| Summer P-EBT Letter to Schools
Texas Health and Human Services is partnering with the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Texas Education Agency to provide summer 2021 Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) benefits to eligible children.
Summer P-EBT, which covers June–August 2021, is for families with children (K–12) who are certified for free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and for families with children born after Aug. 1, 2014, who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefits. It is a one-time benefit of $375 for each eligible child. There is no summer 2021 P-EBT application.
HHS, TDA and TEA request that schools attempt to contact eligible families now about summer P-EBT. Thank you for your assistance with the P-EBT program. We appreciate all the work you do to help make sure Texas families have access to food during this time.
Eligibility
Children in K–12 who were eligible for P-EBT benefits during the 2020–2021 school year and those who are newly eligible for NSLP are eligible for summer P-EBT benefits as long as they were enrolled in an NSLP-operating Texas school during the last month of the school year. This includes children who did not receive 2020–2021 school year P-EBT benefits based on the virtual attendance percentage provided by their school. Please advise families according to their specific situation:
- Children who received 2020–2021 school year P-EBT benefits
If a child received 2020–2021 school year P-EBT benefits (because they completed the P-EBT online application or they automatically received benefits because they were part of a SNAP family), they do not need to take any action. They will have summer P-EBT benefits automatically loaded on their Lone Star Card or P-EBT Card.
- Children who were eligible, but did not apply, for P-EBT during the 2020–2021 school year
If a child was eligible for 2020–2021 school year P-EBT benefits, did NOT receive SNAP benefits at any time between August 2020–August 2021, and has not already completed the 2020–2021 school year P-EBT online application, the parent or guardian can either complete the 2020–2021 school year P-EBT application or complete and return the household application for free and reduced-price meals (NSLP form) to their school by Aug. 28.
- Children who are newly eligible for NSLP
The parent or guardian should complete and return the household application for free and reduced-price meals (NSLP form) to the child’s school on or before Aug. 28 to see if they are eligible for summer 2021 P-EBT.
See the P-EBT summer FAQs on the HHS website for more information about student eligibility or reference the letter to families linked to below.
NSLP Household Application for Free and Reduced-Price Meals
Receiving free meals at school does not automatically make a student eligible for P-EBT. It is important to note that P-EBT benefits require individual income eligibility unless a child attends a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) or Provision 2 (P2) school.
Please be aware that Aug. 28, 2021, is the deadline for newly eligible families to turn in the household application for free and reduced-price meals (NSLP form) to their school to be eligible for summer P-EBT. The deadline is Aug. 28 because it is the end of the summer P-EBT period. Forms received by schools after that date will not apply to summer P-EBT.
The socioeconomic form cannot be completed now to be eligible for summer P-EBT unless a child attends a newly eligible CEP or P2 school.
Families who filled out the socioeconomic form during the 2020–2021 school year (by June 30, 2021) are eligible for summer P-EBT.
2020–2021 School Year P-EBT
NSLP eligibility for the 2020–2021 school year ended June 30, 2021. The household application for free and reduced-price meals (NSLP form) deadline has passed. It cannot be completed to apply for 2020–2021 school year P-EBT.
Communicating with Families
To inform eligible families, please use the “P-EBT Letter to Families – August” (select the English or Spanish version as needed), attached below.
For more information, visit hhs.texas.gov/pebt (English) or hhs.texas.gov/es/pebt (Spanish), or call the P-EBT Call Center at 833-442-1255, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.–6 p.m. Central time.
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