Community Eligibility Option
(CEO) and Title I
Suzette Cook
Title I Coordinator
Office of Title I
West Virginia Department of Education
June 2012
Objectives
• Provide an overview of the USDA’s
Community Eligibility Option (CEO)
• Identify School Eligibility
Requirements
• Develop working knowledge of CEO
and Title I
• Questions and Answers????
CEO Background
• Section 104(a) of the Healthy, Hunger Free Act of
2010 amended the Richard B. Russell National
School Lunch Act to provide an alternative to
household eligibility applications for free and
reduced price meals in high poverty local
educational agencies (LEAs) and schools.
• CEO is a four-year reimbursement option for
eligible high poverty LEAs and schools.
• LEAs and schools may opt in or opt out each
year.
• An LEA may participate in CEO for some or all
schools in the LEA.
CEO Requirements for Schools
• As of April 1, determine the school has
a minimum level (40%) identified
students (NOT your free/reduced
count) in the year prior to
implementing the option.
– April 1, 2012 for the 2012-2013 school
year.
• Agree to serve no-cost lunches and nocost breakfasts to all students for up to
four consecutive years in approved
schools.
CEO Requirements for Schools
• Agree to cover with non-Federal funds
any costs of providing free meals to all
students above amounts provided in
Federal assistance.
• Do not collect free and reduced price
applications from households in
participating schools during the period
of participation in the CEO.
• Maintain a total count of breakfasts and
lunches served to students at the
point(s) students receive meals.
Identified Students
• Identified students:
– Directly certified for free meals on the basis
of their participation in the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF) and the extension of benefits to
students within the same household.
– Homeless
– Runaway
– Migrant
– Head Start
– Foster Child
Identified Students
• The percent of Identified Students may
be determined school-by-school, by a
group of schools within the LEA, or in
the aggregate for an entire LEA.
• % Identified Students =
# of Identified Students as of April 1 X 100
Total Enrollment* as of April 1
• *Enrollment is defined as number of
students with access to the NSLP and
SBP enrolled in the school as of April 1,
2012
Identified Students
The percent Identified Students is
then multiplied by the USDA
determined factor of 1.6 for SY 20122013. The resulting answer, capped at
100%, is the percentage of total meals
served reimbursed at the Federal free
rate of reimbursement. The remaining
percentage of meals is claimed and
reimbursed at the paid rate.
CEO Reimbursement
• Reimbursement is based on claiming
percentages derived from the percentage of
Identified Students times a multiplier*
established in the law. The claiming percentages
established for a school in the First Year are
guaranteed for a period of four school years and
may be increased if direct certification
percentages rise for that school/group of
school/district.
• *Multiplier: (Range: 1.3-1.6)*
• 1.6 will be used through SY 2013-2014. After that
time, USDA is permitted to change the multiplier.
Schools electing CEO will use the same multiplier
for the entire four-year cycle.
Example
• School A has 100 students enrolled as
of April 1
• 50 of those students are in the
“Identified Students” group
• School A has an Identified Student
percentage of 50%.
• 50% X 1.6 = 80% Free Reimbursement
Rate and 20% Paid Reimbursement
Rate
• 80 students X per pupil expenditure =
Title I school allocation
Example of Grouping
Schools
# of DC
Students
Enrollment
% of Identified
Students
Qualify for CEO
A
66
133
49.62
Yes
B
22
59
37.29
No
192
45.8
Yes
Grouping A & B 88
For Title I project purposes, the numbers and percentage
rankings remain as individual school numbers. Do not apply the
grouping average to the Title I school allocation process. The
grouping procedure is used only for CEO purposes.
Impact on Other Programs
• It is important for all stakeholders to understand
CEO prior to making the decision to participate
and/or to anticipate issues that may arise.
• Schools that participate in CEO will not have a
student meal application process. You will not
know if Student A is eligible for free, reduced
price, or paid meal benefits.
• All students in a Title I CEO school would be
eligible for Supplemental Education Services and
priority for public school choice would be based
only on lowest-achieving students.
• Students in a CEO school are all classified as
‘Low SES’ for accountability purposes.
Title I Guidance from
U.S. Dept. of Education
• Letters were issued for the 2011-2012
school term to the three states that
initially participated in the CEO pilot:
Illinois, Kentucky, and Michigan
• Conference call with Todd Stevenson
on June 13, 2012
• Letter to West Virginia to be issued
soon
Example of Allocations with a
combination of CEO/non-CEO schools
1
2
3
4
School
CEO
(Y/N)
Enrollment
Stanley N
Davies
5
6
7
8
9
5-17
Multi- Identified
needy
plier
Students
students X 1.6 Number
Percent of
needy
students
Per
pupil
amount
Title I
Allocation
500
475
N/A
475
95%
$500
$237,500
Y
600
350
1.6
560
93%
$500
$280,000
Ford
N
450
400
N/A
400
89%
450
$180,000
Hypes
N
400
200
N/A
200
50%
450
$90,000
Sullivan
N
500
100
N/A
100
20%
N/A
0
Total
N/A
2450
N/A
N/A
1,735
71%
N/A
$787,500
Without CEO – Davies School is 58% poverty and gets $157,500.
Time to Practice
• With your tablemates, complete the
‘Application and Synthesis’
assignment using the Barbour County
data.
• Select a recorder and reporter.
• Chart your results and be prepared to
share.
Work Time
• Barbour County Data
– 2011-2012 Title I Schools
– October 2011 (5-17) Free/Reduced
lunch data
– Direct Certified Data
•
•
•
•
Total # of Direct Certified Students
Total Student Count
Percentage Direct Certified
% Meals Claimed as Free
Application and Synthesis
1. Use the 5-17 report to rank schools in order of
percent needy – highest to lowest.
2. Use the CEO Direct Certified List to rank schools in
order of percent needy – highest to lowest.
3. Compare list from Number 1 to list from Number 2.
Are the schools in the same rank order? Identify
differences noted.
4. Review the Title I schools list – then, find a way to
‘group’ schools together to make the current Title I
schools eligible for CEO without changing the ranking
you created in Number 1.
5. Find a way to ‘group’ schools together to make
everyone eligible for CEO – without changing the
ranking you created in Number 1.
Questions