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Paid Lunch Equity Guidance

2020-2021

(USDA MEMO SP 07-2020)

Oklahoma State Department of Education

Child Nutrition Programs

Dana Parker, Director of School Programs

Welcome to the WebEx to supply Guidance and on the Paid Lunch

Equity Tool. My name is Dana Parker and I am the School Program

Director for the NSLP/SBP at the Oklahoma State Department of

Education. The Paid Lunch Equity Tool is designed to determine if

an SFA needs to increase their Paid lunch price for this next school

year. That is why the PLE Tool is labeled “SY 2020-2021 PLE Tool.”

You will find the USDA Memo referenced here and the 2020-2021

PLE Tool posted to CARS under Other Document, then under the

heading Paid Lunch Equity. I will also post this WebEx along with

the PP Presentation in this section after the Webex.

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Paid Lunch Equity

• For SY 2019-20, SFAs which charged less

than the target weighted average price of

$3.09 for paid lunches in SY 2019-20 are

required to adjust their weighted average

lunch price OR add non-federal funds to

the non-profit school service account

For NEXT YEAR/SY 2020-21 SFAs which charge less than the target weighted

average price of $3.09 for paid lunches in SY 2019-20 are required to adjust

their weighted average lunch price OR add non-Federal funds to the non-profit

school service account. You might ask what do you mean by weighted average

price? We will talk about this during this presentation and explain how to

determine that weighted average price.

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Exemption to the PLE

Requirements

• SFAs with a positive or zero balance in its nonprofit school food service account as of December 31, 2019 are exempt from the PLE requirements for SY 2020-21.

• The PLE Tool would not have to be completed if an SFA receives this exemption.

(SFAs) that had a negative balance in the nonprofit school food service account

as of December 31, 2019 shall be required to establish prices for paid lunches

according to the Paid Lunch Equity (PLE) provisions. In other words, SFAs with

a positive or zero balance in its nonprofit school food service account as of

December 31, 2019 are exempt from the PLE requirements for SY 2020-21.. If

you receive the exemption, you will not have to complete the PLE Tool at all.

The exempt SFA’s will have to send in documentation for exemptions, discussed

later.

There’s no need to calculate a price, the tool would not be needed. The SFA

can still choose to use the PLE tool to calculate and set a new price if you want

to. It’s at your discretion.

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Documentation to Request Exemption

• Revenue/Expenditure Report

• Child Nutrition Monthly Board Report

• Any report that would show the current year Child Nutrition balance of the school food service account as of December 31, 2019.

SUBMIT TO cnp.data.submissions@sde.ok.gov

put in subject line of e-mail: school name, district code, and PLE Exemption Request

So, if you have a zero or positive balance as of December 31, 2019, what

documentation must you submit?

This documentation could be a Revenue/Expenditure Report, the Child Nutrition

monthly board report, etc. as long as it shows a positive or zero balance as of

December 31, 2019. If the exemption is granted, the SFA WILL NOT be

required to complete the PLE Tool at all. E-mail information to:

cnp.data.submission@sde.ok.gov. Include your district name and county district

code and PLE Exemption Request in the subject line of the e-mail.

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Paid Lunch Equity

• Non-Pricing Schools are exempt from

completing the PLE.

• Provision 2 and 3 and Community

Eligibility Schools are also exempt.

– (SP 39-2011 Revised, Question 18 & 19)

SFA that are non-pricing or are under a Provision 2 or 3 or have CEP are

exempt from completing the PLE. Only schools charging for full paid meals are

required to complete tool. However, it is recommended all schools complete tool

to keep up with what the paid lunch price would be if school’s were charging for

meals.

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No Longer Exempt

• What happens when a district is no longer

participating in a Provision (CEP/Provision

2 or 3)? Or are changing from non-pricing

to charging for full paid meals?

– The Paid Lunch Price will be set at free rate

plus the commodity rate and the incentive

rate.

A question or concern is what happens when a school stops participating in one

of the provision or changes from non-pricing to pricing. YOU MUST implement

the paid lunch price as calculated by the free rate, plus the commodity rate and

the extra meal pattern incentive. All of these will be calculated at the rates at

that time.

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Paid Lunch Equity

SFAs that have a negativebalance in the nonprofit school

food service account as of DECEMBER 31, 2019 must

complete the PLE tool and raise price or add non-federal funds

to CNP

READ SLIDE

You are required to complete the PLE tool. If you have a negative balance, it

could mean that you NEED to raise prices or you will need to contribute non-

federal funds to the Child Nutrition Program.

