This database holds data for 50 states and the District of Columbia for the 2023–2024 school year.
Search FRAC’s CEP database to determine which schools in your community or state are eligible for CEP and which eligible schools are participating in CEP. Download an Excel version of the data.
Questions & Answers about FRAC’s CEP Database
Q. What type of information can I pull from the database?
A. Each entry in the database contains the following information (when available) for a given school: state, school district, school name, identified student percentage (ISP), student enrollment, and current participation status.
Q. How do I search for my school or district?
A. Use the filters to find CEP-eligible schools by state, school district, ISP category, or CEP participation status.
Q. How do I choose more than one state or school district?
A. Hold down Ctrl+Shift simultaneously while making your selection.
Q. How was the information in the database gathered?
A. FRAC obtained information on schools that have adopted community eligibility from state education agencies or the state agency that administers the federal school nutrition programs. Between September 2023 and March 2024, FRAC collected these data:
- school name;
- school district name;
- identified student percentage (ISP);
- enrollment.
FRAC followed up with state education agencies for data clarifications and, when necessary, to obtain missing data.
Under federal law, states are required to publish, by May 1 of each year, a list of CEP-eligible and near-eligible schools and districts. When the 2023–2024 school year began, CEP-eligible schools and school districts were ones with ISPs of at least 40 percent, and near-eligible schools and school districts were those with ISPs between 30 percent and just under 40 percent. For most states, FRAC compared these published eligibility lists to the lists of adopting schools that the state agencies provided FRAC and compiled a universe of eligible and participating schools and districts in the 2023–2024 school year. FRAC gave the states the option to report both eligible and adopting schools in the CEP participation data collection. This gave states the opportunity to update their eligible schools list to reflect any school closures or consolidations. Fifteen states — Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia — provided both eligible and adopting schools for this analysis.
Q. How is the database different from previous years?
A. In October 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) expanded CEP eligibility to schools and school districts with an ISP of at least 25 percent and classified near-eligible schools and school districts as those with ISPs between 15 percent and just under 25 percent. Furthermore, USDA granted states the ability to waive the June 30, 2023 election deadline, thus allowing schools to adopt CEP at the new, lower thresholds until March 31, 2024. Twenty-eight states applied for a waiver allowing midyear adoption, although not every state had schools elect to participate in CEP at the lower threshold midyear. Given the varying allowance for midyear adoption at the 25 percent threshold, only schools that participated below 40 percent ISP were counted toward eligibility. Non-participating schools with ISPs lower than 40 percent were not counted toward eligibility.
Last Update 3/13/2025: Please be aware that state agencies may periodically republish their lists with updated data. FRAC will do its best to monitor newly published lists and update the database accordingly.