The California Department of Education (CDE) has created a new Universal Benefits Application (UBA) template for use by local educational agencies (LEAs) that participate in a federal school nutrition program and operate under a federal provision like the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) and Provision 2 (P2).
The UBA qualifies students for SUN Bucks benefits. Any Free and Reduced-Price Meal (FRPM) records resulting from Universal Benefits Applications may also be used to identify which students meet the income eligibility criteria to be included in the Unduplicated Pupil Count under the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF).
Beginning in School Year 2025 – 2026, Schools participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or School Breakfast Program (SBP) that are approved to operate a federal provision, such as the CEP or P2, must collect UBAs for SUN Bucks eligibility on an annual basis. The UBA template(DOCX) has been shared with student information systems vendors and is now available on the CDE SUN Bucks web page.
The table below indicates which application LEAs should use based on whether they participate in NSLP/SBP and/or operate a federal provision.
| School Meal Program Participation Model | SUN Bucks Application Requirement |
|---|---|
| Standard Counting and Claiming | Only NSLP Applications – Collect annually for FRPM/SUN Bucks eligibility; may also be used for LCFF purposes |
| Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) | Universal Benefits Applications – Collect annually for SUN Bucks eligibility; may also be used for LCFF purposes |
| Provision 2 (P2) | NSLP Applications – Collect during LEAs P2 base year for FRPM/SUN Bucks eligibility; may also be used for LCFF purposes Universal Benefits Applications – Collect during non-base years for SUN Bucks eligibility; may also be used for LCFF purposes |
Guidance on UBA data submittal to the CDE will be forthcoming from the CDE California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) Office.
For questions about the Local Control Funding Formula, contact the LCFF Office at PASE@cde.ca.gov. For questions about SUN Bucks, contact the Nutrition Services Division at SummerEBT@cde.ca.gov. Thank you for your continued efforts to provide essential services and resources to California’s students.