What is the Community Eligibility Provision?

The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is a school meal funding option authorized by the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. CEP is designed to provide breakfast and lunch at no cost to students at schools, school districts, and local educational agencies (LEAs) in low-income areas.

Schools, school districts, and LEAs that adopt CEP are reimbursed using a formula based on the percentage of students who automatically qualify for free meals. Determining whether a student automatically qualifies for free meals under CEP is based on shared eligibility data between specific federal assistance programs, instead of through the collection of household income applications.

Electing to participate in CEP is a voluntary decision made by a school, school district, or LEA. The CEP operates on a four-year cycle.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for CEP, schools, school districts, and LEAs must meet the following requirements:

• Ensure that at least 25.0 percent of enrolled students are qualified students as of April 1st in the prior school year;
• Participate in both the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program;
• Offer breakfasts and lunches to all students at no charge; and
• Notify their state educational agency of their intent to participate in CEP by June 30th.

Identified Students

Identified students are students who are certified for free meals without the use of household income applications. Identified students include:

Students directly certified through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), or, in some states and areas, Medicaid benefits; and
Students who are certified for free school meals without an application because they are homeless, a migrant, enrolled in Head Start, or in foster care.

Transfers and Carryover Students

When a student moves from a CEP school to a non-CEP school during the school year (transfers) or between school years (carryover), such student is eligible to receive free meals for up to 30 days or until a new eligibility determination is made, whichever comes first.

Reimbursement

Schools, school districts, and LEAs that adopt CEP are reimbursed using a formula based on the percentage of identified students. The identified students percentage (ISP) is calculated by dividing the total number of identified students by the total number of enrolled students.

(# of identified students / # of enrolled students) x 100 = ISP

To determine the percentage of meals reimbursed at the federal free rate, the ISP is multiplied by a factor of 1.6. Any remaining meals, up to 100.0 percent, are reimbursed at the federal paid rate.

For example, a school with 50.0 percent identified students would be reimbursed for 80.0 percent of the breakfasts and lunches served at the free reimbursement rate, and the remaining 20.0 percent would be reimbursed at the paid rate.

CEP requires LEAs to use non-federal funds to cover any costs of offering free meals to all students that exceed the federal assistance provided.

Final Rule Change

In September 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a final rule amending the CEP regulations by lowering the minimum ISP from 40.0 percent to 25.0 percent. Lowering the minimum ISP allows more schools to participate in CEP. The Food Research and Action Center estimates 3,000 additional school districts will be eligible to participate in CEP. According to the USDA, the benefits of lowering the ISP include increasing students’ access to free and healthy school meals, eliminating unpaid meal charges, reducing stigma, and streamlining program administration and meal service operations.

The final rule became effective on October 26, 2023.

The State’s current school finance system includes both the Kansas School Equity and Enhancement Act (KSEEA) and other school finance laws covering the following areas of focus:

• State Foundation Aid,
• Supplemental State Aid,
• Capital Outlay State Aid,
• Capital Improvement State Aid,
• Special Education State Aid, and
• Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) employer contributions.

Each area contains its own unique funding formula or formulas. An in-depth memorandum on KSEEA and its formulas for each area, titled “Kansas School Finance System,” can be found on the Education page.

State Foundation Aid included in KSEEA

State Foundation Aid (SFA) is the primary focus within the funding formula and provides the majority of state funding for the daily operation of schools. SFA calculations are based on two factors: the base aid for student excellence (BASE), and the weighted full-time equivalent (FTE) student enrollment of each school district.

BASE

BASE funding is set by statute and, as of school year (SY) 2023-2024, the BASE is the prior year’s amount adjusted by the average percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for the Midwest region during the three immediately preceding school years.

Weightings

Weightings are added to each school district’s regular FTE enrollment in order to reflect additional costs associated with serving certain student populations and to address other district characteristics. There are currently 11 weightings: At-risk, High-density At-risk, Bilingual, Low Enrollment, High Enrollment, Transportation, Career Technical Education, Special Education, New School Facilities, Ancillary School Facilities, and Cost-of-living. The resulting weighted FTE enrollment is then multiplied by the BASE aid amount to calculate a school district’s Total Foundation Aid entitlement. Statute requires certain existing revenues, such as ending balances, to be subtracted from the Total Foundation Aid during calculations of state aid.

Supplemental State Aid included in KSEEA

Local school boards may adopt a local option budget (LOB) in addition to the annual State Foundation Aid a school district receives from the State. LOB revenues are generated from local property taxes.

Supplemental State Aid is provided by the State as a form of equalization aid. The lower a school district’s property values per student, the more Supplemental State Aid it receives for its LOB. After the amount is determined, school districts are then responsible for funding the rest of the LOB with local property taxes.