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o Required to charge paid student lunch meals

at an average price equal to the difference

between free lunch and paid lunch

reimbursement rates ($3.09) OR cover the

difference through non-Federal funds.

o If currently charging less and not

subsidizing food service, must increase

PAID student lunch charges a minimum of

10 cents per year.

Paid Lunch Equity: SY 2020-2021

Again, schools are required to charge students for paid lunch meals at a price that is on average equal to the difference between free meal reimbursement and paid meal reimbursement rates OR cover that difference in revenue from non-federal funds. (So the free rate for lunches is 3.41 MINUS the paid rate of .32 EQUALS the $3.09 that I spoke of earlier.)Schools that currently charge less than this average will be required to gradually increase their prices over time until they meet the requirement (at least 10 cents per year.)

SFAs may vary the Paid Student lunch meal prices by school as long as the average revenue requirement is met across the SFA. The law requires USDA to collect and publish prices SFAs charge for meals. That is why we ask you for the price of meals when you complete your application, policy statement, and agreement at the beginning of each school year.

ALL expenditures and revenue for Child Nutrition must be tracked so that if there are Child Nutrition expenses paid for by other funds, the district is receiving the due credit for this. PROGRAM CODE 700 was established through OCAS for ALL Child Nutrition expenses and revenues. Districts may also prorate any Child Nutrition expenses paid for through other funds.The Paid Lunch Equity Tool we are about to discuss was developed by USDA to fulfill this section of the law which was to determine if the district is in compliance with the requirement.

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• Per-meal non-Federal reimbursement for

ANY PAID meal (breakfast, lunch, etc.)

• Any funds provided by organizations for

ANY PAID meal

• Any proportion attributable to PAID

MEALS from direct payments made from

school district funds to support lunch

service

Non-Federal Funds

SFAs that choose to contribute non-federal sources to the nonprofit school food

service account in lieu of raising paid lunch prices, must calculate the

appropriate amount to contribute. Those nonfederal funds could come from any

of the sources on the slide.

Financial support from nonfederal sources must be cash for direct support for

paid lunches, including, but not limited to :

Cash received for student meals

Funds received from outside organizations

Subsidizing from General Fund (We have a worksheet for SFAs to determine the

proportion on page C-42 in the Child Nutrition Manual)

Credit for Excess Non-Federal Funds

If an SFA’s SY 2018-19 estimate of the required contribution exceeded the

actual level, that excess contribution may be subtracted from the total SY 2019-

20 contribution requirement. Also, if the estimate was less than required,

additional funds from non-Federal sources must be added. THERE’S A TAB

FOR THAT ON THE TOOL. (The non-Federal Calculator tab) ie., credit any

extra fund contributed or account for any shortfalls

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This form is in the CN Manual on Page C 42.

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• Page C-42 in Child Nutrition Manual

STEP 1:

The total number of student paid meals

claimed in the previous school year

DIVIDED BY

The total number of ALL student meals

claimed in the previous year

= % of STUDENT PAID MEALS

Formula for Using Non-Federal

Fund Sources

If you are contributing nonfederal fund sources, the form on page C-42 explains

how to determine the total amount of nonfederal source funds that are available

for paid student meals.

Step 1 will give you the % of student paid meals from last school year. GO

THROUGH THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE SLIDE.

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Formula for Using Non-Federal

Fund Sources

• Step 2:

• Total Dollar Amount of Expenditures in

previous year from:

– Fund 11 through 60

• Program Code 700

– Project Reporting Code 000

» Function Codes 3120, 3130, 3140, & 3150

Step 2

This will be your total expenditures paid for CN Program from your General

Fund or some other non-federal fund.

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Formula for Using Non-Federal

Fund Sources

• Step 3:

Nonfederal Fund Sources Total (Step 2)

TIMES

% of Student Paid Meals (Step 1)

EQUALS

Total Amount of Nonfederal Source Funds

Available for Paid Student Meals

Then in Step 3, you will take the total nonfederal fund source from Step 2 and

multiply by the % of Student Paid Meals for Step 1 to get the total amount of

nonfederal source funds available for paid student meals.

So, in other words, you can’t use the total nonfederal fund sources contributed

to Child Nutrition. Only the amount available for Paid student meals.

