutrition Association (SNA). This award is intended to honor the dedication, ingenuity, and compassion of SNA members who have worked to provide nutritious meals to students throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Erika Santana has created a welcoming environment at the school, she knows students by name and greets them in the cafeteria warmly each day….She finds work in schools rewarding and has said that she wishes she made the change to school nutrition earlier in her career….During school closures due to the pandemic, Santana served hot meals from a school bus. She also put up flyers in surrounding communities so families knew about the availability of school meals and where and when they could get them.” (School Nutrition Association)
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