All Arkansas public school districts receiving federal funds from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the administration of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) are required to submit an annual school district FNS-742 Verification Collection Report to the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Child Nutrition Unit (CNU). CNU is required to submit the statewide data compiled from the district’s verification collection reports to USDA.

The deadline for submitting the district’s FNS-742 Verification Collection Report to DESE CNU is Thursday, December 15, 2022.

All districts must report the summary of verification results by using the attached excel FNS-742 Verification Collection Report. The form should be downloaded from and renamed using the district’s local education agency (LEA) number. 

Each district must submit one report for the entire district.  In order to complete the FNS-742 Verification Collection Report, a school district will need the following:

• Total number of applications and students approved for free meals based on a SNAP case number
• Total number of applications and students approved for free meals based on household size and income
• Total number of applications and students approved for reduced-priced meals
• Total number of students directly certified
• Total number of students who appear on a categorical free list (Homeless, Migrant, Direct Certification, Foster)
• Results of verification by application – Verification Tracker Form

The FNS-742 Verification Collection Report contains three pages (tabs) in the Excel workbook:

• Instructions for completing the FNS-742 Verification Collection Report
•  FNS-742 Verification Collection Report
•  Application Data Sheet with Instructions

Special Provisions:

• All non-base year Provision 2 and Community Eligibility Provision districts must complete and submit the FNS-742 Verification Collection Report.
• Special provision districts will complete information:
  • Section 1
  • Section 2
  • Section 3, 3-1
  • Section 5, 5-1

Email completed FNS-742 Verification Collection Report to ade.chnutverify@ade.arkansas.gov.  The district will receive an automatic reply email that the report has been received.   This is your receipt that the report has been submitted on time. Please keep this reply on file for audit purposes.  The district will be notified by phone or email if additional information is needed.

The body of the email MUST include:

•  District Name
•  District LEA Number
•  Name of verification contact person
•  Phone number of verification contact person
•  Completed DESE Verification Collection Report (Excel Format)

For further information, contact the District’s Area Specialist at (501) 324-9502.

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