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• Determines SFA’s average price for paid

lunches for SY 2019-2020

• Compares average price with the difference

between free and paid reimbursement rates

• Determines if increases are needed for

SY 2020-21

• Determines amount that must be added from

non-Federal funds to food service in lieu of

price increase

What The Tool does

The PLE Tool provides instruction for the implementation of the Paid

Student Lunch Equity and Revenue from Nonprogram Foods.

The tool itself will enable you, the SFA, to determine the average

price for Paid Student lunches you are charging across the district

and compare this average price with the difference between the free

and paid reimbursement rates being charged. The tool also will

determine if price increases are needed and, should the district

decide NOT to make these increases, the amount of revenue that

would need to be added to the food service account in lieu of the

price increase.

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• SY 2019-2020 Unrounded Price

Requirement OR SY 10-11 Weighted

Average Price

• All Paid Lunch Prices for October 2019

• Total number of paid student lunches

associated with each paid lunch price in

October 2019

Required Data For the Tool

You will need the PLE Tool from 2019-20 to get the first item on this

slide. I will have a screenshot in a moment as to where to find it.

The other data you will need to have ready for entering into the Tool

will come from your October 2019 claim for reimbursement or Edit

Check Sheet.

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Finding 2010-11 Weighted Price

If the district does not have the last year’s PLE or their 2010-2011 Average

Weighted Price, use the Tool (last tab on tool) to figure your weighted price.

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Add total number of paid student

lunch meals served at that site in

October divided into total amount

of revenue generated. This equals

average price of one paid student

lunch meal.

Multiple Serving Lines

I’M NOT SURE IF THIS WILL APPLY TO ANYONE, BUT THE

QUESTION HAS COME UP BEFORE>

Some of you may have a situation which we will address at this time.

Should you have more than one food line at a school, for instance, at

a High school site, AND different prices are charged at that site

depending on which line the student chooses, you will need to

average the prices charged for those lines and enter that average

price.

To arrive at that average accurately, simply add the total number of

paid student lunch meals served at that site in October and divide

that total INTO the total amount of revenue generated by all

paid student lunch meals at that site to get the average price of

one meal.

This average price must then be entered into the Tool for that site.

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• Have Last Year’s PLE Tool Available.

• Were Credits Carried Over From Last Year?

• Is The Current Weighted Average Paid Lunch

Price Above the Requirement?

• Only the Tabs That Are Relevant Need To Be

Completed.

• The $.10 Cap Does NOT Mean That Every SFA

Will Increase Prices or Contribute Non-Federal

Funds to That Extent.

Additional Tips

Read Slide.

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• Tab 1: PLE Guidance

• Tab 2: Instructions

• Tab 3: Unrounded Requirement Finder

• Tab 4: SY 2020-21 Price Calculator

• Tab 5: SY 2020-21 Non-Federal Calculator

• Tab 6: SY 2020-21 Split Calculator

• Tab 7: SY 2020-21 REPORT

• Tab 8: SY 19-20 Price Calculator

• Tab 9: SY 10-11 Price Calculator

Paid Lunch Equity Tool 2020-2021

The PLE Tool consists of 9 tabs this year. Instead of sending another memo

with PLE guidance, this is the subject of the first tab.

Hyperlinks are placed throughout the tool to navigate to the different tabs.

Remember, you only have to fill out the tabs for the method selected to meet the

PLE requirements. (ex. Whether you are raising prices, contributing non-

Federal sources, or the doing split calculator/raising prices AND contributing

non-Federal sources)

-Remember, only fill out the Non-Federal Calculator if you are contributing

nonfederal funds and not raising prices

-Fill out the Split Calculator if you are both contributing nonfederal funds and

raising prices.

-If you are raising prices to the requirement amount….Don’t complete either the

Non-federal calculator or the split calculator.

Only complete for ONE of the THREE choices.

Tabs 8 & 9 are for use as needed….

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This slide shows a snapshot of the PLE tool. Across the bottom you will see

each tab. We will look at some examples as well. If you look at your

instructions at the bottom of the first page. It states that cells in the salmon color

designate where you as the SFA will need to enter data. The first is in the

instructions. You will enter your school name, this allows the tool to carry the

school name throughout the tool. Please read through the instructions!

