2025 SEBT Q&A
Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer Program
Frequently Asked Questions
4.16.2025
Student Eligibility
Q1: How do students who attend a CEP school qualify for SEBT?
A1: CEP school students qualify in these ways:
– Direct certification for SNAP, MFREE, MRED, TANF;
– Live with student directly certified for SNAP, MFREE, MRED, TANF;
– Documentation of foster, migrant, or homeless status;
– Included in an approved application for meal benefits with household student who attends non-CEP school.
Q2: What if one student is in a CEP school and has a sibling in a non-CEP school who is approved for Free or Reduced-price meals based on a meal benefits application submitted to the school or by direct certification for SY2024-25. Does the student at the CEP school also qualify for SEBT because the non-CEP student is approved for Free or Reduced-price meals?
A2: Yes, the student in the CEP school qualifies for SEBT because they reside in the household with another student who qualifies for Free or Reduced-price meals they receive at a non-CEP school. All students in the household who attend a school participating in the USDA’s National School Lunch and/or Breakfast Programs, CEP and non-CEP, should be included in your school’s SEBT data upload.
Q3: Should I include students that receive Free or Reduced-price meals by an approved income eligibility application?
A3: Yes, please include information for all students approved for Free or Reduced-price meals based on income eligibility applications as long as they also receive meals through the USDA’s School Breakfast and/or National School Lunch Programs. CEP schools shall not include students who submitted an alternate income application.
Q4: How can a foster, migrant, or homeless student qualify for SEBT?
A4: Foster students may be identified on the direct certification list or by marking the “foster” box on the application for meal benefits. Homeless and migrant students may be identified on the direct certification list or by documentation obtained from the program that makes the determinations; documentation would include the student name and program effective date. These students must also be enrolled in school and receive meals through the USDA’s Breakfast Programs and/or National School Lunch Programs.
Q5: Are preschool students who qualify for Free or Reduced-price meals eligible for SEBT?
A5: Yes, if the preschool students are enrolled in your school district’s preschool program, have a 10-digit NDEID, and have access to meals through the USDA’s School Breakfast and/or National School Lunch Programs during their school day, and if they qualify for Free or Reduced-price meals (including Head Start and Early Head Start), they should be included in your school’s SEBT data upload.
Q6: Do preschool students who receive a snack but not a breakfast or qualify for SEBT?
A6: No, students must have access to meals through the USDA’s School Breakfast and/or National School Lunch Programs (and must be eligible for Free or Reduced-price meals) to qualify for SEBT.
Q7: What about preschool students who are on the direct certification list?
A7: These students still must have access to meals served through the USDA’s School Breakfast or National School Lunch programs to be eligible for SEBT. If they are directly certified and eat breakfast or lunch at school, they should be included in your school’s SEBT data upload because they may have a date of birth prior to the state compulsory school age requirement.
Q8: Will students in our Sixpence program qualify?
A8: Please contact the NDE to determine eligibility for student enrolled in this program.
Q9: Do students need to be enrolled on the last day of school to be eligible? Are graduating seniors eligible for SEBT?
A9: No, the only requirement is that they are enrolled in your school on any day in SY2024-25, that they had access to meals through the USDA’s School Breakfast and/or National School Lunch Program, and that they qualify for Free or Reduced-price meals in SY2024-25. Graduating seniors who meet these requirements are eligible for SEBT.
Q10: Should I include information for Free and Reduced-eligible students who attend school in Nebraska but reside in another state qualify for SEBT?
A10: Yes, include these students in your SEBT data upload.
Q11: Should I include other children who reside in a household with school-age students who attend my school and qualify for Free or Reduced-price meals?
A11: No, do not include younger siblings or homeschool students who do not attend school.
Q12: Should I include students who received Free or Reduced-price meals for only the first 30 operating days of SY2024-25 because of carryover allowed from SY2023-24?
A12: No, do not include these students in your SEBT file for 2025. Only students who were determined to be eligible for Free or Reduced-price meals during SY2025-26 (and had access to meals served through the USDA’s School Breakfast and/or National School Lunch Program) are eligible to receive SEBT.
Q13: Are students who were homeschooled for part of SY2025-26 but attended school for the other part of SY2025-26 eligible to receive SEBT?
A13: Yes, students who attended a school that participate in the USDA’s School Breakfast and/or National School Lunch Programs, for any portion of SY2025-26, and qualified for Free or Reduced price meals are eligible to receive SEBT and should be included in your SEBT data upload.
