Fees

You may be eligible for a waiver of your school fees depending on your household income.

Eligibility

As stated in Section 4:140 of the Board of Education's District Policy Manual, a student shall be eligible for a fee waiver when the student currently lives in a household that meets the same income guidelines, with the same limits based on household size, that are used for the federal free meals program.

Not sure if your family is eligible for a fee waiver? Consult the INCOME ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES. These are the same figures used to determine eligibility for free meals (next section).

Fee Waiver Applications 2025-26

• 2025-26 Fee Waiver Application (English)
• 2025-26 Fee Waiver Application (Spanish)

Fill out the application and submit it with all required documents in one of the following ways:

BY EMAIL

• Send the application and documents to feewaiver@epcusd401.org

BY POSTAL MAIL

Mail the application and documents to this address: 
Elmwood Park CUSD 401
Business Office — Fee Waiver
8201 W Fullerton
Elmwood Park IL 60707

Our business office will review your application and contact you with a decision.

Other Factors Considered in a Waiver Application

Additional consideration will be given to a waiver application where one or more of the following factors are present:

• Illness in the family
• Unusual expenses such as fire, flood, storm damage, etc.
• Unemployment
• Emergency situations
• When one or more of the parents/guardians are involved in a work stoppage

For more information, see Section 4:140 of the District Policy Manual.

Make Sure Your Application Is Complete

Remember to include:

• The completed Fee Waiver Application Form
• Supporting documentation verifying your income

Income requirements are subject to change.

District 401 students may qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Eligibility thresholds are determined each year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture based on household size and income level. To apply for the 2025-26 school year, use this link starting on July 1, 2025:

• Free & Reduced-Price Online Application

An approved application is only good for one school year and 30 days into the new school year. You must send in a new application unless you received a letter stating your child is eligible for the new school year.

More Information

Please see the rows below for additional information about free and reduced-price lunch.

Notification of Students & Families

At the beginning of each school year, District 401 shall notify by letter all students and their parents/guardians of:

• Eligibility requirements for free and reduced-price food service
• The application process
• The name and telephone number of a contact person for the program
• Other information required by federal law

Parents/guardians enrolling a child in the District for the first time shall receive the eligibility information regardless of when during the school year the enrollment takes place.

Income Eligibility Guidelines

Not sure if your family is eligible for free or reduced-priced meals? View the income eligibility guidelines. The figures for free meal eligibility are also used to determine eligibility for District 401 fee waivers.

How to Apply

To apply for free or reduced-price meals for the 2025-26 school year, use this online application beginning on July 1, 2025, or contact Pam Kelso in the District 401 Business Office at 708-583-5841. Ms. Kelso is the primary contact for free and reduced lunch applications.

Until Notified of Your Status

Please send your students with a bag lunch or money to purchase lunch at school until you are notified of your free/reduced status.

If you qualified for free or reduced-price meals last school year, you can continue on the program for the first two weeks of school.

District 401's Policy on Free and Reduced-Price Meals

Each school's procedures in this area are governed by District 401's policy on free and reduced-price food services, which can be found in Section 4:130 of the Board of Education's District Policy Manual.

District 401 schools offer MySchoolBucks as a convenient method to pay for student meals.

This online payment service provides a quick and easy way to add money to your student’s meal account by using a credit/debit card or electronic check.

With MySchoolBucks, you can view cafeteria purchases, check your student's balance, receive low balance alerts and pay for school meals. 

How to Enroll in MySchoolBucks

Enrollment is easy. Just follow these steps:

• Go to myschoolbucks.com or download the mobile app
• Create your free account and add your students using their school name / student ID
• Add funds using your credit / debit card or electronic check
  Note: For each transaction, you will be charged a program fee of [AMOUNT]
• Set up automatic payments and never forget to send in lunch money again 

For More Information

If you have any questions, contact MySchoolBucks directly in any of these ways:

• By email at parentsupport@myschoolbucks.com
• By phone at 1-855-832-5226
• By website at myschoolbucks.com (click on Help/FAQs)
• By logging into your account and starting a chat conversation

If a student leaves D401 after paying all required fees, the following refund policy applies:

• Less than or equal to first week of school: 75%
• Less than or equal to 2nd week of school: 50%
• Less than or equal to 3rd week of school: 25%
• After the 3rd week of school: 0%

About

Board of Education Policy 6:140 Education of Homeless Students provides that any homeless child shall be immediately admitted, even if the child or child's parent/guardian is unable to produce records normally required for enrollment. A homeless child may attend the district school that the child attended when permanently housed or in which the child was last enrolled. A homeless child living in any district school's attendance area may attend that school. Students eligible for services under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act shall have transportation provided to them in accordance with both state and federal law. Homeless students will also have all school fees waived and will become automatically eligible for free or reduced cost meals provided by the District.

For more information about Homeless Student/McKinney-Vento Services, please visit the West 40 Community Resources.

Who Qualifies for this Help?

McKinney-Vento eligible children are those who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime abode. In general, children or youth living in motels, transitional housing, shelters, the street, cars, abandoned buildings, and other inadequate accommodations may be considered eligible for McKinney-Vento services. This includes, but is not limited to, the following groups:

• Doubled-up children: living with another family due to lack of a permanent residence
• Children in shelters: including transitional living programs
• Children living in motels: due to lack of alternative adequate living situation
• Migratory children: if accommodations are not fit for habitation
• Runaways*: children who have left home and live in a shelter or inadequate accommodations, even if parents are willing to provide a home
• Lockouts*: children whose parents or guardians will not permit them to live at home

*These two categories are Unaccompanied Homeless Youth (UHY), children not in the physical custody of their parent or court-ordered guardian and lack a fixed, regular and adequate abode.

Dispute Resolution Process

When a disagreement arises regarding the eligibility of a student under McKinney-Vento and/or McKinney-Vento services provided to that student, the LEA Liaison can't resolve it.