Page 1694

West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Chapter 20

West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual Page 59 Chapter 20 Emergency and Special Assistance Programs

20.5.4 OPERATION Summer EBT will only be offered during the “summer operational period.” The summer operational period will generally occur during June 1st – August 20th of each year. Applications will be made available throughout the entire period of eligibility (July 1 through the end of the summer operational period). During the month of March, the agency will provide media information to the public regarding the availability of the application. The month of April will be the period when the random verification sample is pulled, and verification requests are sent to required households. May 1st will be the cutoff date for guardianship changes before benefit issuance. A makeup issuance will occur yearly at the end of the operational period to cover students who may have become eligible during summer. Summer EBT benefits follow the same restriction as SNAP. Soda, including regular, diet, and zero-calorie varieties, may not be purchased with SEBT. 20.5.5 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS The student is eligible for the entire benefit based on being eligible for any amount of time during the school year. The student must be a resident of West Virginia at the time of benefit issuance. There are two different pathways that can make a student eligible for Summer EBT participation. The student meets a pathway if they: • Are determined income eligible through an application process for Summer EBT; or • Are streamlined certified based on categorical eligibility. 20.5.5.A Application for Summer EBT Students who have been determined income eligible for free or reduced priced meals through a NSLP application are eligible for SEBT. While an NSLP application can determine eligibility for SEBT, the receipt of SEBT cannot confer eligibility for NSLP. Most West Virginia schools are considered Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). CEP means there is a certain percentage of students who are considered low-income in a school or county,