1. Understanding USDA’S Special Milk Program for Schools
Nebraska Department of Education
Nutrition Services

2. The Special Milk Program or SMP….
Started in 1955 with the purpose of providing milk to children in schools, child care institutions, and summer camps that do not participate in other Federal child nutrition programs. The program reimburses sponsors for the milk they serve.
The Special Milk Program, or SMP, started in 1955 with the purpose of providing milk to children in schools, child care institutions, and summer camps that do not participate in other Federal child nutrition programs. The program reimburses sponsors for the milk they serve.

3. Eligibility Requirements for Schools
Must be a recognized school
Must operate as a non profit program with tax exempt status – 501(c)(3)
Participating students cannot have access to school breakfast or lunch programs
In order to be eligible to participate in the Special Milk Program, schools must first meet these three criteria:
They must be recognized as a school,
They must operate as a non profit program with a tax exempt status – They need to have a 501(c)(3) on file in our office prior to participation
And participating students cannot have access to school breakfast or lunch programs. The critical word there being “Access.”

4. In other words….
Schools who participate in the school meals programs may claim half-day students under the SMP only if those students do not have access to other school meals
Schools who do not participate in other school meals programs may claim all milk consumed by children under the SMP
In other words….
Schools who participate in the school meals programs may claim half-day students under the SMP only if those students do not have access to other school meals
For example: If a child comes for a half day and gets there in time to participate in the school breakfast program, that child is then not eligible for participation in the Special Milk Program
Schools who do not participate in other school meals programs may claim all milk consumed by children under the SMP, including milk served at lunch and during milk breaks throughout the school day

5. Other requirements
Participating schools must comply with Civil Rights laws
Participating schools must have an adequate Point of Service (POS) counting system
Participating schools must develop and adopt a school Wellness Policy
Participating schools must secure milk supplies through open and free competition
Other requirements for schools participating in the Special Milk Program…
Participating schools must comply with Civil Rights laws,
They must have an adequate Point of Service (POS) counting system,
Participating schools must develop and adopt a school Wellness Policy,
And they must secure milk supplies through open and free competition.
We will discuss each of these required areas in detail.

6. Civil Rights
May not restrict enrollment on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability
“And Justice For All” Posters
Civil Rights
Schools may not restrict enrollment in the Special Milk Program on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability
“And Justice For All” posters are free from our office and do need to be posted near the milk cooler or near the milk serving area in all schools participating in the Special Milk Program. The poster must be put in a location that is easily visible to all students as it provides information about who should be contacted if a student feels they have been discriminated against when participating in any child nutrition programs under USDA.

7. Point of Service (POS)
Milks must be counted and documented at the time the child receives it
Must provide protection from overt identification
May include more than one milk per child
May not include adult milks or milks used for cooking, class projects etc.
Point of Service (POS)
Milks must be counted and documented at the time the child receives it.
The point of service system must provide protection from overt identification of a student’s eligibility status. We will discuss more about protection from overt identification later in the presentation.
The point of service count may include more than one milk per child,
But it may not include adult milks or milks used for cooking, class projects, or other areas where milk may be used throughout the school day. It is only for milk consumed by children during the school day.

8. Wellness Policy
Required under USDA’s Reauthorization of the child nutrition programs 2004
Developed by a wellness committee
Needs to address the total school environment
Intended to be a working document with changes and revisions adopted as needed
Wellness Policies
When the USDA passed the Child Nutrition Reauthorization in 2004, it required that all schools participating in the National School Lunch or the Special Milk Program, develop and utilize a school wellness policy
It needs to be developed by a wellness committee and the committee should consist of a student, faculty member, food service person or in the case of SMP only schools, perhaps a school health official such as a school nurse, a parent or a board member
The school wellness policy needs to address the total school environment and it should look at all aspects of wellness including physical activity and all foods served throughout the school day. This could include school parties, rewards and fundraising activities
The wellness policy is intended to be a working document. Changes and revisions should be adopted as they are needed.

