Skyward’s SIS Helps to Ensure Student Access to School Meals, and More!
Skyward’s SIS Helps to Ensure Student Access to School Meals, and More!
A bulletin published on September 7, 2023 by the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) strongly encouraged families to provide information to their school districts to ensure their students have access to meals at school.
OSPI noted that this information “…helps determine students’ eligibility for meals, and it is also used to identify other student benefits such as reduced fees and additional funding for schools. Information provided may also be used to qualify eligible children for Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (Summer EBT) programs.”
Our partner, Skyward, provides tools to support families and school districts with this need, and more.
- USDA Income Eligibility Guidelines are preloaded in Skyward (SMS 2.0 and Qmlativ) to help assess income and household verification.
- Within Family Access, guardians can apply for free/reduced meals online as well as view their student’s purchases and payments.
- Food Service letters are available to send out to guardians after an application has been processed. These letters can be created and sent based on approval and denial of benefits.
Not only do these tools save valuable time, but they can also assist families with access to other resources they may benefit from. Consent to Share (HB 1660) lets families who have been approved for Free/Reduced meals to also get discounts for other fees (for example, course fees, extracurricular activity fees, field trip fees, ASB card fees, etc.).
Both SMS 2.0 and Qmlativ allow families to select which programs they "consent to share" their free/reduced status with, in order to receive those discounts. The feature integrates with the Fee Management module to automatically apply those discounts based on each family’s consent.
WSIPC is a non-profit public agency that provides technology solutions (including Skyward SMS 2.0 and Qmlativ), services, and support to K-12 schools. WSIPC’s purpose is to help schools do more with every dollar and to empower them with the tools to work smarter. To learn how your district can become part of the WSIPC Cooperative, contact us at info@wsipc.org or 425.349.6600.
WSIPC. Inspired by education. Empowered by technology.TM