According to the Food Research & Action Center’s (FRAC) recent report, Community Eligibility: The Key to Hunger-Free Schools, participation in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) continued to grow in the 2023–2024 school year, with one out of every two National School Lunch Program schools utilizing CEP to increase students’ access to healthy school meals. CEP allows high-need schools to offer all students school meals at no charge, thus eliminating stigma, increasing school meal participation, and fighting childhood food insecurity. The provision has seen widespread success since first becoming available nationwide in the 2014–2015 school year. Last school year, over 47,000 schools adopted CEP, reaching more than 23 million children each school day.   

FRAC’s 2024 report details national and state-level CEP utilization for the 2023–2024 school year. For the second year in a row, the number of school districts using CEP has grown, with over 7,700 school districts implementing CEP, a 20 percent increase from the 2022–2023 school year. Last school year, nearly 85 percent of eligible schools implemented CEP, the highest adoption rate the provision has seen since being created. Much of this growth is fueled by state policies that support Healthy School Meals for All and CEP adoption, as well as Medicaid Direct Certification, which increases a school’s ability to successfully implement CEP. 

CEP has numerous benefits for students, families, schools, and communities. Research shows that CEP increases school meal participation: When the barriers of stigma and cost are removed, more children consume the nutritious school meals that support their growth and academic success. CEP has also been shown to combat child and household food insecurity, which helps to ensure that students can focus on their studies rather than their hunger. CEP also improves school food operations, reduces administrative burdens, increases operational efficiencies, eliminates school meal debt, and allows school nutrition departments to focus on what they do best: feeding children wholesome and nourishing meals.   

Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a final rule, Community Eligibility Provision — Increasing Options for Schools, which lowered the eligibility threshold for schools to participate in CEP. While this regulatory change is an important step toward Healthy School Meals for All, many newly eligible schools will be unable to participate in CEP without additional support and funding. To ensure that all CEP-eligible schools can adopt this vital nutrition program, FRAC is advocating for the following: 

  • Increase federal reimbursements for CEP: In lieu of the traditional tiered reimbursement structure, CEP schools are reimbursed based on their identified student percentage (ISP) — the percent of students deemed eligible for free school meals based on participation in another means-tested program — times the federal CEP multiplier. The current CEP multiplier, 1.6, is financially inadequate for many CEP schools, particularly those at lower eligibility levels. To make CEP a more financially viable option for high-need schools, Congress must increase the multiplier from 1.6 to 2.5.

    Multiple bills proposed during the 118 Congress would strengthen CEP by increasing the multiplier, thus allowing more eligible schools to participate. These bills must be pushed forward in the new Congress to increase CEP’s reach, particularly among newly eligible schools. 

 

  • Strengthen direct certification: Direct certification is the process of matching eligible children to free school meals, without using a school meal application, due to their participation in another federal assistance program, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). It is the process through which schools calculate their ISP, thus providing the basis for CEP reimbursement. Best practices to strengthen direct certification, such as adopting Medicaid Direct Certification and increasing match frequency, improve schools’ ability to implement CEP. Currently, 43 states use Medicaid data to match eligible students to free school meals. The remaining seven states — Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, and South Dakota — as well as the District of Columbia, are strongly encouraged to apply to implement Medicaid Direct Certification to support better access to school meals and strengthen schools’ ability to implement CEP. Learn more about Medicaid Direct Certification by reading USDA’s Request for Proposals.  

CEP is an important pathway to the ultimate goal of Healthy School Meals for All, where every student, in every state, has access to the nutrition they need to learn and succeed. Now is the time to strengthen this essential public health program and provide children with the nutritional foundation they need for lifelong success.  

Learn more about CEP in Community Eligibility: The Key to Hunger-Free Schools.