9. SMP options Pricing plan Pricing plan with free milk option
Non-pricing Plan
When schools sign up to participate in the Special Milk Program they must choose from different pricing options including a pricing plan, a pricing plan with a free milk option for needy students, and a non-pricing plan.
Next we will review the different pricing options…

10. Pricing Plan
Milk is sold to all children with the reimbursement utilized to keep the cost to students low
½ pint price should reflect difference between federal reimbursements and cost to operate the program
Under the pricing plan, milk is sold to all children with the reimbursement utilized to keep the cost to students low
The ½ pint price should reflect the difference between federal reimbursements and the cost to operate the program

11. For example
The reimbursement rate for the school year is .23 per half pint. If the dairy cost for your school is .27 cents per ½ pint and administrative/supply costs to operate the SMP are .05 cents per half pint, the cost to children for milk should be approximately $0.10 cents per ½ pint of milk.
Dairy Cost (per ½ pint)
Admin/supply
Program cost
Less reimbursement
Student cost for milk
For example…
The reimbursement rate for the school year is .23 per half pint. If the dairy cost for your school is .27 cents per ½ pint and administrative and supply costs to operate the SMP are .05 cents per half pint, the cost to children for milk should be approximately .09 cents per ½ pint of milk which could be rounded off to .10 cents.
Schools are allowed to count administrative and supply costs including costs such as straws, milk coolers and secretarial time used to compile and submit the special milk claim when determining the operating costs of the program.

12. Pricing Plan with the Free Milk Option
Schools may opt to provide milk at no charge to students who qualify for free milk benefits
Schools are reimbursed at the normal reimbursement rate for children who pay and at the net dairy cost for children who qualify for free milk benefits
Under the pricing plan with the free milk option…
Schools may opt to provide milk at no charge to students who qualify for free milk benefits
Schools are reimbursed at the normal reimbursement rate for children who pay and at the net dairy cost for children who qualify for free milk benefits

13. Free Milk Option Requirements
Public release statement - The public notification requirement for the SMP is completed by NDE
Applications for free milk
Protection from overt identification
A public release statement letting the community at large know that they are providing free milk to children who qualify is required. This is completed by NDE Nutrition Services.
Schools must distribute applications for the free milk program to all students who attend the school
Schools must take necessary steps to protect participating students from overtly being identified, so that children who are receiving free milk benefits are not singled out in any way over children who pay for their milk
All materials under the free milk option are available on-line at the link listed here and should be downloaded and updated each year as the requirements do change.
We will now discuss these three requirements under the free milk option in detail…

14. Public Release Submitted each year Grassroots distribution
Community publication
Are not required to pay to have it published
Grassroots distribution
Community sites
Libraries, food pantries, WIC offices
The public release is to be submitted each year under the pricing plan with the free milk option. Schools must submit the public release to a community publication but they are not required to pay to have it published. The school is also required to submit the public release to grassroots distribution areas such as community sites, libraries, food pantries and WIC offices

15. Applications for Free Milk
Must be completed by parent and determined by school official
All Materials may be downloaded at:
The applications for free milk must be completed by a parent or guardian and determined by a school official
All materials can be downloaded on the website listed on this slide.

16. Protection from overt identification
Must provide a payment option that does not overtly identify students who are receiving free milk
Must provide daily accountability of milk consumption utilizing a method that does not overtly identify students receiving free milk
Protection from overt identification
Schools must provide a payment option that does not overtly identify students who are receiving free milk and they must provide daily accountability of milk consumption utilizing a method that does not overtly identify students receiving free milk
For example, all students must be counted on a list that does not indicate eligibility status in any way. Milk participation lists may not be coded with color codes or indication of their status by their names. And for payment procedures, you may not ask for milk money from everyone except students who receive free milk or have students receive milk tickets in class that would eliminate the free students getting milk tickets.

17. Non-Pricing Plan
Children are not charged for milk (The cost may be covered through tuition or boarding fees)
Reimbursement is based on current year’s federal reimbursement rate
The third option for schools participating in the Special Milk Program is the non-pricing plan. Under the non-pricing plan, none of the children are charged for milk, however the cost may be covered through tuition or boarding fees.
Under this plan, reimbursement is based on current year’s federal reimbursement rate.

18. Special Milk Program Application
In order to participate in the Special Milk Program, schools must complete an on-line program application in the CNP website and update it each year.
In order to participate in the Special Milk Program, schools must complete an on-line program application in the CNP website and update it each year.

19. Recordkeeping Requirements
Daily participation records
Financial accountability
Annual Financial Statement due July 15
Monthly Claims
Purchasing
Civil Rights – Disabilities
Temperature Logs
Sanitation
Must retain all required documents for 3 years plus the current school year
Recordkeeping Requirements
Schools participating in the Special Milk Program are required to keep several records including…
Daily participation records, financial accountability records, Annual Financial Statement due July 15, monthly claim records, purchasing records, civil rights or students with disabilities records and records of temperature logs and sanitation inspections. These records must be retained for 3 years plus the current school year.

