Welcome to the Arizona Department of Education’s Special Assistance website. This site is designed to familiarize you with the aspects of the USDA’s Special Assistance program (Provisions 2 and 3).
Congress incorporated into Section 11(a)(1) of the National School Lunch Act three alternative provisions to the traditional requirements for determining eligibility for free and reduced-price school meals.
The core concept of Provisions 2 and 3 is a reduction in administrative costs in conjunction with operating a non-pricing program for all students. Simply, if the district agrees to provide meals to all enrolled students at no charge, the USDA eliminates the requirement to collect applications for 3 to 4 years.
These provisions have the potential to impact participation, collection and verification of applications, labor costs, cash-handling costs (collections, charges, and write-offs), a la carte sales, and hardware/software costs.
To learn more about the Special Assistance program visit the following links:
- Special Assistance Guidance Manual
- Financial Analysis Tool
- Special Assistance Application
- Free and Reduced-Price Policy Statement
- Daily Edit Check Worksheet
- Special Assistance Extension Application
- Extension Calculation Worksheet
- Provision 2 Schedule and Procedures
- Provision 3 Schedule and Procedures
- Making Sense of Special Assistance Claiming
- Provision 2 Claiming Percentage Calculator
- Provision 3 Meal Claim Calculator
- Special Assistance Verification Exempt Calculator
- Tips for Increasing Participation in the NSLP
