Introduction and Overview

Reviews by the State Education Agency

The USOE visits each LEA to review and assess local program operations and provide technical assistance and training.

Coordinated Review Effort (CRE). The CRE is a federally required monitoring system. Critical areas of the review include the LEA's certifying benefit eligibility, counting, claiming, and consolidating process and compliance with meal components. Violation of performance standards requires that an acceptable corrective action plan be submitted to the USOE, and may include action to recover funds. A CRE is conducted at least once every five years.

School Meals Initiative (SMI) Monitoring. SMI monitoring assesses whether meals comply with the "Dietary Guidelines for Americans" through nutrient analysis using approved USDA procedures. Specific goals for improvement are recorded as part of the monitoring visits. SMI monitoring is conducted at least once every five years.

State Technical Assistance Review (STAR). Technical assistance reviews may be conducted prior to the SMI and CRE reviews (STAR-S and STAR-C). They may also include monitoring specific programs such as the SBP, or the SMP.