20. Daily Participation Records
Teacher checklist/student roster
Must provide accurate and acceptable Point of Service (POS) count
May not be based on dairy invoices, paid milk receipts, or attendance lists
Daily Participation Records
In order to collect an accurate Point of Service count to use for the monthly claim, schools must use a daily participation record to document how many students took a milk. If schools are utilizing the Pricing Plan with a Free Milk Option, they must keep track of which students received a milk.
The count must be taken at the time the students receive the milk and cannot be based on dairy invoices, paid milk receipts or attendance lists.

21. Financial Accountability
All funds must be used to support SMP
Fund balance cannot exceed 3 months operating costs
Funds must be shown as separate line or ledger item in bookkeeping system
Excess funds may not be transferred to general fund
Financial Accountability
All funds received from students paying to participate, must be used to support the Special Milk Program.
The fund balance cannot exceed 3 months operating costs
The funds must be shown as separate line or ledger item in the school’s financial bookkeeping system
And any excess funds must stay in the SMP fund and may not be transferred to the general fund.

22. Monthly Claims
Submitted online at:
Must be submitted within 60 calendar days of claim month
Must be submitted from accurate and acceptable POS system
Schools must submit the Special Milk Program claims monthly through our on-line claiming system. You can click on the link on this slide to access the on-line claiming system.
Claims must be submitted within 60 calendar days of the claim month and they must be submitted from counts that were taken by an accurate and acceptable Point of Service system as we discussed previously.

23. Purchasing requirements
Must practice free and open competition
“Three Bids and a Buy”
Price quotes and bids must be documented
When schools are looking to purchase milk or equipment for the program, they must practice what is known as “free and open competition.” This means that schools must get price bids from at least three milk vendors that meet the school’s specifications for milk and then award the bid to the vendor with the lowest price point. Always remember the “Three Bids and a Buy” rule when looking to purchase milk or equipment for the program.
All attempts at procuring price quotes and bids must be documented.

24. Civil Rights: Children with Disabilities
If a child has a documented disability as determined by a licensed physician schools must provide a substitute beverage as prescribed by the physician without additional cost to the student
If a child has a milk intolerance schools may provide lactose free milk or a milk substitute. If the school chooses to provide a milk substitute the school must ensure that it is nutritionally equivalent to cow’s milk. A list is provided on NS website.
Physician’s Form and more info on Special Dietary Needs:
It is important that all schools participating in the Special Milk Program are familiar with the civil rights regulations set up by USDA for serving children with disabilities and special dietary needs.
If a child has a documented disability as determined by a licensed physician schools must provide a substitute beverage as prescribed by the physician without additional cost to the student. You can find a prototype physician’s form on our website at the link listed at the bottom of this slide.
If a child has a milk intolerance schools may provide lactose free milk or a milk substitute at the request of the parents, but they are not required to do so. If the school chooses to provide a milk substitute, such as soy milk, the school must ensure that it is nutritionally equivalent to cow’s milk. A list is provided on NS website.

25. Temperature Logs
Must keep a daily temperature log for any refrigerator or cooler that is used for the Special Milk Program
Must keep on file for 1 year plus the current school year.
Prototype Log:
Temperature Logs
Schools must keep a daily temperature log for any refrigerator or cooler that is used for the Special Milk Program. These temperature logs must be kept on file for 1 year plus the current school year.
We have a prototype log on our website listed on this slide.

26. Sanitation
SMP only schools must provide milk storage facilities to ensure that milk is kept in a sanitary and temperature safe environment
Schools who also participate in NSLP are required to have at least 2 sanitation inspections each year. The results of the inspections must be posted in a public area.
Sanitation
SMP only schools must provide milk storage facilities to ensure that milk is kept in a sanitary and temperature safe environment
Schools who also participate in the National School Lunch Program are required to have at least 2 sanitation inspections each year. The results of the inspections must be posted in a public area.

27. Other things schools need to know about the SMP…
Schools are subject to an on site review
All SMP materials including the online application, are available on the NS website
“And Justice for All” posters are available by contacting NDE - Nutrition Services
Other things to keep in mind about the Special Milk Program…
Schools are subject to an on site review of the SMP. Your school will be notified at the beginning of the school year if you have been chosen for an on-site review of your program.
All SMP materials including the online application, are available on the website
“And Justice for All” posters are available by contacting the NS School Nutrition Team

28. If you have more questions….
You can contact:
Nebraska Department of Education
Nutrition Services
(800)
If you have additional questions regarding the Special Milk Program