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Legislative audit finds many paper free‑lunch applications may be ineligible, raising questions about at‑risk funding
Summary
A Legislative Post Audit report found that a sampled review of paper free‑lunch applications suggests 54%–72% of applicants may not meet income criteria, projecting 18,000–25,000 students and a possible $38 million–$53 million overpayment in 2024; auditors urged the Legislature to reconsider tying at‑risk funding to free‑lunch counts.
Heidi Zimmerman, principal auditor at Legislative Post Audit, told the House Committee on K‑12 Education Budget that the number of free‑lunch students used to allocate at‑risk funding "appears to be significantly more than the number of students who may be eligible for the free lunch program."
Zimmerman said auditors used a random sample of students and income records to test eligibility and found that, among paper applications they could verify, 68 of 108 did not appear to meet the income threshold. Projecting the sample to the statewide population of applicants, the audit estimated that between 54% and 72% of paper applicants were likely ineligible — roughly 18,000 to 25,000 students — with a 95% confidence interval.
The audit estimated…
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