Important Legislative Change Affecting Schools with Provision 2, 3 or Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) Status

Hello,
You are receiving this message because you have subscribed to the Principal Apportionment (PASE) Listserv. Please note that you may receive multiple copies of this notice if you are subscribed to other listservs from the California Department of Education (CDE).
The purpose of this notice is to inform local educational agencies (LEAs) operating schools with Provision 2, 3, or CEP status of an important legislative change affecting data collection of Free and Reduced-Priced Meal (FRPM) eligibility. The change affects schools that have elected to establish a base year for purposes of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and only collect eligibility data once every four years.
Assembly Bill 176 (Chapter 998, Statutes of 2024) includes amendments to Education Code (EC) Section 42238.01 to allow Provision 2/3 and CEP schools to redetermine student FRPM eligibility for LCFF purposes during non-base years with the Alternative Income Form (AIF). This means that Provision 2/3 and CEP schools may collect AIFs for students whose FRPM eligibility changed after the base year.
The new Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (SUN Bucks) Program provides benefits to students based on individual eligibility for FRPM (SUN Bucks Announcement: www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/smmrebt2024announcement.asp). As a result, the CDE issued previous guidance in CALPADS Update Flash #269 (www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sp/cl/calpadsupdflash269.asp) and CALPADS Update Flash #282 (www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sp/cl/calpadsupdflash282.asp) that LEAs may accept AIFs during the school year from existing families regardless of whether it is the LEA’s LCFF base year, so students who became eligible after the base year may receive SUN Bucks benefits. For those that meet income eligibility requirements based on the new AIF, the LEA must submit FRPM records to CALPADS for those students to receive SUN Bucks benefits.
For the SUN Bucks program, a student is eligible for 2024 Sun Bucks benefits who had an FRPM record open in 2023–24, or who:
* Enrolled for the first time at a school participating in a federal meals program from July 1, 2024 – August 31, 2024, and submitted a National School Lunch Program (NSLP) application or AIF by August 31, 2024 (this mostly includes students in grades transitional kindergarten or kindergarten who are enrolling in a California public school for the first time in 2024−25), or
* During the 2023–24 school year either did not submit, or submitted an NSLP application or AIF but whose income changed during the eligibility period and submitted an updated application/form by August 31, 2024.
Students with an FRPM record start date on or after July 1, 2024, will also be eligible for 2025 SUN Bucks benefits and will be included in the 2024–25 Unduplicated Pupil Count for LCFF.
The LCFF Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and the Alternative Income Forms webpages have been updated to reflect the amendments to EC Section 42238.01:
* LCFF FAQs: www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/lc/lcfffaq.asp#PROV2and3 * Alternative Income Forms: www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/altincomeforms.asp
LEAs with Provision 2/3 status and/or CEP schools using the LCFF base year option should communicate to families that they must submit a new AIF if their FRPM eligibility has changed since the base year, for purposes of SUN Bucks and LCFF funding.
If you have questions about SUN Bucks, please contact the Nutrition Services Division at SummerEBT@cde.ca.gov<mailto:SummerEBT@cde.ca.gov> (Note: this email address is not for household inquires about SUN Bucks). Household inquiries about SUN Bucks should be directed to the California Department of Social Services customer service helpline at 1-877-328-9677.
If you have questions about LCFF, please contact the Principal Apportionment Section by email at PASE@cde.ca.gov<mailto:PASE@cde.ca.gov> or by phone at 916-324-4541.
Sincerely,
Principal Apportionment Section School Fiscal Services Division California Department of Education
The CDE PASE Listserv provides to local educational agencies and other interested parties important information pertaining to various apportionment-related items. If you no longer wish to receive information via the PASE Listserv, please follow the instructions provided on the CDE web page located at www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/#listserv. The same web page also provides information for anyone wanting to subscribe to the PASE Listserv.

