Schools and Summer EBT

Most Eligible Students are Automatically Enrolled in S-EBT

Schools play a crucial role in this process by providing student-level enrollment and demographic data to the New York State Education Department (NYSED). The New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (NYSOTDA) accesses this data to issue benefits to families.

Schools Help Facilitate Automatic S-EBT Enrollment

Summer EBT Eligibility and Universal School Meals:

• Providing free meals to all students does not establish S-EBT eligibility for all enrolled students.
• Schools that collect alternative household or family income forms instead of FRPL applications must collect all of the information included on NYSED’s alternate eligibility form to meet the requirements to determine Summer EBT eligibility.
• Students who are FRPL-eligible through an alternate eligibility form are subject to a state-level verification process. Schools do not need to take any action, but could potentially receive questions from families whom NYSOTDA has contacted for verification.
• Families with eligible students who do not complete an alternative eligibility form need to complete a Summer EBT application to receive benefits.

Best Practices for Schools to Connect Eligible Families to S-EBT

Submitting accurate, up-to-date student-level data and communicating with families are key:

Ensure students’ free/reduced-price lunch (FRPL) status is accurate.
Each student must be individually determined eligible for FRPL to receive S-EBT benefits. This includes children approved for free meals through a FRPL application and those who are directly certified for free school meals without an application—such as students certified as homeless/runaway, migrant, or in foster care, and those enrolled in Head Start. It is very important to include the method used to certify each child as FRPL eligible.

Ensure student enrollment and demographic data is up-to-date.
This information is used to mail S-EBT benefit cards and send notifications directly to families. Inaccuracies lead to delayed or missed benefits for families. The most critical data points to maintain for Summer EBT are mailing addresses, date of birth, and the child’s legal guardian.

Have student-level data ready before the end of February.
NYSED pulls data for S-EBT from SIRS/IRS at the end of February to submit to NYSOTDA. Schools should update student data with this timeline in mind, as the bulk of S-EBT benefits are issued using this data set. An additional data exchange between NYSED and NYSOTDA occurs during the summer to capture updated end-of-school-year enrollment information.

Share information about Summer EBT with parents and caregivers.
As trusted messengers, schools can help families learn about the S-EBT program. Before the school year ends, tell families about S-EBT and the availability of summer meals. At the start of each school year, remind families to use their benefits before they expire, which happens 122 days after the benefits have been issued. Hunger Solutions New York and NYSOTDA have ready-made communications resources to help.

Tips for Success and Resources