OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma State Department of Education has discontinued a federal program that funded third meals in public schools that operate with extended hours.
State Superintendent Lindel Fields said the U.S. Department of Agriculture encouraged his administration to end the program.
The federal agency said the discontinuation is “essential for upholding program integrity and maintaining compliance with Federal requirements,” according to a USDA statement, which the state Education Department provided to Oklahoma Voice.
The decision prompted public complaints from affected Oklahoma districts that feed students through this funding, Oklahoma City TV station KOCO reported. The Education Department did not provide information Thursday about how many districts or how much money the cancellation impacted.
Fields said his agency is willing to help schools replace the lost funding by switching them to another federal program that supports after-school-care meals.
“I think it’s important to understand this is not denying kids food,” Fields told news reporters on Thursday. “A program is available to schools that comply with the law that allows kids to be fed in an after-school program, so kids will not go hungry.”
The USDA expanded its after-school snack program in 2011 to include schools with extended hours, also known as “expanded learning time.” The after-school and expanded learning time funds are both distributed through the USDA’s Child and Adult Care Food Program, which also provides nutrition assistance to child and adult care centers.
After high-profile fraud cases emerged in Minnesota involving federal nutrition funds for child care centers, the USDA urged states to place “stronger safeguards” on the program.
Fields said the state Education Department and the federal agency determined the expanded learning time program “could be run a whole lot better” in Oklahoma, though he noted that he hasn’t accused any schools of being “bad actors.”
He said he’s not aware of any potential consequences the Education Department might have faced had it not followed the USDA recommendation to close the program.
“But it’s no secret that we’ve had concerns about the feeding program for quite some time, so it’s time to get things in order,” Fields said.
Originally published on oklahomavoice.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
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