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HELENA – Superintendent Arntzen will open automatic enrollment for free and reduced-price school meals on July 1, 2023. Automatic enrollment, or direct certification, will use Medicaid data to determine student eligibility for free and reduced-price school meals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service included Montana as one of 15 new states that will test the impact of Medicaid Direct Certification for the 2023-2024 school year.

“Montana is a proud innovator in a program to cut government waste,” said Superintendent Elsie Arntzen. “The Direct Certification program, through efficiencies, benefits our Montana students, families, and schools. The simple change will streamline the process.”

The process of using Medicaid data to determine students eligible for direct certification works differently than other qualifying programs. Participation in Medicaid does not confer categorical eligibility but rather uses income information from Medicaid eligibility to determine whether a student is eligible for free or reduced-price school meals. Some students may qualify as Medicaid Free, and some may qualify as Medicaid Reduced.