The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) provides the option to offer free meals to all students in eligible high poverty Local Education Agencies (LEA) and schools without collecting household applications.  Eligible LEAs and schools use a claiming percentage based on the number of identified students (primarily directly certified students) of at least 40%, multiplied by a factor of 1.6, to determine a free claiming percentage.  The difference between the free claiming percentage and 100% determines the percentage of meals to claim in the paid category.

Provided below is information to help determine if CEP is a good option for your LEA. 

Please Note:

This resource does not reflect the changes made by the Final Rule published on September 26, 2023, which lowered the minimum identified student percentage required to elect CEP from 40% to 25%.

Overview & Guidance

• Eligible and Near  Eligible LEA's - Annual Notification 15-39% For New
• New Final Rule - CEP Mid-Year Election Guidance
• Community Eligibility Provision for School Year 2023-2024 Election Deadline
• CEP Estimator Tool
• CEP Learning Module
• DirectMatch User Guidance
• ​Program Packet (Application Instructions) 
  • ISP Site List Report Instructions (Due by April 15th)
  • CEP Policy Statement Form (Due by June 30th) 
  • ISP Supporting Documentation Instructions (Due by June 30th)
  • ISP Worksheet for LEAs: Calculating the Identified Student Percentage​
  • ​Web Application Instructions (Due by June 30th)
  • Sample Media Release
  • Sample Household Letter
• Final Rule: Community Eligibility Provision
• Planning and Implementation Guidance - SP-61-2016
• CEP Evaluation
• Community Eligibility Provision: Guidance and Updated Q&As - SP 54-2016
• Community Eligibility Provision: Q&As 2014 - SP 21-2014 (v.2)
• Title I
  • Title 1 Guidance for School Year 2023-2024
  • Revised Nonregulatory Guidance on Title 1 Equitable Services (2023)
  • SP-35-2015: Community Eligibility Provision: Revised Department of Education Title I Guidance
• E-Rate
  • SP-08-2015: Updated E-Rate Guidance for Schools Electing Community Eligibility

USDA Memos

• SP-20-2017:  Community Eligibility Provision: Annual Notification and Publication Requirements 
• SP-09-2024:  Community Eligibility Provision: Guidance and Updated Q&As
• SP-52-2016:  Early Implementation of Eligibility Carryover Period for Students Transitioning from Provision Schools: State Agency Extension Option
• SP-51-2016:  Ensuring Year-long Eligibility in the School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs 
• SP-30-2016:  Extension of the Deadline for Local Educational Agencies to Elect the Community Eligibility Provision for School Year 2016-17
• SP-10-2015: Area Eligibility in Child Nutrition Programs

Reports

CEP SY 2024-2025

• Eligible and Near Eligible LEAs- Annual Notification 

  • Please note:

    For SY 24-25, LEA or school-specific identified student data is not readily available at this time.  This report uses the number of directly certified students (e.g., with SNAP and/or with other eligible assistance programs, as applicable) as a proxy for the number of identified students. This data does not fully reflect the number of identified students. This data used is not reflective of April 1 of the current school year, this data is intended for informational purposes only and do not confer eligibility to elect CEP.   This data will be updated when actual data is available, soon.  

    RESOURCES:

    SP-09-2024- Community Eligibility Provision: Guidance and Updated Q & As

CEP SY 2023-2024

• Eligible and Near Eligible LEAs - Annual Notification
• Eligible and Near Eligible LEAs by Site - Annual Notification

CEP SY 2022-2023

• Eligible and Near Eligible LEAs - Annual Notification
• Eligible and Near Eligible LEAs by Site - Annual Notification
• LEAs Electing CEP with Identified Student Percentage by Site

CEP SY 2021-2022

• LEAs Eligible and Potentially Eligible
• LEAs Electing CEP with Identified Student Percentage by Site

CEP SY 2020-2021

• LEAs Electing CEP with Identified Student Percentage by Site
• Eligible and Near Eligible LEAs - Annual Notification
• Eligible and Near Eligible LEAs by Site - Annual Notification

CEP SY 2019-2020

• LEAs Electing CEP with Identified Student Percentage by Site
• Eligible and Near Eligible LEAs - Annual Notification
• Eligible and Near Eligible LEAs by Site - Annual Notification

CEP SY 2018-2019

• LEAs Electing CEP with Identified Student Percentage by Site
• Eligible and Near Eligible LEAs - Annual Notification
• Eligible and Near Eligible LEAs by Site - Annual Notification

CEP SY 2017-2018

• ​LEAs Electing CEP with Identified Student Percentage by Site
• Eligible and Near Eligible LEAs - Annual Notification
• Eligible and Near Eligible LEAs by Site - Annual Notification

Resources

Resources

• Joint CEP Letter
• CEP Presentation - Community Eligibility Basics: How CEP can Transform Your Schools
• ​CEP Participants - Daily Meal Count Form
• State Agency ISP Checklist: Checking Identified Student Percentage Accuracy
• CEP End of Cycle Sample Letter
• CEP Partial District Sample Letter

CEP Calculators

• Traditional vs CEP Comparison (This is a tool to assist in determining if CEP is beneficial for  you based on monthly reimbursement.)
• CEP Monthly Federal Reimbursement Estimator  (This is a tool to assist in determining whether the CEP is right for you based on your monthly reimbursement.)