P-EBT FAQs 2022-23

K-12

A child is eligible for SY 2022-23 P-EBT benefits if two conditions are met:

1. He or she has an approved application for free- or reduced-price meals under the NSLP. This includes any student in a school that provides free meals to all students (under a special rule called “Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)”), AND
   
   
2. The child does not receive free or reduced-price meals at the school because the school is closed or has been operating with reduced attendance or hours for at least 5 consecutive days in the current school year. Once the minimum 5 consecutive day threshold is met at a school, children at that school are eligible to receive P-EBT benefits for closures, reductions in hours or quarantines/absences due to COVID-19.

Before a school is eligible to issue P-EBT, the school must have at least one student with five (5) consecutive absences due to COVID-19.

For the 2022-23 school year, each school or district will provide a list of children meeting the above eligibility criteria to DCFS for purposes of issuing P-EBT benefits to those children.

Homeschooled/Virtual Student

A student enrolled in a BESE-Approved Home Study Program, or attending a BESE-approved fully virtual school that does not participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), is eligible for P-EBT benefits for the 2022-23 school year if the child meets ALL three of these requirements:

1. The child previously attended an NSLP-participating school, but withdrew after the start of the COVID health emergency due to COVID concerns; OR the child enrolled in kindergarten as a virtual or homeschool student in school year 2020-21 or later;
   
   
2. The child is not attending an NSLP-participating school in SY 2022-23 due to concerns about COVID; AND
   
   
3. The child would have received free or reduced-price meals at the NSLP-participating school if not for their virtual or homeschooled status.

Child Care

All children under the age of six in households that had an active SNAP case in any month from August 2022 through July 2023 are eligible for P-EBT benefits for the month(s) when their case was active.

1. They must have lived in or attended child care in an area where one or more schools or child care facilities were closed or operating with reduced attendance or hours.
   
   
2. If a child turned six between August 2022 and May 2023, they would be eligible to receive benefits for the remainder of the school year provided they were in a household with an active SNAP case in that month.
   
   
3. If your child has already received P-EBT benefits for any month during the 2022-23 school year, they are not eligible for Child Care P-EBT benefits as they may have already received benefits for the designated time period.

PLEASE NOTE: Eligibility is determined on a month-by-month basis, based on the information the child's school reports to DCFS about the child's situation. If a child's learning schedule changes (e.g., from virtual to in quarantine or vice versa), their eligibility and benefit level may also change. As benefits are issued, parents can see their child's eligibility status by month in the P-EBT Parent Portal. For each month that a child is listed as "eligible" in the Parent Portal, they will receive benefits for that month.

Please see our Homeschooled/Virtual School Students page for details on the application process and what information and documentation will be required.

It doesn’t matter if your household already receives SNAP for this program. P-EBT is not SNAP, and receiving P-EBT will not alter your SNAP benefits. 

Yes. As long as the student attended a Louisiana school during the 2022-23 school year and meets the eligibility requirements for P-EBT, you can get P-EBT and use the benefits in your new home state. P-EBT cards can be used in any state in the U.S. or its territories.

All student information and changes must be verified by the child's school. This includes address changes, which must be handled at the school and/or school district level to ensure that the child's card is going to the correct household. If you need to change an address, you must follow your school's or school district's process for submitting and verifying address changes, which may include providing proof of residency forms in person at your child's school. If you need to change an address, you must call the school or school district. Once the school or school district updates the information in the P-EBT system, DCFS will be able to issue benefits and order a P-EBT card for your child. Changing your address will delay the issuance of a new card, but your child will receive their P-EBT benefits.

DCFS is working with the Louisiana Department of Education, local school districts and schools to gather information for eligible students. After schools supply information about each student’s eligibility, DCFS will confirm the information and process the student's benefits.

Eligible students’ families can expect to receive a flyer in the mail from DCFS informing them that their school has provided all needed information.

If you have questions about your child’s eligibility or benefit level, please contact your local school district.