E-rate National School Lunch Program Eligibility Data

In October of each year, schools submit National School Lunch Program (NSLP) eligibility data to TEA. Below are links to previous years’ NSLP data. This data is reported annually to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC).

NSLP Data

If an applicant uses NSLP eligibility data to calculate E-Rate discounts, the applicant has the following two options:

Use data that was reported to TEA the previous year
Use data that was or will be reported to TEA in October of the current year (preferable)

USAC’s Program Integrity Assurance staff is aware that NSLP eligibility data is posted on TEA’s website and will look there to verify discounts. If the data sets do not match, USAC staff will contact the applicant to determine how he or she arrived at the NSLP eligibility data.

Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) Schedule Data

2023 TDA CEP Schedule Data

NSLP Eligibility

NSLP eligibility is based on federal poverty guidelines. Eligibility criteria is based on whether or not a student's family falls within the income eligibility guidelines of NSLP. Eligibility is not based on a student's participation in NSLP.

Each July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) publishes annual adjustments to the NSLP Income EligibilityGuidelines (IEGs) (outside source).

Determining NSLP Eligibility versus Actual Participation

If your school district does not participate in the NSLP or has one or more schools that are undercounted, you may wish to use data from other programs to determine eligibility versus actual participation. The following programs have eligibility guidelines that meet or exceed NSLP guidelines:

Need-based tuition assistance programs that rely on income guidelines that meet or exceed NSLP
Medicaid
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
Supplementary Security Income (SSI)
Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

Exciting News from the National School Lunch Program (NSLP)

The National School Lunch Program has published the income rates for 2023-2024 (July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024). The income rates are available on www.squaremeals.org. Having access to this information will assist LEAs as they begin their registration processes on or after April 1st. Find the income table and select NSLP. Remember when verifying income, districts should correlate the eligible school year with the qualifying NSLP year.

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