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