NOTE: Information for the P-EBT 4.0 Submission for the 22/23 School Year can be found in this article:
Overview
On August 2, 2022, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved the California Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) State plan for school age children in School Year (SY) 2021–22. This communication provides eligibility information, timeline for benefit issuance, and communication and resources for households for both 2021−22 school year and summer P-EBT programs. See CALPADS Update Flash #235 for more information.
NOTE: The ISAC Reporting System will open on August 30, 2022 and will close on September 30, 2022. All student independent study and excused absence data will be pulled from the new ISAC Reporting System on October 1, 2022.
UPDATE: On 9/28/2022, we were informed that the deadline has been extended to October 7th, 2022.
The CDE will use the following data to determine student eligibility and P-EBT benefit levels:
- Data from the California Nutrition Information & Payment System (CNIPS) to identify schools participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), and the Seamless Summer Option (SSO)
- 2021−22 student enrollment and program data submitted to CALPADS and maintained in the CALPADS Operational Data Store (ODS)
- 2021−22 student attendance data submitted to the Independent Study Attendance Collection (ISAC) Reporting System using the CALPADS Student Absence Summary (STAS) file.
P-EBT Eligibility Criteria ↑
SY 2021–22 P-EBT benefits will be provided to school age children that meet the following requirements:
- In SY 2021−22, student was enrolled in a school that participated in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), or Seamless Summer Option (SSO) that operated under a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) or Provision 2 or 3; AND
- Attended school through Independent Study, OR attended school in-person and had 5 days or more of excused absences in any month, August 2021 – May 2022. These absences are presumed to be for a COVID-19 related reason, such as illness or quarantine.
OR
- In SY 2021−22, student was enrolled in a school that participated in the NSLP, SBP, or SSO that did not operate under a provision, AND
- Was determined eligible for free or reduced-price meals through meal application, alternative income form, direct certification, or designation as homeless, migrant, or foster; AND
- Attended school through Independent Study , OR attended school in-person and had 5 days or more of excused absences in any month, August 2021 – May 2022. These absences are presumed to be for a COVID-related reason, such as illness or quarantine.
To submit this data to the Independent Study Attendance Collection (ISAC) Reporting System using the CALPADS Student Absence Summary (STAS) file, the Attendance History Configuration has been adjusted to add date ranges. The Attendance History Configuration updates the Attendance History (AHS) table. The CALPADS Student Absence Summary (STAS) file uses the Attendance History (AHS) table.
The Independent Study Absence codes for Complete and Incomplete must be configured correctly in the Absent Code table. For more information on setting up the Independent Study Absence codes, see Independent Study Absence and Code Configurations.
LEAs submit the CALPADS Student Absence Summary (STAS) files to the ISAC Reporting System. Data are to be reported for each of the months August 2021 through May 2022, which means a separate file will need to be uploaded for each month.
When LEAs submit the STAS file to the ISAC, the system will apply the same validations that run on the STAS file when it is submitted to CALPADS. Therefore, it is recommended that LEAs submit the STAS files to ISAC after certifying End-of-Year (EOY) 3, since the files should upload without triggering any errors.
NOTE: For non-hosted customers, ensure you are on the latest Aeries version, the September 28th version or later.
Overview of the Process ↑
NOTE: Before running this process it is important to ensure the data is up to date and clean. The following processes and reports should be reviewed:
Below is an overview of the California P-EBT process from Aeries, with detailed instructions to follow:
- Log into Aeries for the 2021-2022 school year after certifying End-of-Year (EOY) 3. Run the Attendance History Configuration process in Aeries for the specific date range, ex 8/12/2021 to 8/31/2021. This will update the Attendance History (AHS) table with totals for just the selected date range.
- An email will be sent when the process is finished. Be sure to wait until the process is completed before continuing with the next step.
- Create a CALPADS Student Absence Summary (STAS) file in Aeries from the CALPADS Extracts, EOY tab.
- Repeat steps 1-3 to create all monthly files required for the submission.
- Log into the Independent Study Attendance Collection (ISAC) Reporting System to submit the monthly files.
This process will need to be completed for each of the months from August 2021 through May 2022. A total of 10 files will need to be submitted to the ISAC Reporting System.
Security ↑
Table | Permission | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Attendance History Configuration (AHS) | Admin User | User must be an Admin User to have access to the Attendance History Configuration page |
| CALPADS Extracts | Admin User or Users with Administer permission to "State Reporting" | Must be an Admin or have the State Reporting Admin permissions to access the CALPADS Extracts page |
Step 1 ↑
From the District or any school, run the Attendance History Configuration process in Aeries for the specific date range, ex 8/12/2021 to 8/31/2021 in the 2021-2022 school year database. This will update the Attendance History (AHS) table with totals for just the selected date range. See Attendance History Configuration.
Running the Attendance History Configuration process in Aeries for the specific date ranges will update the Attendance History (AHS) table with the attendance totals for the selected date range.
After entering the date ranges click on the Update All Schools button to start the process. All schools will be updated regardless of which school the user is logged into.
Step 2 ↑
Wait until the Attendance History Configuration process is completed. An email will be sent when the process is finished. It is important to wait until the process is completed to ensure that the correct attendance totals are included in the Attendance History (AHS) table for the selected date range.
Below is an example of the email that is generated when the process is completed.
Step 3 ↑
Create a CALPADS Student Absence Summary (STAS) file in Aeries from the CALPADS Extracts, EOY tab. After the Attendance History Configuration process is complete the STAS file can be created. The STAS file must be created on the same day as the Attendance History Configuration process, the selected dates will revert back to the default dates for the entire school year.
After the STAS file is created, download it and save it with the month notated in the title of the file.
Example, rename the file from: 2022_08_30_01_27_53_STAS.txt to Aug_2022_08_30_01_27_53_STAS.txt
Step 4 ↑
Repeat Steps 1 - 3 until all files have been created for each month throughout August 2021 - May 2022. Be sure to rename each file to indicate which month it represents. Aug_2022_08_30_01_27_53_STAS.txt
Step 5 ↑
Log into the Independent Study Attendance Collection (ISAC) Reporting System to submit the file. Select the LEA dropdown and the Month to Import.
NOTE: The ISAC website is no longer available and officially closed.
NOTE: This process needs to be repeated from for each month that needs to be reported to ISAC. This is a total of 10 months from August 2021 to May 2022. Creating an excel spreadsheet with columns for each step and rows for each month would help to track the process. A spreadsheet has been provided and is attached for users to keep track of the file uploads.