Direct Certification
Direct Certification is an electronic process used to identify students who are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals based on participation in qualifying assistance programs or through certain qualifying statuses. This federally mandated process is facilitated by the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) and eliminates the need for some households to submit a School Meals Application.
Direct Certification increases access to school meals for eligible students while reducing administrative burden on School Nutrition Program operators.
Learn how to navigate the Direct Certification system, upload student enrollment, look up students, pull reports, set up email notifications, and more.
Use this template to record and upload your student enrollment information into the Direct Certification system.
Non-public Schools:
Update student enrollment data at least three times annually.
Learn how to navigate the ADVISER Person ID system, upload student enrollment, look up students, download the Person ID file, and more. Visit the ADVISER homepage for additional information.
Additional Resources
A list of Direct Certification qualifying assistance programs and student statuses, their acronyms, benefit level (free / reduced), if benefits apply to other students in the household, and their approval priority.
This document outlines how households might qualify for meal benefits through Medicaid.