COMMUNITY ELIGIBILITY PROVISION (CEP)
Frequently Asked Questions - Overview
INTRODUCTION
What is Community Eligibility Provision?
The community eligibility provision is an innovative universal free meal service option designed to
make it easier for low-income children to receive meals in the National School Lunch and School
Breakfast Programs. The CEP is an alternative to collecting, approving and verifying household
eligibility applications for free and reduced price eligible students in high poverty local education
agencies.
How can we quality?
To be eligible for the Community Eligibility Provision, the Local Educational Agency/school
must:

Have a school or combinations of schools, within the county, that meet or exceed the 40%
directly certified students (as a percentage of enrollments as of April 1, 2014) are eligible
to participate in CEP. As long as schools are in the same LEA, they may be randomly
grouped together to become eligible for CEP.

Have a percentage of enrolled students who were Identified Students as of April 1 of the
year prior to participating in the Community Eligibility Provision that is greater than or
equal to 40 percent. For School Year 2014‐2015 participation, the percentage of
Identified Students is determined as of April 1, 2014. * You must use the data file provided
to you by OCN to determine your identified student.
o The law defines Identified Students as “students certified based on documentation
of benefit receipt or categorical eligibility. This primarily includes students who are
directly certified for free meals on the basis of their participation in the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the Food Stamp
Program) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. It also includes
homeless, runaway and migrant youth. It does not include students who are
categorically eligible based on submission of a free and reduced price
application.
o The number of Identified Students is reported annually by each LEA in Question 4‐
1 of the FNS‐742, Verification Summary Report.
Example of Grouping
Schools
A
B
Grouping A & B


# of DC
Students
66
22
88
Total Enrollment
133
59
192
% of Identified
Students*
49.62
37.29
45.8
Qualify for CEP
Yes
No
Yes
% Identified Students = DC/Total Enrollment x 100
Both Schools would use 45.8 as the % of Indentified Students x Multiplier for
Reimbursement
What are the advantages and disadvantages of CEP?
The advantages are:
 All students are served a free breakfast and lunch
 Reduces paperwork at the school district level
 Simplifies meal counting and claiming
 Eliminates the need to address Paid Lunch Equity
 Provides potential labor savings
 Increases in breakfast and lunch participation
 Eliminates overt identification issues for students
 Improves nutrition to students at risk
Some disadvantages are:
 Potential financial issues when less than 100% claiming rate
 Unresolved issues on funding related to the counting of students eligible for free and
reduced meals (e-rate, Title I)
How and when can we apply?
GO Button 4 replaces the paper Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) paper application. You
can apply anytime between April 7, 2014 and June 30, 2014. Please note: If you do not meet the
June 30th deadline then your CEP application will be rejected per CEP guidance.
Do we need to apply every year?
Once an LEA or school is approved, it may participate in the program for duration of four
consecutive years without having to reapply. However, if an LEA or school has a higher Identified
Student Percentage it would be beneficial to reapply and receive a higher rate of meals
reimbursed at the free rate.
What if we want to opt out?
If approved and accepted into the CEP program, LEAs and schools are required to participate for
the entire school year. If an LEA or school decides the program is not beneficial to them, they
may opt out of the program. LEA’s or schools wishing to opt out of CEP must notify Keri Kennedy
at keri.kennedy@access.k12.wv.us by June 30th for the following school year.
How does the reimbursement work?
It is also understood that to account for low-income families not reflected in the direct certification
data, USDA will set meal reimbursement levels for CEP schools by a multiplier established in the
act which is 1.6 for SY 2014-2015. This multiplier will be applied to the percentage of students
identified through direct certification. The remaining percentage of meals will be reimbursed at
the Federal “paid” rate.
Example:
Identified Students = (# of students directly certified/total enrollment)
Identified Students as of April 1, 2013: 63% (0.63 x 1.6 = 100)

100% of Students Claimed at the Free Rate
It is important to note that schools may conduct direct certification on a yearly basis (for each of
the four years), and if the most current data shows an increase in the percentage of enrolled
students who are directly certified, the school may use that percentage for determining USDA
reimbursement. Conversely, if the data shows a decrease, the school may continue to use the
original percentage.
LEA’s and schools will continue to be required to count the number of meals served.
Will the 1.6 multiplier change?
Federal law States that the multiplier is 1.6 through SY 2014-2015 (July 1, 2014 – June 30,
2015). After that time, FNS is permitted to change the multiplier to a new between 1.3 and 1.6.
Schools electing the CEP will keep the same number for an entire four year cycle.
After 1 year can you change back or are you locking in for 4 years and can you add more sites
after year 1 if you choose to participate by site?
You always have the option to withdraw at the end of the school year. Yes, you can add more
Sites. After Year 1, however, there are rules regarding how you add the additional sites.
For example if you start CEP with 2 schools for school year 2013/2014 and they are grouped
together, then for SY 2014/2015 you want to add a new school to the original group, then those
existing schools will withdraw and then all 3 of the sites will start CEP as a group for
SY2014/2015.
This means you would need to have the new Identified Student numbers for ALL 3 of those sites,
not just the 1 brand new school. And you would need to submit a new application.
However, the same scenario, but the 1 new site you want to add for SY14/15 is going to be a
single site, they will not be grouped with the original 2 school group, then the original group of 2
schools stays as it was and the new CEP site will start up a year after the original group. In this
instance you would only need Identified Student numbers for the 1 brand new site. You would
submit a new application for only the new site.
Basically, yes, you can add new sites to CEP any year; however, if adding in that new site or sites
changes any of the existing CEP sites or groups make up then ALL of the sites will need to have
new Identified Student counts and new applications.
How will area eligibility percentages (for CACFP, including the at-risk afterschool meals
component, and the Summer Food Service Program) be determined for CEP Schools?
Area eligibility determinations are made based on individual school data. Schools electing CEP
must use the most current school level identified percentage multiplied by the 1.6 factor to
determine if the school meets the 50 percent free and reduced price area eligibility. Area
eligibility determinations for schools electing CEP as part of a group of schools or school district
must be based on the individual school data rather than district wide data.
How will you determine the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FVVP) awards made for CEP
schools?
School level CEP percentages (the school level number of identified students divided by the
school level enrollment multiplied by 1.6) will need to be determined for the purposes of awarding
FFVP funds. Schools in districts electing the CEP district wide or as part of a group of schools
electing the CEP with a shared identified student percentage must use the individual school CEP
percentages for the purposes of awarding FFVP funds.
What is the most critical thing a county needs to do in order to be successful in CEP?
Putting strategies in place to increase participation in breakfast and lunch is the most critical issue
a county must address to be successful in CEP. Improving student access to breakfast and lunch
through innovative breakfast/lunch programs and incorporating breakfast into the instructional day
will drastically increase participation. Furthermore creating menus and preparing meals that
reflect more cooking from scratch also has a positive impact on participation.