P-EBT benefits should be issued in late April 2022 for the first semester (August 2021–December 2021) and in July 2022 for the second semester (January 2022–June 2022). Children may receive benefits for one or both semesters based on their eligibility.

Benefits will vary for each child because benefits are based on the number of days a child did not receive free or reduced-price meals due to COVID-related absences, virtual attendance and school closures. The daily benefit amount of $7.10 will be issued for each day a child is eligible for P-EBT.

To learn more about eligibility, applying and getting your P-EBT benefits, visit hhs.texas.gov/pebt, or call the P-EBT Call Center at 833-442-1255, Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–6 p.m. Central time.

If a school closes for five consecutive days due to COVID-19; or once a school has one student who is absent for at least five consecutive days for a COVID-19-related reason, or they offer virtual attendance for at least five consecutive days, NSLP-eligible students at that school become eligible for P-EBT dating back to the first day of the school’s first COVID-19-related absence or first day of virtual attendance. Refer to the TEA March 2022 letter for student eligibility and COVID-19-related absence requirements.

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. Rains Elementary and Rains Intermediate are CEP schools.

Eligibility for free or reduced-price meals is determined by:

• NSLP household meal application approved by the child nutrition department. Families are encouraged to submit a meal application by April 29, 2022 to receive P-EBT benefits in a timely manner. However, meal applications may still be approved up until June 30, 2022.

• Direct certification.

• Enrollment in a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) or Provision 2 (P2) school.

Texas Health and Human Services is partnering with the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) and the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to provide school year 2021–2022 Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) benefits to eligible children.

School year 2021–2022 P-EBT is for families with children who are certified for free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), and who temporarily lost access to free or reduced-price school meals during the school year due to COVID-19-related student absences, virtual attendance and school closures. Receiving free meals at school does not automatically make a child NSLP-certified or eligible for P-EBT benefits.