[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-584064-105":3,"doc-detail-584064-en":80,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":96},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":73,"head_meta":75,"extra_data":77,"updated_unix":79},105,"en","best-practices-for-identifying-low-income-students-for-school-funding-purposes-executive-summary-recommendations","Best Practices for Identifying Low-Income Students for School Funding Purposes - Executive Summary & Recommendations","","The document outlines how states can identify low-income students for supplemental school funding more effectively as eligibility verification for free and reduced-price meals becomes less individualized. It recommends direct certification using state-level databases that match students whose families participate in social service programs with income criteria near 200% of the federal poverty level. It also addresses accuracy, data availability, and ensuring funds follow students across school types, while adjusting for neighborhood factors that influence outcomes.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/best-practices-for-identifying-low-income-students-for-school-funding-purposes-executive-summary-recommendations/584064/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/best-practices-for-identifying-low-income-students-for-school-funding-purposes-executive-summary-recommendations/584064.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"\tCallum ","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-10","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":30},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",{"@type":56,"mainEntity":57},"FAQPage",[58,64,68],{"name":59,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":61},"Why are states looking for alternative ways to identify low-income students?","Question",{"text":62,"@type":63},"Many schools no longer need to verify household income individually for free and reduced-price meals eligibility. This makes traditional counting approaches harder to maintain for supplemental funding purposes.","Answer",{"name":65,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":66},"What is “direct certification” and how does it support supplemental funding?",{"text":67,"@type":63},"Direct certification uses a state-level database matching system to determine whether students’ families participate in qualifying social service programs. This lets schools identify eligible students and access supplemental funding more quickly.",{"name":69,"@type":60,"acceptedAnswer":70},"How do states reduce undercounts and address time lags in eligibility identification?",{"text":71,"@type":63},"States can include multiple social services programs in direct certification, especially those with broader participation like Medicaid. They can also use adjustments such as multipliers and automated checks to minimize delays for newly eligible students.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":74,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":76,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":78,"site_id":7},584064,1793115344,{"code":4,"msg":81,"data":82},"success",{"doc_id":78,"user_id":83,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":84,"doc_module":4,"category_id":85,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":86,"file_id":87,"file_url":88,"file_type":89,"file_size":90,"view_count":30,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":30,"language":91,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":92,"faqs":93,"seo_title":94,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":95,"read_time":85,"preview_page_count":4},137451211410,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/2000bb0a9246f588df?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1786362646172706240",8,"EXECUTIVE SUMMARY  \nStates are seeking alternative means to identify low-income students for supplemental funding, as many schools no longer need to verify household income to determine students’ eligibility for free and reduced-price meals. Instead, states can identify students whose families participate in social service programs with income criteria at or near 200 percent of the federal poverty level. This requires a state-level database matching system that all schools can use to“directly certify” their low-income students. States can also consider neighborhood conditions that impact student outcomes. Direct certification coupled with a neighborhood adjustment provides an accurate measure of student poverty, which schools can readily use to access supplemental funding in a timely manner.  \nINTRODUCTION  \nNearly all states provide supplemental school funding for their low-income students, but identifying these students has become more difficult.1 For several decades, most states used eligibility for free and reduced-price meals (FARM), which is set at 185 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) . However, under recent policies from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the school meals program, many schools no longer must establish individual student FARM eligibility each year. Instead, schools with FARM percentages above 40 percent among enrollees can assume that all students in the school are eligible for the following four years. While this broader approach promotes better student nutrition, it also inflates the FARM count and makes it less reliable for school funding purposes.2 This brief describes the best practices for identifying low-income students for school funding purposes.  \nBEST PRACTICES FOR IDENTIFYING LOW-INCOME STUDENTS  \nKey Factors  \nIn determining the best strategies for states to identify low-income students, there are several important factors to consider and questions to answer.  \n• Accuracy: Does the state’s method accurately count the number of students in a school who meet the income eligibility criteria, or will there be an undercount or overcount? Can schools artificially increase their counts to get more funding? Do the criteria unintentionally reward poor performance or bad behavior? Does the method create perverse incentives, e.g. , to concentrate low-income students in the same school?  \n• Availability of Data: Can a school easily and in a timely manner determine a student’s eligibility so that it can receive supplemental funding in time to provide additional services to the student?  \n• Follows the Student: Does the method allow the supplemental funding to reach every low-income student, whether they attend a traditional public school, a public charter school or a private school using an Education Savings Account (ESA)?  \n1 See ExcelinEd, Supplemental Funding for Low-Income Students: 50-State Survey (2023) .  \n2 See No Kid Hungry, Universal Free School Meals: Comparing Funding Options to Create Hunger-Free Schools. Another concern is that schools are not rigorous enough in verifying that a family’s income is low enough to be FARM eligible. See Ishtiaque Fazlul et al.,“A Poor Poverty Measure,”Education Next (2023) .  \nRecommended Best Practices:  \nFamily enrollment in a social services program with appropriate financial criteria.  \nSeveral social services programs have income eligibility criteria similar to the FARM criteria. These include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) , Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Medicaid.3 States agencies oversee each of these programs and verify family eligibility on a regular basis. As such, states can assume that children in families receiving these services are income-eligible for supplemental school funding.  \nStates therefore can use “direct certification” by determining whether a student’s family is participating in these other social services programs. In Florida, for example, schools regularly upload th","cbCailK72mie8LuY","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCailK72mie8LuY","pdf",208028,"English","# Executive Summary\n# Introduction\n# Best Practices for Identifying Low-Income Students\n## Key Factors\n## Recommended Best Practices\n## Adjustments for Neighborhood Indicators","[{\"question\":\"Why are states looking for alternative ways to identify low-income students?\",\"answer\":\"Many schools no longer need to verify household income individually for free and reduced-price meals eligibility. This makes traditional counting approaches harder to maintain for supplemental funding purposes.\"},{\"question\":\"What is “direct certification” and how does it support supplemental funding?\",\"answer\":\"Direct certification uses a state-level database matching system to determine whether students’ families participate in qualifying social service programs. 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