Danya Labban, Director (718) 935-3753

An integral part of OAG’s mission is to improve student information data collection and to provide accurate counts of students on the October 31 register, students who are eligible for free meals, and students living in New York City Federal Housing Projects. To achieve this, the School Population Unit performs the following reviews every year: October 31 Annual Register Verification, Title I Review, and Impact Aid Review. Prior to the reviews, training sessions are held for school-based personnel to help facilitate the review process.

October 31 Annual Register Verification:

The Student Population Unit performs yearly audits on a sampled number of schools’ registers. The Register Verification audit directly affects school budget allocations. The register verification confirms student attendance specifically for potential long term absentees, students admitted in late October, and students discharged in November. The Student Population Unit, along with the Division of Instructional and Information Technology, have created ATS screens and reports to aid the schools in monitoring and correcting the official October 31 register. Training is available to provide an overview of the verification process, the types of documentation needed, consequences of our findings, best practices and common errors.


Title I Review:

Title I is the largest single source of categorical funding in the school system. Allocations to schools are based on the number of students on the October 31 register who are approved for free meals, as reflected in the Title I Meal Category List Report (RMEL) in ATS. These meal codes also impact Fair Student Funding and peer group determinations for assessment and accountability. Each year, the Student Population Unit determines which schools will be selected for the Title I review process. Depending on the number of students in the free meal population, samples of applications are selected for review and verification. Based on our review, the school is given a Title I percentage that determines, among other things, whether or not the school is entitled to Title I funding. It is important to have an accurate count of all students who are eligible for free meals, as this is the basis for determining both Title I Status and Title I Allocation for the next school year. Every single meal application counts and impacts the amount of Title I funding received or lost! Training is available to provide an overview of the school meal application process, what happens during our review, the type of documentation needed, consequences of our findings, best practices and common errors. Contact your ISC Senior Grant Officer to schedule training.


Impact Aid Review:

Impact Aid was designed to assist local school districts that have lost property tax revenue due to the presence of tax-exempt Federal property, or that have absorbed increased expenditures due to the enrollment of federally-subsidized students. School districts use Impact Aid funds for a wide variety of expenses, including the salaries of teachers and teacher aides; purchasing textbooks, computers, and other equipment; after-school programs and remedial tutoring; advanced placement classes; and special enrichment programs. In order to maximize the NYC Department of Education’s (DOE) revenue from the Impact Aid formula grant program, the School Population Unit conducts a desk review that researches all students listed as living in Federal Housing that did not match the Housing Department file received by the DOE.

Related Forms and Links

For assistance please e-mail us at: PopHelp@schools.nyc.gov