Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)

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 In a Nutshell

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.
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.

CEP Planning and Implementation Guidance

LEA ISP Calculation Worksheet

How to Apply

Due to COVID-19, the USDA Food and Nutrition Service released a Nationwide Waiver of CEP Deadlines. The chart below summarizes the typical annual deadlines and the waiver deadlines for key CEP requirements. While the waiver deadlines allow flexibility in meeting CEP requirements, it is highly encouraged to complete the requirements by the typical annual deadline if at all possible.

CEP Requirement	Annual Deadline	Waiver Deadline
Full Enrollment Direct Certification Run for ISP	April 1	June 30, 2021
Annual Intent Form	June 30	September 30, 2021
CEP Application	June 30	September 30, 2021

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, located within the CEP application.

CEP Application Form

Applications are now being accepted for the 2021-22 school year.

Annual Intent Form (PDF)(Word Doc)

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 2020-21 Wisconsin Schools and Districts Participating in CEP
SY 2020-21 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

Webinars and Resources

Annual Requirements

Calendar of School Nutrition Requirements for CEP Schools
CEP Sample Letter to Households (Spanish) (Hmong)
CEP Public Release (For SFA-wide CEP) (Spanish)
CEP Public Release - Mixed District (SFA with CEP and Non-CEP sites) (Spanish)
Use of the Individual ISP

Counting and Claiming

Visiting and Transfer Students

Policy and Guidance

USDA:

CEP Final Rule, USDA, 07/29/16
CEP: Guidance and Updated Q&A SP 54-2016, USDA, 09/09/16
CEP: Annual Notification and Publication Requirements SP 11-2018, USDA, 03/15/18
Students Transferring from Provision to Non-Provision Schools SP 30-2019, USDA, 06/10/19

DPI SNT:

CEP: Commonly Asked Questions and Updates DPI SNT, 09/11/15
Annual Requirement: Special Provision Match DPI SNT, 10/9/15
Implications of the Community Eligibility Provision for Participating Schools and Districts DPI, June 2016

Title I and Other Funding Programs

Alternate Income Forms

DPI Alternate Household Income Form

For SFA-wide CEP:

The Alternate Household Income Application (Spanish) (Hmong) is a way to collect socioeconomic data from students in CEP schools. This application has been designed to be easy to complete, which assists in increasing the response rate from households.

Modified USDA Free and Reduced Application

For Group or Single Site CEP within One SFA (Mixed District):

It is permissible to use a modified version of the USDA Free and Reduced Meal Application for CEP and non-CEP schools. This application must include additional language regarding CEP and has been included in the documents below. Some of the benefits of this application include:

Only one application is needed for all schools in the district both CEP and non-CEP
If a student transfers from a CEP school to a non-CEP school, this application can be used to determine eligibility in the non-CEP school since it is a USDA form.

You must be able to identify applications that have only CEP students on them. These applications are not needed for meal eligibility and can not be included in Verification, Independent Review of Applications or as part of certification and benefit issuance during an Administrative Review. There is a box on the application to assist with tracking.

Even though this is a USDA application, the processing of applications with only CEP students on them, cannot be charged to the food service account since it is not needed for the school meal program eligibility determination. If there is an application with both CEP and non-CEP students listed, this application is needed to determine eligibility for non-CEP students and is permissible to charge to the food service account.

Note: The additional CEP language is also required for online applications and supporting documents used in CEP schools. The CEP Modified USDA Application Requirements document outlines the required language to assist in communicating with software vendors.

Title I and Achievement Gap Reduction Program (AGR)

Title I

Title I of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA/ESEA) is a federal funding program designed to close achievement gaps and ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education.

DPI Title I webpage
This Title I Letter describes the Title I money allocation Process for LEAs opting CEP

AGR Program

The AGR Program fully replaced the Student Achievement Guarantee in Education program (SAGE) and requires a participating school to create performance objectives, including reducing the achievement gap between low−income students in that school and students in the same grade and subject statewide.

DPI AGR webpage

Contacts

Jessica Lessner

Nutrition Program Consultant

(608) 267-2293
jessica.lessner@dpi.wi.gov

Kirsten Homstad, MS, RDN, CD