Extension of Pandemic EBT Program Information

Dear Superintendent:

Through the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently authorized an extension of the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program through the 2020-2021 school year. This message provides details for sending information about students participating in free and reduced-priced meals to obtain this benefit.

The Ohio Department of Education is partnering with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) to ensure children and families receive this important benefit. The P-EBT benefit will be issued by ODJFS based on data provided by your district or school with assistance from the Information Technology Centers (ITCs).

The P-EBT program provides families eligible for free or reduced-price meals with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, formerly known as food stamps, in the amount of $5.86 (the federal reimbursement rate for breakfast and lunch) for each day the child is eligible for P-EBT.

NOTE: Please disregard this message if your school does not qualify or would not have participated in the National School Lunch Program in school year 2020-2021 had the pandemic not occurred. Traditional online charter schools also are not eligible.

P-EBT Eligible Schools and Students:

Under the Continuing Appropriations Act, the updated school year 2020-2021 P-EBT eligibility criteria was broadened to include more schools operating under non-standard schedules. Specifically, a child is eligible for P-EBT if the child is a current Preschool, Kindergarten or 1^st – 12^th grade student and would have attended a school building and received free or reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or School Breakfast Program if not for the COVID-19 health emergency; and meets one of the following scenarios:

1. The child does not receive free or reduced-price meals at the school because the school is not providing in-person instruction (includes virtual or remote learning) or has been operating with reduced attendance or hours for at least five consecutive days. Examples include the following:
   • A school with all students learning remotely;
   • A school operating a hybrid schedule for at least five days with in-person instruction occurring every other day (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) with virtual or remote learning on the other days (Tuesday, Thursday);
   • A school that operates at reduced hours during the day (child comes to the school building for only three hours per day) and the children do not receive a free or reduced-price meal while at school is now eligible for P-EBT. If the school is providing meals to eat at school, the school is not eligible for P-EBT.

          or

2. The child does not receive free or reduced-price meals at school because his or her parent or guardian has opted for the child to be fully remote or participate in virtual learning even though the school building he or she attends is hybrid or providing five day in-person instruction;

            or

3. The child attends a five-day, in-person instruction but does not receive free or reduced-price meals at school because the child was sick with COVID-19 or needed to quarantine because of COVID-19 for at least five consecutive days.

Free and Reduced-Priced Meal Eligibility

Recognizing that free and reduced-price meal programs are currently not operating normally, a child’s eligibility for free and reduced meals for P-EBT purposes can be based on any of the following:

• Direct certification for school year 2020-2021, or
• Certified through a free or reduced-price student meal application for school year 2020-2021, or
• Enrolled in a Community Eligibility Provision school or a school operating under Provision 2, or
• Directly certified, determined other source categorically eligible, or certified by application in school year 2019-2020 and the school district has not made a new school meal eligibility determination for the child in school year 2020-2021.

Please reference the P-EBT School and School District Question and Answer document for additional program qualification details.

Overview of School Year 2020-2021 Data Collection and January P-EBT Data Instructions:

There will be four data collection windows in school year 2020-2021:

• Feb. 2 deadline: submission of eligible Preschool, Kindergarten, and 1^st-12^th grade student data reflecting remote education or reduced hours of attendance with no meal provided at school from the first day of school (on or after Aug. 1) – Dec. 31, 2020;
• March 11 deadline: submission of eligible student data reflecting remote education or reduced hours of attendance with no meal provided at school from Jan. 1 – Feb. 28, 2021;
• May 13 deadline: submission of eligible student data reflecting remote education or reduced hours of attendance with no meal provided at school from March 1 – April 30, 2021;
• July 8: submission of eligible student data reflecting remote education or reduced hours of attendance with no meal provided at school from May 1 – June 30, 2021;

Instructions to submit data:

All schools, districts and eligible entities must submit their data through a secure data link that will be sent to schools from pebt-support@ohio-k12.org. The first collection of data must be submitted through the provided secure link by the end of the day on Feb. 2. Please do not email the student data to the Ohio Department of Education or to ODJFS.

• Include the data for students that were already submitted for August and September benefits and for any students that were missed in August and September but should have received the P-EBT including preschool students.
• Any students who have already had benefits issued in August and September will have the August/ September days adjusted accordingly based on the benefit already paid to avoid duplicate payments.
• Schools will be notified by the P-EBT Support team if their data submission requires corrections. Corrected data must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Feb. 23. If this deadline is missed, the corrected data will need to be added to the March data collection.

A communication with the technical details on submitting data with the secure link will be emailed to the NSLP Food Service Director that is registered with the Ohio Department of Education in the Claims Reimbursement and Reporting System (CRRS). This message will come from pebt-support@ohio-k12.org so please alert your staff to this. If the Food Service Director is not the desired contact for this service, please notify pebt-support@ohio-k12.org. 

The details also will be posted to the School Nutrition Program message page within the CRRS.

Once the student data is submitted and error free, schools should alert households of the upcoming P-EBT benefit using the schools’ typical methods of communication. Household flyers for use in English, Spanish and Somali will soon be available on the ODJFS P-EBT webpage.

Please note that data sharing is allowable among Food Authorities and State Agencies authorized to implement the P-EBT plan under Section 1101(e) of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA, P.L. 116-127). For more information, visit the USDA State Guidance on Coronavirus EBT(P-EBT), P-EBT Questions and Answers document.

 For questions about the process, contact Brigette Hires, Ohio Department of Education, at (614) 425-9760 or Brigette.Hires@education.ohio.gov. Thank you for your support and assistance as we work together to feed more children in Ohio.

Sincerely,

Paolo DeMaria

State Superintendent of Public Instruction

[1] The Ohio Department of Education defines remote learning as occurring when the learner and educator, or source of information, are separated by time and/or distance and, therefore, cannot meet in a traditional classroom setting. Remote learning can include approaches that are digital or analog.