Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)
Overview
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 25 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, 2026 |
Annual Intent Form | Accepted May 1 - June 30, 2026 |
CEP Application | Accepted May 1 - June 30, 2026 |
- Run DC for all sites with the full enrollment
- Submit the Agreement Form and Eligibility Worksheet
CEP Application
- CEP Agreement Form. All LEAs applying for CEP must complete the CEP Agreement Form.
- CEP Eligibility Worksheet. Complete the CEP Eligibility Worksheet and submit with the signed CEP Agreement Form.
Annual Intent Form
CEP Counting and Claiming
Meal Count Tracking Sheets
Resources
- Annual Requirements
- Visiting and Transfer Students
- USDA Guidance
- Community Eligibility Provision: Planning and Implementation Guidance - Updated SP 08-2024, USDA 2/6/24 *Note: Some links within this document may be broken. We are waiting on USDA for updated links*
- Community Eligibility Provision: Guidance and Updated Q&As SP 09-2024, USDA, 2/6/24
- Community Eligibility Provision: Statutory Annual Notification and Publication Requirements
- Community Eligibility Provision: State Agency Procedures to Ensure Identified Student Percentage Accuracy SP 11-2024, USDA, 2/6/24
- Calculating the ISP Worksheet
- CEP: Implementing the New Minimum Identified Student Percentage SP 22-2023, USDA, 09/26/23
- CEP Final Rule, USDA, 07/29/16
- USDA CEP Resource Center Webinars and Resources
- CEP: Commonly Asked Questions and Updates DPI SNT, 09/11/15 Annual Requirement: Special Provision Match DPI SNT, 10/9/15
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 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 cannot 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
- SP10-2023 Updated Title I Guidance for Making Within District Allocations
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.- E-Rate
- For more information about E-Rate, please visit the Wisconsin DPI E-Rate website.