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SDLA Compliance Resource

Elect the Community Eligibility Provision for 2027–28

A four-year meal-claiming decision that replaces household meal applications with direct-certification-based reimbursement and requires program, fiscal, data, and governing approval.

  • Community Eligibility Provision
  • Universal Meals
  • Planning
Date(s)June 30, 2027
Applies toSFAs considering CEP for eligible schools or groups; California LEAs with high-poverty schools must also evaluate the state federal-provision requirement

In Plain Language: Model the eligible school/group configurations using validated identified-student and enrollment data, assess federal and state reimbursement and nonfederal cost exposure, obtain approval, and submit the complete CEP application package to CDE by June 30 for 2027–28 implementation.

Why this matters

CEP can reduce household paperwork and support no-cost meals, but the four-year election changes claiming, data collection, LCFF/SUN Bucks processes, and fiscal risk. A high ISP does not eliminate the need for a documented model and implementation plan.

Primary ownership

Primary owner: nutrition director with chief business official. Partners: direct-certification/CALPADS, enrollment, LCFF/data, federal programs/Title I, SUN Bucks, fiscal, school leadership, governing authority, and the assigned SNP specialist.

Operational workflow

  1. 1. Validate enrollment and identified-student source records for each potential school and grouping.
  2. 2. Calculate ISP, claiming percentages, projected federal/state reimbursement, meal participation, and nonfederal cost under multiple configurations.
  3. 3. Assess effects on LCFF, Title I, SUN Bucks/UBA, data collection, POS, communications, and verification reporting.
  4. 4. Choose and approve the configuration; complete the current SNP-71, SNP-19, SNP-55, supporting source records, and any required procedures.
  5. 5. Submit to CDE by June 30, respond to preapproval review, and implement only after approval.

Implementation pathway

Validate ISP
Model configurations
Assess dependencies
Approve/apply
CDE approval

Evidence to retain

  • School/group eligibility and ISP source workbook
  • Financial and participation models
  • Cross-program impact analysis
  • Decision/governing approval
  • Complete application forms and source documents
  • CDE submission, questions, and approval

Official guidance and help

Source review completed August 30, 2026. Verify current CDE, USDA, CNIPS, local eligibility, fiscal, and food-safety instructions before acting.