1. (a) Child Nutrition Director Certification requirements.

   1. (1) Department of Education’s Child Nutrition Unit Certification process. Applicant must complete the following steps:

      1. (A) Provide documentation of earning a high school diploma or Graduation Equivalency Diploma (GED);
      2. (B) Provide documentation of successful completion of one (1) of the following advanced trainings:

2. (i) Manager Certification Training;

   1. (ii) Certification as a dietetic technician;

      1. (iii) Certified dietary manager;

         1. (iv) Registered dietitian;
         2. (v) Associate degree in foods/nutrition or Food Service Management; or
         3. (vi) Bachelor’s degree in related field, i.e.:
3. (a) (a) Family and Consumer Sciences;

4. (b) (b) Food Service Management;

   1. (c) (c) Hotel/restaurant management; or

      1. (d) (d) Nutrition; and
      2. (C) Successfully complete all coursework for the Child Nutrition Unit Director Certification Program.

   2. (2) School Nutrition Association Certification process.

      1. (A) Certification and credentialing by the School Nutrition Association will meet requirements established by that organization.
      2. (B) Submit current documentation to the Department of Education’s Child Nutrition Unit from the School Nutrition Association of certification as Director Level 3 or SFNS Credential.
      3. (C) Submit current documentation of required continuing education for national certification or credential.

   3. (3) Grandfather status.

      1. (A) Candidates for grandfather certification status must:

         1. (i)
5. (a) (a) Complete an application including documentation from the school district of at least ten (10) years’ service as a Child Nutrition Director as defined in 6 CAR § 184-102(1).

6. (b) (b) Experience as a Child Nutrition Manager or Child Nutrition Worker will not be eligible to count toward meeting this requirement;

   1. (ii) Submit documentation that the last United States Department of Agriculture Coordinated Review Effort for the district was completed as part of the monitoring system without exceeding Performance Standard Error Thresholds as established by the United States Department of Agriculture; and

      1. (iii) Annually complete continuing education requirements in order to maintain Director Certification status.
      2. (B) Failure to complete annual continuing education requirements will result in loss of Director Certification and the person will be required to achieve certification by one (1) of the other methods.
      3. (C) Those persons with grandfather status will not be required to meet certification requirements listed in subdivisions (a)(1) and (2) of this section.
      4. (D) Grandfather provision can only be used prior to July 1, 2006, to achieve certification status.

7. (b) General policies pertaining to certification of Child Nutrition Directors.

   1. (1)

      1. (A) The CN Director will be responsible for or supervise individuals who perform the following functions:

         1. (i) Nutrition and menu planning/production;
         2. (ii) Procurement;
         3. (iii) Personnel management and/or financial management; and
         4. (iv) Accountability.
      2. (B) The Child Nutrition Director coordinates and directs the required training for the child nutrition program personnel.
      3. (C) This Child Nutrition Director can administer either a single site or multisite federal child nutrition program in public and charter schools.
      4. (D) The Child Nutrition Director shall be identified on the agreement between the local education agency and the Department of Education’s Child Nutrition Unit.

   2. (2)

      1. (A) The CN Director receives general supervision from local school administration.

      2. (B) This person provides administrative supervision over all child nutrition employees, including:

         1. (i) Managers;
         2. (ii) Workers; and
         3. (iii) Clerical staff.
   3. (3) All local education agencies or school districts will be required to employ a certified Child Nutrition Director by July 1, 2006.
   4. (4) No out-of-state certification will be accepted for Arkansas certification of Child Nutrition Directors.
   5. (5) Documentation of certification or credential of the Child Nutrition Director must be submitted annually.

   6. (6)

      1. (A) School districts that do not employ a certified Child Nutrition Director cannot pay salary for this position from the nonprofit food service account.
      2. (B) When a noncertified child nutrition professional is currently working toward state certification requirements, subsection (a) of this section, salary may be paid from the nonprofit food service account.

   7. (7)

      1. (A) A noncertified Child Nutrition Director has twelve (12) months from the date of hire to begin the Director Certification Training process.
      2. (B) During the twelve (12) months from the date of hire, the Child Nutrition Director’s salary may be paid from the nonprofit food service account.
      3. (C) If the certification process is not begun within twelve (12) months of the date of hire, any funds paid from the nonprofit food service account must be refunded to that account from district operating funds.

   8. (8)

      1. (A) All information and documentation submitted for certification as a Child Nutrition Director must be:

         1. (i) Timely;
         2. (ii) Accurate;
         3. (iii) Authentic; and
         4. (iv) Unaltered in any way.
      2. (B) Any certification issued as a result of a violation of the above mentioned will be null and void.
      3. (C) Any certification found to have been issued as a result of the above mentioned will be rescinded.
   9. (9) The Child Nutrition Unit, Department of Education, as authorized by the State Board of Education, reserves the right to amend and/or rescind any certification that has been issued in error.

Codification Notes: "SFNS" means School Food Nutrition Services.