You are viewing a previous version of this article. See Create New Eligibility Records and Manage Eligibility Records for the most current information.

Tool Search: Eligibility

The Eligibility tool shows a student's eligibility for receiving free or reduced-price benefits. The USDA Food and Nutritional Services agency requires that districts track student eligibility for federal reimbursement purposes.

State Edition users should also refer to the Eligibility (State) article.

If there are no eligibility records shown in the Eligibility Editor, the student has a default Eligibility value of Paid and an Eligibility Type of Meal.

How Campus Updates Eligibility Records

Eligibility records are updated when a household applies for benefits, generally at the start of a school year or during the school year. When a household is approved for free or reduced meal benefits, student eligibilities are active for the current school year, plus an additional 30 days into the next school year.

Records displayed in this tool are entered through one of the following methods:

Manually Entered Eligibilities - New eligibility records can be created manually on the Eligibility tool. This method is most often used when a district does not use the FRAM Household Applications tool or the Eligibility Import Wizard.
Updated/Imported Eligibilities - Existing student eligibilities can be imported to the Eligibility tool using the Eligibility Import Wizard. The Eligibility Import Wizard may be used to upload direct certification files received from the state or files received from third-party food service vendors.
Auto-Populated Eligibilities - When an Educational or Meal Benefits application is processed through the FRAM Household Applications and Online Applications tools, the resulting eligibility is automatically populated. These records display as read-only information that cannot be modified or deleted.

Point-of-Sale users only: Changes made to a student's eligibility will NOT update existing meal transactions. Purchased transactions that exist on a student's account Journal are not automatically updated to reflect the changes in their eligibility. If updating existing meal transactions is necessary, a district staff member must manually modify the transactions in the student's account Journal.

Eligibility Information in Ad hoc Query Wizard

Eligibility information is available in the Query Wizard for Student Data Types and Census/Staff Data Types. Fields can be selected from the following folders:

Student > FRAM > Eligibility
Person > FRAM > Eligibility

In the other Eligibility articles, the related Ad hoc Field is noted with the Field descriptions.

Screenshot of the Query Wizard for Student Data Types

Eligibility Editor Field Descriptions

Field	Definition
School Year	The school year for which the Eligibility applies.
Start Date	The first day on which the Eligibility is active.
End Date	The last day on which the Eligibility is active. The eligibility End Date field indicates the last date on which the student is eligible for the eligibility, generally 30 days into the next school year. If a Default Expiration Date is set for the School Year under FRAM > FRAM Preferences > Application Preferences, the date entered in this field will automatically populate when School Year is selected for manual entries. Users may manually edit the End Date value, as necessary. After an existing eligibility expires (i.e., the day after the End Date), the student's eligibility will automatically default to a "Paid" eligibility.
Eligibility Type	Indicates the type of eligibility. The Eligibility Type determines what department created and will use the Eligibility record within the district. Meal - Indicates the record is a meal status eligibility record. This Eligibility Type is utilized by the Food Service Department and for state reporting data. SES - Indicates the record is a socioeconomic status eligibility record. This eligibility type is utilized for students participating in Provision programs. This Eligibility Type is utilized by other departments within the district, including state reporting. This type will never message to a Point of Sale terminal. If the district is using Campus FRAM for processing applications and/or Campus Point of Sale it is recommended to keep the default setting of Meal. Eligibilities assigned an Eligibility Type of SES are used by Provision participating schools to track eligibilities for state reporting purposes as well as additional benefits within the district. SES eligibility types do not message to the Point of Sale and are considered a "Paid" eligibility by the Food Service Department.
Eligibility	This field indicates the eligibility status of the student: Free - The student is considered eligible to receive reimbursable meals at no charge. Paid - The student is not considered eligible and must pay student price for reimbursable meals. Reduced - The student is considered eligible and must pay a reduced price for reimbursable meals. Non-reimbursable - This option is never assigned or populated as an eligibility for students. It is for the purpose of processing second (non-reimbursable) meals for students and used for processing an adult (non-reimbursable) meal status for adults/staff. This status is not necessary to be assigned to staff members.
Source	This field indicates whether the eligibility status was identified through Non-Direct or Direct Certification. Direct Certification indicates that the student qualifies for free/reduced meals due to Direct Certification files received from a state agency certifying that the child is a member of a SNAP, FDPIR or TANF household or the student is a foster child directly certified from the state. This Certified Type is allowed only when the Eligibility Type is Meal. The Eligibility should be Free.
Certified Type	The determination reason for the value displayed in the Eligibility field. The options in this dropdown list display according to the Source selected. See the following Certified Type table for more information.
Application Name	The name of the household or the name of the application's signer (per the setting of the Auto Fill Application Name field of the FRAM Preferences) on the Educational or Meal Benefits Application processed. This field cannot be edited. Only eligibilities auto-populated from the Educational or Meal Benefits Application will have a value auto-populated in this field. When Online Meal Benefits Applications is enabled, this field will display the Signer's Name.
Reference Number	The number of the Educational and Meal Benefits application, for reference purposes. Only eligibilities populated via an Educational or Meal Benefits Application will have a value in this field.
Letter Method	This checkbox indicates that the manually entered eligibility was the result of a Direct Certification AND the district received a certification letter from one of the following sources: The district received a certification letter from the state. The district received a state certification letter from a family. The district received a certification letter from another district for the current year. This checkbox only displays if you select a Direct Source and Free Eligibility.
Extended	When this checkbox is marked, it indicates that the eligibility is the result of a family member's eligibility being extended to this student. This checkbox only displays if you select a Direct Source.
State Qualified as Free	Marking this checkbox indicates the student is not eligible at the Federal level but qualifies as free at the state level. This option is only available in New Jersey.
Opt Out Medicaid	If this box is marked, the guardian has indicated he/she does NOT wish to be contacted by Medicaid regarding Medicaid benefits. This option will only display if the Display Medicaid Opt Out checkbox of the FRAM Application Preferences is marked.
Opt Out SCHIP	If this box is marked, the guardian has indicated he/she does NOT wish to be contacted by SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program) regarding insurance benefits. This option will only display if the Display SCHIP Opt Out checkbox of the FRAM Application Preferences is marked.
Permission Name	The name of the established district permission(s). This section is only available if Permissions have been created within the Permission Preferences tab.
Share Permission	This indicates whether or not the parent/guardian allows the district permission to share their child(ren)'s free/reduced eligibility with other district staff members. This section is only available if Permissions have been created within the Permission Preferences.
State Eligibility Code	This data is used for state reporting only.