Capital Outlay State Aid

School districts may levy a local property tax of no more than eight mills for the purpose of funding capital outlay expenditures. These funds may be used for the “acquisition, construction, reconstruction, repair, remodeling, additions to, furnishing, maintaining, and equipping of school district property and equipment necessary for school district purposes.” Additionally, some school districts are eligible to receive Capital Outlay State Aid in a manner similar to Supplemental State Aid. However, unlike Supplemental State Aid, Capital Outlay State Aid does not replace local property taxes, but instead supplements local property taxes.

Capital Improvement State Aid

School districts are also allowed to issue bonds to finance construction of school facilities and receive Capital Improvement State Aid, if eligible, to help pay costs associated with these bonds as a form of equalization aid. Rates for these bonds are broken down into four different categories:

Bonds approved by voters prior to July 1, 2015;
Bonds approved by voters on or after July 1, 2015, but prior to July 1, 2017;
Bonds approved by voters on or after July 1, 2017, but prior to July 1, 2022; and
Bonds approved by voters on or after July 1, 2022.

Each of these rates have different calculations for state aid, although all four rates are based on school districts’ assessed valuation per pupil, which is calculated yearly.
A school district’s state aid may be calculated using multiple rates depending on when the bonds were approved by voters.

Special Education State Aid

Special Education State Aid is calculated as reimbursement for the “excess costs” associated with providing special education services. The State Department of Education determines the excess cost both statewide and, starting in SY 2024-2025, for each individual school district before distributing Special Education State Aid.

Statute requires a reimbursement rate for Special Education State Aid at 92.0 percent of total state excess costs, but provides for prorating state aid if the appropriation for Special Education State Aid does not equal 92.0 percent of excess costs.

KPERS Employer Contributions

The State pays the employer contributions to KPERS for all KPERS-eligible school employees in Kansas. This part of the retirement system is known as KPERS–School and is composed of two parts: KPERS–USDs and KPERS–Non-USDs. The obligation for employer contributions follows the schedule of contribution rates included in statute. KPERS–USDs is for public school employees, and KPERS–Non-USDs is for employees of community colleges, technical colleges, and school district interlocals.

Student Enrollment in Kansas

In the last five years, the postsecondary education system in Kansas and nationwide has seen a decline in enrollment.

According to data from Kansas Higher Education Statistics, since fall 2018, Kansas has seen a net 10.7 percent decrease in enrollment systemwide. State institutions have seen a 7.1 percent decrease in enrollment, community colleges have seen a 17.3 percent decrease, and technical colleges have seen 0.4 percent decrease. The enrollment drop-off began in 2021, likely due to effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among all postsecondary education institutions, technical schools have maintained the most consistent enrollment numbers over the last 5 years, with 7,103 students in 2018 and 7,075 student in fall 2023.

Direct Admissions versus Guaranteed Admissions

“Direct admissions” and “guaranteed admissions” are terms that can be used interchangeably; however, direct admissions proactively offer admission without a student having to fill out an application. Direct admissions do not require the student to submit fees, test scores, or recommendation letters before admission is granted.

Guaranteed admissions require the student to submit an application and possibly other supplemental documents, but the student will automatically be accepted if they meet certain academic criteria.

Guaranteed Admissions

The state educational institutions in Kansas use guaranteed admission or “Qualified Admission” criteria when admitting undergraduate students. Under KSA 76-717 and the State Board of Regents policy 88-29c-5, Kansas residents under the age of 21 are guaranteed admission to one of the six state universities if they meet certain GPA and ACT or SAT requirements and graduate from an accredited Kansas high school. (See more: https://www.kansasregents.org/academic_affairs/qualified_admissions)

Direct Admissions

Other States

In 2015, Idaho became the first state to implement a statewide direct admissions program. This program proactively admits every graduating high school senior in Idaho to state colleges without application. This process is reliant on Idaho’s education system reporting universal SAT testing and state longitudinal data in order for the postsecondary system to make a determination on whether to offer admission.

The 2021 Minnesota Legislature funded a direct admission pilot program that offers automatic conditional admissions into Minnesota public and private colleges. Minnesota high school students are admitted based on their academic performance during their junior year. The pilot program was launched during the 2022-23 school year. According to the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, 1,947 students participated in the program, which represents 28 percent of the 12th-grade students enrolled in participating high schools.

Benefits of Direct Admissions

Advocates for direct admissions programs argue that implementation would be low-cost and could provide benefits, including, but not limited to:

• Eliminating the difficulty for students navigating the application process;
• Increasing efficiency by reducing administrative burden;
• Increasing enrollment at local universities; and
• Expanding access to higher education, which:
• Addresses demographic gaps in educational attainment; and
• Improves social and economic mobility for marginalized groups.

