Information about Pandemic EBT, or P-EBT

On April 10, 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved California’s Summer 2023 Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) State plan for school age children. This communication provides eligibility information, timeline for benefit issuance, and communication and resources for households about Summer 2023 P-EBT.

The California Department of Education (CDE) and the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) are also working on a P-EBT plan for School Year (SY) 2022–23 benefits for school age students. The CDE will provide more information on SY 2022–23 P-EBT, once the plan is approved by the USDA.

In addition, the CDSS’ plan for P-EBT for Children in Child Care was approved on March 28, 2023, and can be found on the USDA’s webpage CN-CA-P-EBT Waiver-Child Care Plan SY2022-2023 (azureedge.us)

Summer 2023 Benefits and Timeline

Summer 2023 P-EBT will be provided to school age children that meet all the following requirements:

• Enrolled for at least one day in May 2023 in a school that participated in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or School Breakfast (SBP) in SY 2022–23
• Student eligibility:
• Determined eligible any time during SY 2022–23, for free or reduced-price meals through meal application, alternative income form, direct certification, or designation as homeless, migrant, or foster; or
• Attended a school that participates in Provision 2 or the Community Eligibility Provision, regardless of individual student eligibility

Note: There are several situations in which students may not qualify for Summer 2023 P-EBT, which include the following:

• Exited school or graduated prior to May 1, 2023

• Transferred out of state

• Transferred to a school not participating in NSLP, SBP before May 1, 2023

• Young children under age 6 that are not enrolled in a K-12 public school

The Summer 2023 P-EBT is for the period from June through August 2023, and has a set benefit amount of $120. The CDSS will begin mailing Summer P-EBT cards July 16, 2023 through August 30, 2023. These cards will be distinguishable as a P-EBT 4.0 card. Cards will be mailed to the address maintained in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Database (CALPADS). The CDE requests that school districts ensure that address data are up-to-date, and for those students with no address (due to homelessness or other reason), to populate either the school or district address. If a student address field is blank, the CDE will include the district office address for the student prior to sending the information to CDSS. The CDE CALPADS office will issue a Flash communication to CALPADS administrators advising when the data will be pulled.

Private Schools

Private schools are not eligible to keep student eligibility information in CALPADS. Therefore, private schools will be provided a separate process to report eligible student information for P-EBT benefits. The eligibility, benefits, and timeframes are the same and should not be impacted. The CDE will provide private schools more information in a separate communication.

Communications and Resources for Eligible Households

The CDSS will send communications about the Summer 2023 P-EBT benefits to eligible households. In addition, the CDSS has resources for eligible households and partners available in multiple languages on a new P-EBT web page at https://capandemic-ebt.org/.

The CDSS created the P-EBT Helpline to assist eligible households with questions about P-EBT. The P-EBT Helpline can assist with PIN set-up, address changes, request for replacement cards, or general questions about eligibility and benefits.

Contact Information

Households that require assistance with P-EBT cards can call the P-EBT Helpline at 877-328-9677 (Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.)

For more information about P-EBT, please visit the CDSS P-EBT web page at https://capandemic-ebt.org/.

For school districts with questions about P-EBT, please email the CDE at PEBT@cde.ca.gov.