On March 13, 2026, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued Policy Memorandum SP 04-2026: Community Eligibility Provision—Election Deadline and Annual Notification and Publication Requirements. You can view this policy memo on the USDA Food and Nutrition Service Documents and Resources web page
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The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is a four-year alternative meal counting and collection procedure. Participation in the CEP improves program efficiency and reduces administrative burdens at the local level by simplifying the traditional operating procedures for meal eligibility and meal counting while eliminating the meal application process. For more information on the CEP, please visit the California Department of Education (CDE) CEP web page.
Reporting Requirements for the California Department of Education
NO ACTION REQUIRED BY SCHOOLS
Regulations at Title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (7 CFR), Section 245.9(f)(7)
require the CDE to publish a list of local educational agencies (LEA) and schools that are eligible or near eligible to participate in the CEP by May 1 of each year. Eligible LEAs and schools are those with identified student percentages (ISP) that are 25 percent or higher. Near eligible LEAs and schools are those with ISPs less than 25 percent but greater than or equal to 15 percent.
Based on information LEAs submit to the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System for School Year (SY) 2025–26 and data from the annual Verification Report in the Child Nutrition Information and Payment System (CNIPS), the CDE collects the eligible and near eligible data and will post this no later than May 1, 2026, to the CDE CEP web page.
Regulations at 7 CFR, Section 245.9(f)(6)
also require the CDE to notify all LEAs that are eligible or near eligible to participate in the CEP districtwide by April 15, based on available current student data. The CDE will post the SY 2025–26 districtwide eligible/near eligible report to the CNIPS Download Forms section no later than April 15, 2026.
Please note that the CDE collects this data on behalf of the LEA and no action is required from the LEA for this reporting requirement. These reports include proxy data and are informational only and do not automatically qualify your LEA or school for participating in the CEP. Eligibility to participate in the CEP is based on your LEA’s application and ISP as of April 1 of the school year prior to participating in the CEP.
As a reminder, per 7 CFR, Section 245.9(f)(4)(i)
, the deadline to apply for the CEP for SY 2026–27 is June 30, 2026. If LEAs miss the June 30 election deadline, they must wait until next year to elect CEP.
For information on the application process and to determine your LEA’s ISP, please refer to CDE Management Bulletin SNP-10-2025: Community Eligibility Provision Application web page.