Certified Type

Certified Type	Description
Income	Type of approval based on household income. The Eligibility can be Free, Reduced or Paid.
Categorical	Type of benefit based on participation in federal programs such as SNAP/FDPIR/TANF. The Eligibility should be Free.
Override	Type of approval based on the district selecting to override the assigned Eligibility for student on a Meal Benefits Application.
Runaway	Type of approval based on confirmation approving the student's runaway status. The Eligibility should be Free. If the certified type is Non-Direct, then confirmation is received from the district runaway coordinator. If the certified type is Direct, then confirmation is received from a direct certification file.
Homeless	Type of approval based on confirmation approving the student's homeless status. The Eligibility should be Free. If the certified type is Non-Direct, then confirmation is received from the district homeless coordinator. If the certified type is Direct, then confirmation is received from a direct certification file.
Foster	Type of approval based on confirmation approving the student's foster status where the child is living in a foster home or another type of facility which deems the student as foster. The Eligibility should be Free. If the certified type is Non-Direct, then confirmation is received from the district foster coordinator. If the certified type is Direct, then confirmation is received from a direct certification file.
Migrant	Type of approval based on confirmation approving the student's migrant status. If the certified type is Non-Direct, then confirmation is received from the district migrant coordinator. If the certified type is Direct, then confirmation is received from a direct certification file.
Even Start	Type of approval based on the student participating in the Federally-funded Even Start Family Literacy Program for preschool/pre-kindergarten children.
Head Start	Type of approval based on the student being enrolled as a participant in a Head Start program. If the certified type is Non-Direct, then confirmation is received from the district Head Start coordinator. If the certified type is Direct, then confirmation is received from a direct certification file.
RCCI	Type of approval based on the student attending a residential child care institution (RCCI) that participates in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and/or School Breakfast Program (SBP).
Early Childhood	The Local Education Agency (LEA) can use this designation if the LEA is participating in a CAACFP program.
Medicaid	Type of approval based on the household receiving Medicaid benefits. If the certified type is Non-Direct, then confirmation is received from any method EXCEPT from a Direct Certification file or source. The student's eligibility will be Free. If the certified type is Direct, then confirmation is received from a direct certification file.
Declined	This status is used to track households who decline free/reduced eligibility benefits. This status is collected in some state's for state reporting data.
Denied	This status is used to track households who are denied free/reduced eligibility benefits. This status is collected in some state's for state reporting data.
Did Not Apply	This status is used to track households who did not apply for free/reduced eligibility benefits. This status is collected in some state's for state reporting data.
Socioeconomic Status	Type of approval based on an Educational Benefits Application processed via non-food service department staff. This Certified Type is only allowed with an Eligibility Type of SES.
SNAP	Type of approval based on confirmation from a local agency through direct certification that the household receives Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. All students identified as members of the household are categorically eligible for free meals or milk.
TANF	Type of approval based on confirmation from a local agency through direct certification that the household receives Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) assistance. All students identified as members of the household are categorically eligible for free meals or milk.
FDPIR	Type of approval based on confirmation from a local agency through direct certification that the household receives assistance from the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). All students identified as members of the household are categorically eligible for free meals or milk.

