Los Angeles Unified submitted a public comment letter on Monday to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in opposition of proposed eligibility restrictions for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The proposed rule change would impact millions of people, including 40,000 households in Los Angeles County.
“These proposed changes will put the students we serve at risk of going hungry,” said Superintendent Austin Beutner. “That’s unconscionable. Los Angeles Unified will continue to work to prevent this change from going into effect, and mitigate the potential impacts to our students and families.”
The federal proposal will negatively impact state funds allocated through the Local Control Funding Formula. A reduction of students eligible for FRPM could result in approximately 30,000 students going unaccounted for in the state’s calculation of supplemental and concentration funds. This alone would translate to an estimated loss of $60 million in funds for Los Angeles Unified.
The USDA recently released a proposal to restrict a policy known as Broad-based categorical eligibility (BBCE), which allows households to become categorically eligible for SNAP and other programs when they qualify for certain benefits. This proposal would drop millions of people from SNAP.
The public comment letter can be found here and the letter to President Donald Trump and the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue can be found here.
