National Center for Education Statistics

Description:

The Common Core of Data (CCD) is a program of the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics that collects selected data about all public schools, public school districts and state education agencies in the United States every year. Data are supplied by state education agency officials through the Common Core of Data (CCD), Local Education Agency (School District) Universe Survey, accessed from https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/files.asp.
For schools that do not report free and reduced-price lunch program (FRPL) eligibility data data, direct certification counts are used exclusively. Direct certification applies to children from households participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), or (in some states) Medicaid, as well as children who are migrant, experiencing homelessness, in foster care, or enrolled in Head Start. These students are categorically eligible to receive free meals at school. Note that NCES CCD data may indicate participation rates above 100% in some schools due to reporting variations or administrative discrepancies. Eligibility data is suppressed when fewer than 6 students are present to protect confidentiality.

Data Note: Illinois and Virginia opted not to collect this data under the pandemic meal provisions that gave free meals universally, thus leading to gaps in the usual reporting for these states in the 2020-21 period. Additionally, in the August 2025 data update, PolicyMap recalculated and reloaded historic percent data for the 2019-2020 school year.