Verification and VSR Frequently Asked Questions - Illinois State Board of Education Nutrition Division

Oct 10, 2026

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Verification and VSR Frequently Asked Questions for the Illinois State Board of Education Nutrition Division explains household and district responsibilities during the verification process for school nutrition eligibility. It addresses pay stub requirements, how overtime is treated when representative, and how enrollment counts work for the Oct. 1 date and carryover periods. Guidance covers reduced Medicaid and direct certification handling, 3% verification sample rules, notifications, and counting foster and categorically eligible students on the Verification Summary Report.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

Verification and VSR Frequently Asked Questions

Pay stubs and overtime

Oct. 1 count and carryover timing

Reduced Medicaid and direct certification

3% sample selection and notifications

Foster and categorically eligible student counting

Verification and VSR Frequently Asked Questions Illinois State Board of Education Nutrition Division Q: How many pay stubs are required? A: If one pay stub submitted by the household is representative of the income reported on the Household Eligibility Application, then one pay stub is sufficient. Q: How is overtime handled? A: The school district should work with the household to determine if overtime during the month of application or the month of verification is representative of income worked in other months. The key here is that the district must document the conversation with the household and document how the verifying official determined if the overtime was rare or regular. For example, the verifying official should obtain a pay stub that does not include overtime and compare the information on that pay stub to the income reported on the HEA. Q: Regarding my Oct. 1 count, I have an approved application that is dated Aug. 20, and the students exited Aug. 31. Should we still count this application and the students for the VSR? A: No, the Oct. 1 count is literally counting only the approved applications that are for enrolled students on that date. Q: How does reduced Medicaid impact verification of applications? A: If an application was received and approved based on household income or at face value for free benefits and now based on a recent release of data, a household member appears on the direct certification file as a reduced Medicaid recipient, the benefits should remain at the original determination level for the school year. Only applications selected a part of the 3% verification sample should be processed for verification to determine if the original benefits may be verified with supporting documentation. If the household is unable to support the original determination, the benefits should be changed from free to reduced. The household must be given a 10-day notification that as a result of verification the benefits will be decreased from free to reduced. Q: My school’s system that tracks eligibility determinations does not recognize directly certified Reduced Medicaid; it is marking the Reduced Medicaid students as free and not reduced. A: Please share this information with the makers of that system so that they are aware of the updates needing made. Additional information on Reduced Medicaid can be found at [https://www.isbe.net/Documents/DC](https://www.isbe.net/Documents/DC)Medicaid-Reduced.pdf Q: When students on a Household Eligibility Application (HEA) that was selected for verification are found in the Direct Verification file, does this application still count as part of the 3 percent sample? A: Yes, once the sample is selected, Verification of those applications are completed if they are Directly Verified. Q: Does the family need to receive any type of notification if they are part of the 3 percent sample and the student is Directly Verified? A: No. Since the child was Directly Verified you will not need to notify the family. Q: Are Household Eligibility Applications that are originally approved based on Homeless or Head Start subject to verification? A: No. Q: When an application has a student approved with foster benefits and two children from the household approved for reduced benefits based on income, how should the LEA count this application on the Verification Summary Report? A: When possible the foster student should be Directly Certified. In the case where a foster child cannot be Directly Certified, the application would be counted as a reduced income application for Step 1 of the Verification Summary Report. On Step 3, Section 4 when counting students on application on the last operating day of the month of October, include the foster child with the categorically eligible students and the reduced students as such. Q: If the carryover period ends after Oct 1, when do we verify those applications? A: The Oct. 1 application count includes only application

FAQs

How many pay stubs are required for verification?

If one pay stub submitted by the household is representative of the income reported on the Household Eligibility Application, then one pay stub is sufficient.

How should overtime be handled during verification?

The district should determine whether overtime in the month of application or verification is representative of income worked in other months, and document that determination. For example, the verifying official should obtain a pay stub without overtime and compare it with the HEA-reported income.

If an application selected for verification is found in the Direct Verification file, does it still count as part of the 3 percent sample?

Yes. Once the sample is selected, verification of those applications is completed if they are directly verified.

Do families need notification if the student is directly verified as part of the 3 percent sample?

No. Since the child was directly verified, notification to the family is not required.

Oct 10, 2026

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