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It also goes on to tell you what you need to calculate Weighted Average Price for

SY 2020-21(4 items); as well as what you need if you have opted to contribute

non-Federal sources for SY 2020-21 (4 items)

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Go to CARS

• Other Documents

• PLE TOOL SY 2020-2021

– Here you will find the tool

– The USDA Memo 07-2020 is listed under

the USDA Memo Heading

Now we are going to switch and go look at the actual PLE Tool, you can find the

tool in CARS website, under “Other Document” PLE Tool SY 2020-21. The

USDA Memo is listed under the USDA Memo Heading.

Get on line and go to the actual tool.

Remember, once you open the Tool, you will need to save to your computer

(SAVE AS) and name the file your county district code and school name.

Example in another slide.

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• Record SFA name on each tab

• SY 2020-21 REPORT tab

– Dropdown box to select the method used to

meet PLE requirements

– Additional direction when an SFA is at or

above equity

– Text box to record source of non-Federal

funds contributed

PLE Tool Reminders

Record the SFA name on the Instruction Tab and the tool will carry the name

forward on the other tabs.

SY 20-21 REPORT tab: (This is the results tab where you will indicate what you

are going to do….

-In the dropdown box in this tab, select the method used to meet the PLE

requirements (Increase price, contribute nonfederal source funds, both, or at or

above equity) The at or above equity choice is only if you are charging the

$3.09 already. If so, “Keep and use the SY 2020-21 Average Weighted Paid

Lunch Price for next year’s SY 2021-22 PLE Tool”

-There is a text box to record the source of non-federal funds contributed.

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• Not required to raise more than $0.10 per

year on average

• In compliance if formula shows no raise

required this year

• It is the district’s decision amount to raise,

but must be an average

• Subsidizing funds must be non-federal

funds

Things to remember –

The process

SFA’s are NOT required to raise their Paid Student Lunch Meal

charges more than 10 cents per year on average. You are allowed

to go over the $.10 which may bring the average up—ESPECIALLY

if there is a broad difference between sites, such as a high school

site and an elementary site.

With the input of data, should the formula show no raise in the Paid

Student Lunch Meal Price is required, the SFA is in compliance. If a

raise in price is required, it is the SFA’s decision as to the amount of

the raise, but must be an average.

Funds used to subsidize the CN account must be from non-Federal

funds—not from the sale of A la Carte items or from Breakfast

revenue.

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▪ School food authority (SFA) must

complete the Paid Lunch Equity Tool

for the 2020-2021 school year prior to

accessing the 2020-2021 Application

and Agreement for Child Nutrition.

Paid Lunch Equity: SY 2020-2021

This year, you will need to complete the PLE before you will have access to the

2019-2020 Application and Agreement for your Child Nutrition Program.

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Exempt SFA’s

• Non-pricing SFAs (SFAs/Sites that serve ALL

MEALS FREE to all students even though the

meals are claimed as free, reduced-price, or

paid, depending on eligibility of each student.)

• Full Provision SFAs/Sites

• CEP - Community Eligibility Provision

• Residential Child Care Institutions (RCCIs)

• SFAs granted an exemption

REMEMBER: Schools that are Provision for the entire district are exempt;

however, if some sites are not Provision, those sites must be entered into the

PLE Tool. ENTER ONLY THOSE SITES????

(This is a repeat slide, but very important to serve as a reminder for exempt

schools)

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• Once the Tool is completed and saved,

name the file with your County and

District Code, followed by your SFA’s

Name. Please use the format indicated

below:

• Example: PLE 11-I111 School

Name.xlsx

• cnp.data.submissions@sde.ok.gov

Paid Lunch Equity

Once you save the file remember you will need to Save AS, on your computer,

and save somewhere you can find. Save it using the format on screen and then

send to the e-mail address: cnp.data.submissions@sde.ok.gov

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DO NOT WAIT!

• Get your PLE completed and sent in to the

e-mail address on the previous slide

• The 2020-2021 CNP Application &

Agreement cannot be approved until PLE

is approved.

Do not wait, complete the PLE and get it sent into the SDE as soon as possible.

Your 2020-2021 CNP Application can not be approved by our office until we

have the PLE Tool or exemption and approved.

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QUESTIONS??

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Dana Parker, Director Of Training

Child Nutrition Programs

Oklahoma State Department of Education

Dana.parker@sde.ok.gov

405-521-3327

Paid Lunch Equity

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