Overview
The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is a non-pricing meal service option for schools and school districts in low-income areas. CEP allows high-poverty schools and districts to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students without collecting household applications.
Schools and school districts interested in participating in CEP must apply. Approved CEP applications are valid for four years.
CEP for Participating Sites In a Nutshell
Benefits
- Lunch and breakfast are served free to all students in participating schools
- No household applications for free and reduced-price meals are collected
- No verification of free and reduced-price meals applications is required
- Potential for increased meal participation rates, especially breakfast
- Simplifies the counting and claiming process by not having to track meals by free, reduced-price and paid categories
- Benefits of Community Eligibility - Interactive Graphic
Considerations
- Meal participation level (district-wide, group or single site)
- Must cover any costs of providing meals above the amount provided in federal assistance with non-federal funds
- Non-Federal resources available to cover operating costs above Federal reimbursement. Use the USDA Monthly Federal Reimbursement Estimator to project the financial impact.
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Implications of the Community Eligibility Provision for Participating Schools and Districts - DPI Letter June 2016
Sites Eligible to Apply
- Districts, groups of schools, or single school sites must have an Identified Student Percentage (ISP) of at least 40 percent based on Direct Certification (DC) data as of April 1st of the prior school year to be eligible.
- Note: DC codes S, T, O, E, G, and M can be included in the ISP. N and Z codes cannot be included in the ISP.
- Participating sites must agree to serve both breakfast and lunch at no cost to all students for up to four consecutive school years.
- Residential Child Care Institutions (RCCIs) are not eligible to participate.
How to Apply
The chart below summarizes the annual deadlines for key CEP requirements.
CEP Requirement |
Deadline |
Full Enrollment Direct Certification Run for ISP |
April 1, 2023 |
Annual Intent Form |
June 30, 2023 |
CEP Application |
August 31, 2023 |
A Local Educational Agency (LEA) electing schools to participate in CEP must
- Run DC for all sites with the full enrollment
-
Submit the Agreement Form and Eligibility Worksheet
CEP Application
LEAs applying or reapplying for CEP must complete the CEP Agreement Form and CEP Eligibility Worksheet.
All LEAs applying for CEP must complete the CEP Agreement Form.
Complete the CEP Eligibility Worksheet and submit with the signed CEP Agreement Form.
Annual Intent Form
All participating LEAs must submit the Annual Intent Form to continue CEP participation for the succeeding school year.
CEP Reimbursement
Once approved for CEP, each site is assigned free and paid claiming percentages. These claiming percentages are automatically added to the online claiming system. There is no reduced-price reimbursement within CEP.
The SFA is responsible for tracking all reimbursable breakfasts and lunches served. Once the monthly claims are submitted, the claiming percentages are automatically applied to the total reimbursable breakfasts and lunches.
Reporting
- SY 2022-23 Wisconsin Schools and Districts Participating in CEP
- SY 2023-24 CEP LEA and School Notification Report
- Special Provision Match Form
- This form is required to be completed annually by all LEAs participating in CEP by October 31.
Resources
USDA CEP Resource Center
Annual Requirements
- Calendar of School Nutrition Requirements for CEP Schools
- CEP Notification Letter to Households (Spanish) (Hmong)
- CEP Public Release (For SFA-wide CEP) (Spanish) (Hmong)
- CEP Public Release (For Mixed CEP Districts) (Spanish)(Hmong)
- Use of the Individual ISP
Counting and Claiming
- POS Breakfast Meal Counts Form
- POS Lunch Meal Counts Form
- CEP Monthly POS Breakfast Count Form
- CEP Monthly POS Lunch Count Form
- CEP Meal Count Edit Check Form
Visiting and Transfer Students
- CEP Visiting Students Flow Chart
- Provision to non-Provision Transfer Student Flow Chart
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Provision to non-Provision Transfer and Carryover Template Letter
- Students Transferring from Special Provision Option School Q&A
Policy and Guidance
USDA:
- CEP: Annual Notification and Publication Requirements SP 09-2023, USDA, 03/17/23
- Students Transferring from Provision to Non-Provision Schools SP 30-2019, USDA, 06/10/19
- CEP: Guidance and Updated Q&A SP 54-2016, USDA, 09/09/16
- CEP Final Rule, USDA, 07/29/16
DPI SNT:
- CEP: Commonly Asked Questions and Updates DPI SNT, 09/11/15
- Annual Requirement: Special Provision Match DPI SNT, 10/9/15