DCFS worked with the Louisiana Department of Education and schools around the state to produce a list of schools that have students who are eligible for P-EBT for the 2020-21 school year and the status of information gathering from those schools.
P-EBT, or Pandemic Electronic Benefits Transfer, is food assistance for families of school children who are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or School Breakfast Program (SBP), but are not receiving those meals due to campus closures and/or reduced in-person class schedules related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The P-EBT program was authorized by Congress in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 for the 2019-20 school year and later reauthorized for the 2020-21 school year.
The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services and Louisiana Department of Education are partnering to provide the program to Louisiana’s eligible students.
Status of the information that your child’s school has submitted to DCFS:
A.E. Phillips Laboratory School – Awaiting Response/Submission
Choudrant Elementary School – Student Information Received
Choudrant High School – Student Information Received
Cypress Springs Elementary School – Student Information Received
Dubach School – Student Information Received
Lendale Elementary School – Student Information Received
Hillcrest Elementary School – Student Information Received
Howard School – Awaiting Response/Submission
I.A. Lewis School – Student Information Received
Lincoln Parish Early Childhood Center – Student Information Received
Ruston Elementary School – Student Information Received
Ruston Junior High – Student Information Received
Ruston High School – Student Information Received
Simsboro High School – Student Information Received
Louisiana Virtual Charter Academy – Student Information Received
P-EBT benefits for the 2020-21 school year will be issued in installments over the Summer of 2021. Due to the number of cards being issued, it may take several weeks for you to receive your child’s card. Please be patient and do not request a new card, as that would only cause more delay.
Cards will be issued as DCFS receives information from each school. Therefore, families with more than one child may receive their children’s cards at different times, according to when each child’s school submitted their information.
If you have questions about your child’s school’s status, please contact the school or the school district. PHONE LIST ATTACHED
Will we get Summer P-EBT?
The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has announced that funding is available for P-EBT for families of K-12 students for Summer 2021, and DCFS is working with the Louisiana Department of Education and local school systems to develop a plan to distribute those benefits to eligible families. We do not expect there to be an application process. Summer P-EBT benefits would be distributed automatically to eligible students on the same card they received for the 2020-21 school year. More information will be released.