Current State

KSA 72-3123 requires school districts to allow for the attendance of non-resident students beginning in the 2024–2025 school year based upon the capacity of the district. At the time of this article’s publication, all school districts should have completed the statutory requirements to determine capacity, accepted non-resident students, and be currently teaching said students within the district.

Additionally, changes made by the 2024 Legislature allow school districts to use current year enrollment for funding. Thus, non-resident students could also be impacting district enrollments for funding purposes for fiscal year (FY) 2025.

Determination of Capacity

Statute requires that, on or before May 1 of each year, all school districts (excluding districts located on a military installation or virtual schools) shall determine the capacity of the district to accept non-resident students for the upcoming school year. Capacity is to be determined utilizing student-to-teacher ratios, with kindergarten through grade 8 doing so for the grade level, and grades 9 through 12 doing so for each building or program within the building. Determination of capacity is not solely based upon prior enrollment but is left at a district’s discretion to also include projected growth, decline, or other changes in resident student enrollment.

Each school district is required to publish the number of open seats available to non-resident students by grade level on the district’s website on or before June 1.

Enrollment Applications

Beginning on January 1, school districts are required to accept applications from non-resident students for enrollment within the district. The application window is open through June 30, and the application will be in a manner and form determined by each district. Non-resident students who previously attended the school district during the 2023–2024 school year are allowed by statute to continue their enrollment without reapplication under these provisions.

Should the number of applicants exceed the capacity of a grade level within the school district, the district shall randomly select students by utilizing a confidential lottery process, with exceptions for the following students who are given priority outside of the lottery system:

• Any sibling of a non-resident student who was accepted to attend the district;
• Military students;
• Any student in the custody of the Department for Children and Families who is living in the home of a non-resident student attending the receiving district;
• Any student who has a parent or guardian that is employed by the school district; or
• Any student experiencing homelessness.

This process is required to be completed by July 15. The school district is required to provide the reason for non-acceptance to any parent or guardian of a non-resident student who was not accepted or was denied enrollment by July 30. Statute prohibits districts from denying a non-resident transfer based upon the ethnicity, national origin, gender, income level, disabling condition, English proficiency, measurement of achievement, aptitude, or athletic ability of the student. Additionally, the parent or guardian of a non-resident student denied enrollment may appeal the denial to the district’s school board.

Once accepted for enrollment, a non-resident student is permitted to continue enrollment within the receiving school district until they graduate high school or fail to maintain “good standing” as outlined in the district’s non-resident transfer student policy.

Transportation

Statute states that school districts are not required to provide transportation for non-resident students unless otherwise required by law. However, a district is allowed to transport non-resident students to and from an in-district bus stop. Any district that chooses to do this must ensure the transportation of non-resident students is comparable to that of resident students.

What is Next?

The State Department of Education (KSDE) is required to collect the number of non-resident student transfers accepted and denied by districts by grade level and whether denials were based upon capacity or pursuant to district transfer policies. Such data is required to be published on KSDE’s website once collected and made available to the Legislative Division of Post Audit. At the time of this article’s publication, this data was not available from KSDE.

Statute also allows for either the House Committee on K-12 Education Budget or the Senate Committee on Education, in calendar year 2027, to request the Legislative Division of Post Audit conduct an audit of non-resident student transfers. If requested, the audit would be required to be presented to the Legislative Post Audit Committee on or before January 15, 2028, and subsequent presentations made to the standing committees noted above.

Disposition of School Buildings and Property

Pursuant to KSA 72-3216, upon the affirmative recorded vote of no less than a majority of the members of the school district board of education (board) at a regular meeting, a school district may dispose of school buildings and school property no longer needed by such school district. During the 2023 and 2024 Legislative Sessions, bills amending and adding to the school building disposal process were enacted.

2023 House Sub. for SB 113

House Sub. for SB 113, codified in KSA 72-1439, granted the Legislature the right of first refusal and created a notification process of a board’s intentions to dispose of a school building.

A board is required to submit written notice to the Legislature of its intention to dispose of a school building by filing such notice with the Chief Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate. The written notice must include:

• A description of the school district’s use of the building immediately prior to the decision to dispose;
• The reasons for the building’s disuse and the decision to dispose of the building;
• The legal description of the real property to be disposed of; and
• A copy of the resolution adopted by the board.

The Legislature has the opportunity to review the notice and, within 45 days, adopt a concurrent resolution that states the Legislature’s intention to acquire such school building. Note: When the Legislature is not in session, the Legislature has 45 days from the commencement of its next regular session to adopt the concurrent resolution.

If the Legislature does not adopt a concurrent resolution within the 45-day period, the school district is allowed to proceed with the disposition of the school building in such manner and upon such terms and conditions as the board deems to be in the best interest of the school district.

If the Legislature adopts a concurrent resolution within the 45-day period, the state agency named in the resolution will have 180 days to complete acquisition of the school building and take title to the real property. The Legislative Coordinating Council (LCC) may extend the 180-day period by 60 days.