Create New Eligibility Records

If a student's eligibility is not created by processing an Eligibility or Meal Benefits Application or by importing through the Eligibility Import Wizard, it may be entered manually.

To create new eligibility records, State Edition users must be assigned to a district on their User Account tab. See the Eligibility (State) article for more information.

Screenshot of creating new eligibility records

Sync Eligibility to State

This information applies only to districts linked to a Campus State or Regional Edition installation.

In districts linked to a Campus State or Regional Edition installation, certain district-level eligibility information is synched state-level Eligibility tool. District-level values from the following fields will be automatically synced to the state level when an eligibility record is created, updated, or deleted:

Eligibility
Eligibility Type
Source
Certified Type
School Year
Start Date
End Date
State Eligibility Code

Manually Enter a New Student Eligibility

Click New in the action bar.
Select the School Year to which the Eligibility should apply.
Enter or select a Start Date and End Date for eligibility.

When adding a new eligibility, do not overwrite existing eligibilities. Overlapping Start/End Dates are not allowed; therefore, the previous eligibility automatically adjusts to end before the new eligibility begins.
Point-Of-Sale users only: If a student's eligibility changes, existing transactions for those students will NOT be updated. If transactions exist with an Eligibility that has been edited or overwritten, a district staff member must manually modify those transactions in the student's account Journal.
Select the Eligibility Type.
Select the Eligibility, Source, and Certified Type for the student.
Mark the Opt Out Medicaid/SCHIP checkbox(es) to waive contact from the organization(s) if the student's guardians should not be contacted by the Medicaid/SCHIP agency.

These fields will not be displayed in all districts. Districts control whether these fields display by selecting options in the FRAM Preferences tool.
Select the Yes or No Share Permission radio button (if the district has added Permissions) to identify whether the parent/guardian is allowing the district to share their children's free/reduced eligibility with other district staff members.
Click Save.

Edit Student Eligibility Meal Status

When an error is made in the entry of a student eligibility status, you can edit that information from this tab.

The exception to this is when the initial eligibility information was processed via the FRAM Household Applications or Online Applications tools. When these tools were used to set up a student’s Eligibility, information displays as read-only and cannot be modified or deleted from here.

To edit a record, select the record from the list in Eligibility.

Delete Eligibility Records

When an Educational or Meal Benefits application is processed through the FRAM Household Applications and Online Applications tools, the resulting eligibility is automatically populated. These records display as read-only information that cannot be deleted.

Point-of-Sale users only: Changes made to a student's eligibility will NOT update existing meal transactions.

Select the record to delete.
Click the Delete button. A confirmation window displays.
Click OK.

Screenshot of the delete confirmation

View Modifications Made to an Eligibility Record

To view who last modified the Eligibility record and on what date, select the record within Eligibility and scroll to the bottom of the Eligibility Detail panel.

Screenshot of Eligibility detail panel

The hover will indicate who modified the record and on what date for any of the following reasons:

A new manual record is entered or a change is made to an existing record within the Eligibility tool.
Entry of a Meal Benefits Application or Educational Benefits Application via the Household Application tool or via Online Meal Benefits Application.
Use of the Eligibility End Date Wizard.
Use of the Eligibility Import Wizard to run a manual or Batch Import. If New File Import is selected and the new file is uploaded with no change to the mapping, the person who selected New File Import and uploaded and imported the new file will appear as the Modified By person and date.
When a Scheduled Import is run, the name of the last user who edited the mapping of the import selected to run from the Eligibility Import Wizard will be the Modified By person and date.

If the fields for modifiedBy and modifiedDate are null for a record within the POSEligibility table, the hover will display "Modified By: Unknown" with no date indicated.

If a user saves an existing eligibility record where Modified By and Modified Date were null and the user did not make any changes, the record will retain the user who saved the record as the Modified By and Modified Date. This will only happen for the first time a null record is saved without changes. This will not happen if the record is not null and is saved without any changes being made.

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