________________________________ From: bounce-1989999-18161559@mlist.cde.ca.gov <bounce-1989999-18161559@mlist.cde.ca.gov> on behalf of PASE@cde.ca.gov <PASE@cde.ca.gov> Sent: Wednesday, October 9, 2024 2:49 PM To: John De Voto <apprtnmnt@outlook.com> Subject: Important Legislative Change Affecting Schools with Provision 2, 3 or Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) Status
Hello,
You are receiving this message because you have subscribed to the Principal Apportionment (PASE) Listserv. Please note that you may receive multiple copies of this notice if you are subscribed to other listservs from the California Department of Education (CDE).
The purpose of this notice is to inform local educational agencies (LEAs) operating schools with Provision 2, 3, or CEP status of an important legislative change affecting data collection of Free and Reduced-Priced Meal (FRPM) eligibility. The change affects schools that have elected to establish a base year for purposes of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and only collect eligibility data once every four years.
Assembly Bill 176 (Chapter 998, Statutes of 2024) includes amendments to Education Code (EC) Section 42238.01 to allow Provision 2/3 and CEP schools to redetermine student FRPM eligibility for LCFF purposes during non-base years with the Alternative Income Form (AIF). This means that Provision 2/3 and CEP schools may collect AIFs for students whose FRPM eligibility changed after the base year.
The new Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (SUN Bucks) Program provides benefits to students based on individual eligibility for FRPM (SUN Bucks Announcement: www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/smmrebt2024announcement.asp). As a result, the CDE issued previous guidance in CALPADS Update Flash #269 (www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sp/cl/calpadsupdflash269.asp) and CALPADS Update Flash #282 (www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sp/cl/calpadsupdflash282.asp) that LEAs may accept AIFs during the school year from existing families regardless of whether it is the LEA’s LCFF base year, so students who became eligible after the base year may receive SUN Bucks benefits. For those that meet income eligibility requirements based on the new AIF, the LEA must submit FRPM records to CALPADS for those students to receive SUN Bucks benefits.
For the SUN Bucks program, a student is eligible for 2024 Sun Bucks benefits who had an FRPM record open in 2023–24, or who:
* Enrolled for the first time at a school participating in a federal meals program from July 1, 2024 – August 31, 2024, and submitted a National School Lunch Program (NSLP) application or AIF by August 31, 2024 (this mostly includes students in grades transitional kindergarten or kindergarten who are enrolling in a California public school for the first time in 2024−25), or
* During the 2023–24 school year either did not submit, or submitted an NSLP application or AIF but whose income changed during the eligibility period and submitted an updated application/form by August 31, 2024.
Students with an FRPM record start date on or after July 1, 2024, will also be eligible for 2025 SUN Bucks benefits and will be included in the 2024–25 Unduplicated Pupil Count for LCFF.
The LCFF Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and the Alternative Income Forms webpages have been updated to reflect the amendments to EC Section 42238.01:
* LCFF FAQs: www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/lc/lcfffaq.asp#PROV2and3 * Alternative Income Forms: www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/altincomeforms.asp
LEAs with Provision 2/3 status and/or CEP schools using the LCFF base year option should communicate to families that they must submit a new AIF if their FRPM eligibility has changed since the base year, for purposes of SUN Bucks and LCFF funding.
If you have questions about SUN Bucks, please contact the Nutrition Services Division at SummerEBT@cde.ca.gov<mailto:SummerEBT@cde.ca.gov> (Note: this email address is not for household inquires about SUN Bucks). Household inquiries about SUN Bucks should be directed to the California Department of Social Services customer service helpline at 1-877-328-9677.
If you have questions about LCFF, please contact the Principal Apportionment Section by email at PASE@cde.ca.gov<mailto:PASE@cde.ca.gov> or by phone at 916-324-4541.
Sincerely,
Principal Apportionment Section School Fiscal Services Division California Department of Education
The CDE PASE Listserv provides to local educational agencies and other interested parties important information pertaining to various apportionment-related items. If you no longer wish to receive information via the PASE Listserv, please follow the instructions provided on the CDE web page located at www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/#listserv. The same web page also provides information for anyone wanting to subscribe to the PASE Listserv.