During the 180-day period and authorized extension, the board is prohibited from selling, gifting, leasing, or otherwise dispensing of the building or real property described in the required written notice. If the state agency does not take title during the 180-day period or 60-day extension, the school district may proceed with disposition of the building.

2024 House Sub. for SB 387

House Sub. for SB 387 made changes to the process by which the Legislature exercises its right of first refusal and defines “building” to mean any building that was used in any prior school year as an attendance center for students enrolled in K–12.

When the Legislature is not in session, the LCC is authorized to deny the legislative option within 45 days. If the LCC does not deny the legislative option, the Legislature may adopt a current resolution within 45 days of the commencement of the next regular session.

If the LCC denies the legislative option or the Legislature does not adopt a concurrent resolution within the 45-day period from the commencement of the next regular session, the school district is permitted to proceed with the disposal of the school building in accordance with state law.

In addition, the bill included language to prohibit a board disposing of a school building from refusing to sell, lease, or convey any interest in a building or property to a prospective buyer or lessee solely because the prospective buyer or lessee may use or intends to use the building or property as a non-public school building.
These provisions went into effect on and after July 1, 2024.

Current National Debt Statistics and Policy

As of 2024, the national student loan debt is $1.7 trillion and is now the second-highest consumer debt category. Many factors contribute to this high figure, such as interest rates, but experts identify the rising cost of college tuition to be the primary cause. According to data from Education Data initiative:

• The average student loan debt balance is $37,338;
• Federal interest rates range from 5.50 percent to 8.05 percent depending on the type of loan; and
• The average student borrower takes 20 years to pay off loan debt.

Federal Loan Repayment Plans

Borrowers can choose from several types of fixed payment plans and income-driven repayment plans. Income-driven repayment (IDR) plans are the most popular and offer four different paths toward repayment on a monthly basis, dependent on income and family size. Borrowers can also apply for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) if they work at a nonprofit or United States-based government organization.

In August 2023, the Biden Administration announced a new program called the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, which replaced the Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) plan. Under this IDR plan:

• Borrowers’ monthly payments will be limited to:
  • 5 percent of their discretionary income for undergraduate loans;
  • A weighted average between 5 and 10 percent for those with both undergraduate and graduate loans; or
  • 10 percent of their discretionary income for those with only graduate loans;
• Interest does not accrue if the borrower makes their full monthly payment; and
• More loan forgiveness is available:
  • Loans under $12,000 will be forgiven after 10 years; and
  • Outstanding balances will be forgiven at the end of the pay period.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, 1,270 borrowers in Kansas have received loan forgiveness under the SAVE plan, totaling $9.9 million. Note: The information regarding the SAVE plan is current as of this article’s publication, but it is subject to change.

Kansas Assistance for Students

On average, a Kansas student’s loan debt is $32,158, which is 13.9 percent lower than the national average. This equals $12.5 billion debt among state residents. Additionally, the cost of college in Kansas is 10.57 percent less than the national average for cost of attendance at a four-year institution.

Service Scholarships

The State Board of Regents (KBOR) offers several scholarships and other financial aid programs that provide assistance to students who go on to serve in the State of Kansas. If service is unfulfilled while receiving assistance, students are subject to repayment of the scholarship plus accrued interest. The University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) has similar service and loan repayment programs focusing on bridging the gap in rural communities. Below is a limited list of scholarships offered by the two entities:

• Kansas Nursing Service Scholarship (KBOR);
• Kansas Osteopathic Scholarship (KBOR);
• Kansas Teacher Service Scholarship (KBOR);
• Rural Health Bridging (KUMC);
• OBGYN Medical Student Loans (KUMC); and
• OBGYN Medical Residency Bridging Loans (KUMC).

Recent Legislative Impacts on Scholarships

During the 2024 Legislative Session, the House Committee on Higher Education Budget and the House Committee on Appropriations made significant changes to the budget for KBOR and state universities. These legislative budget adjustments have an impact on financial aid and service scholarships. Specifically, the 2024 Legislature:

• Added $2.2 million to the Kansas Osteopathic Scholarship;
• Added $1.1 million to the Kansas Nursing Service Scholarship;
• Added $1.0 million to the Hero’s Scholarship; and
• Deleted $14.2 million for Needs Based Aid.

The 2024 Legislature also made non-budgetary changes to scholarships. SB 438 expanded access to various demographics, including expanding the number of eligible recipients for the Hero’s Scholarship and removing the limit on the number of nursing scholarships. SB 19 created a new service scholarship called the EMERGE Program, which provides financial assistance to 100 National Guard members seeking an advanced degree.

Changes to these scholarships are updated on KBOR’s website, along with more information regarding specific service requirements.