Many families have questions about eligibility for Georgia's Pandemic EBT cards/benefits.
Lowndes County Schools does not determine the P-EBT amounts given per student nor are the P-EBT cards issued directly by LCS. Please see the information below provided by the Georgia Department of Education. Cards are mailed directly by the state, not by LCS. Some cards have already reached mailboxes of LCS students who were enrolled in the 2020-21 academic year.
Public schools:
The Georgia Department of Education will provide a list of potentially-eligible students for P-EBT.
They will provide students eligible through:
- The Community Eligibility Provision list of eligible schools and school districts for currently enrolled students for SY 2020-2021, and FRL eligibility by using the SY 2020-2021 file of enrolled FRL-eligible children (produced June 2021) to ensure all eligible children are issued benefits. Throughout the school year, families submit applications for FRL through the school district; the data for eligible children is transferred to the Georgia Department of Education in June of each year. Additionally, the State has other pre-defined processes for data for other source categorically eligible children that will also be updated with the June 2021 files. FRL eligibility throughout this plan is defined as children who would be eligible for free or reduced-price meals if the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program were operating normally, including children who are directly certified or determined “other source categorically eligible” or certified through the submission of a household application processed by the child’s school district. It also includes children eligible through the CEP process (above).
Here is a synopsis of the determining factors for P-EBT:
- P-EBT benefits are being paid for school closures of a minimum of 5 consecutive days due to COVID-19. (LCS students fit this criteria)
- A child is eligible for P-EBT benefits if two conditions are met:
- The child would be eligible for free or reduced-price meals if the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program were operating normally.
- This includes children who are:
- Directly certified or determined “other source categorically eligible” for SY 2020-2021,or
- certified through submission of a household free and reduced meal (FRL) application processed by the child’s school district for SY 2020-2021,or
- enrolled in a Community Eligibility Provision school or a school operating under Provisions 2 or 3.