Q14: Should I include students who are homeschooled but attend the school for only SPED services in my SEBT data upload?
A14: These children would be included only if they qualify for Free or Reduced-price meals and receive meals through the USDA’s School Breakfast and/or National School Lunch Programs.
Q15: Should I include in my SEBT data upload a homeschool student who attends our school for only SPED services? What if the student has a sibling who attends our school full time and is eligible for Free or Reduced-price meals?
A15: The homeschool student should be included in your school’s SEBT data upload only if they qualify for Free or Reduced-price meals and receive meals through the USDA USDA’s School Breakfast and/or National School Lunch Programs.
Q16: Are students who qualified for Free or Reduced-price meals during SY2025-26 and will graduate in May eligible to receive SEBT?
A16: Yes, these students are eligible and should be inclu17ded in your SEBT data.
Q17: Do children who have a Medicaid card qualify for SEBT?
A17: No, they do not qualify for Free or Reduced-price meals during school and would not qualify for SEBT. Only students who are directly certified as participants of Medicaid (i.e., MFREE and MRED) qualify for meal benefits and for SEBT.
Q18: Can CEP schools use an alternate income form for school discounts and benefits to identify students eligible to receive SEBT?
A18: No, only directly certified students, students who receive extended benefits, students with documentation to support foster, migrant, or homeless status, and students who live with a student who attends a traditional pricing school who has a complete and approved application for meal benefits are eligible to receive SEBT and should be included in your school’s SEBT file.
Q19: Should our school provide information for homeschool students who attend our school for some classes each day? Are they eligible for SEBT?
A19: Include these students only if they receive USDA School Breakfast and/or Lunch Program me6ls during their school day.
Q20: Are students who receive special services but do not attend school eligible to receive SEBT?
A20: No, these students who do not attend school are not eligible for SEBT; they should not be included in your SEBT data upload.
Q21: How should I submit data for students who qualify after the first submission deadline?
A21: Create additional files with any newly eligible students and submit the file of new students in the NDE Portal using the same process as for the first submission.
Q22: Does a CEP school need to take action for students who apply for SEBT using the application through the Nebraska Department of Education?
A22: No, the school will not need to do anything. NDE will process and send files for them.
Q23: I have a student in my system as DC and I have to go into our program and manually match them with another in the household to extend the benefit. Does that mean that it’s possible the DC kiddo will be issued in that first issuance (hopefully) and the ones I must match myself would be issues later?
A23: Yes, the direct certified student(s) will be included in the first issuance. The student who receive extended benefits will receive their SEBT card in a later issuance.
Q24: What if our school records do not have an email address for every eligible SEBT student? Should I leave that field blank or input NA?
A24: If your SEBT data upload does not include a parent email address for every student in the file, do not include any email addresses and leave the cells blank. Including some but not all will generate an error when the file is uploaded to the NDE Portal.
Card Issuance
Q25: What is the benefit amount issued for each qualifying student?
A25: $120 per eligible student; $40 for each of three summer months; the full $120 is available on the card from the day it is activated by the recipient.
Q26: How many days will the funds be available on the SEBT card?
A26: The funds are available for 122 days from the issuance date. The issuance date is identified with the letter accompanying the card.
Q27: How will I know when my card arrives?
A27: The card will arrive in a plain white envelope
Q28: If a family already receives SNAP, will they receive a different card for SEBT? And what if more than one of the children/students qualifies to receive SEBT?
A28: The SEBT card is separate from the SNAP card. We try to group benefits onto one card for families with more than one qualifying child/student. The total benefit amount available on each card is identified in the Notice of Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (SEBT) Eligibility, which is sent by mail about one week before the SEBT card is sent.
Q29: What address would we use for the students that have moved from our district?
A29: Provide the most recently known address your school has on file.
Q30: If a household has a student who is directly certified and others who received extended benefits from the directly certified students, will this household receive separate cards and on different issuance dates?
A30: Yes, the directly certified students should receive the card with the April 23, 2025 issuance and the others who receive SEBT because of extended benefits will receive the card based on the date the school submits SEBT data into the NDE Portal.
Q31: Which parent should be identified in the SEBT file of qualified children when there is shared custody?
A31: Provide the contact information for the parent identified as the primary parent in your school records.
Q32: Will the expungement date be communicated to the parents/guardians when they receive the cards?
A32: Yes, all household will receive a letter indicating they will receive an SEBT card; the notification will explain the 122-day expungement timeline.
Q33: Are new cards being issued for everyone? Or if they have last year’s S-EBT card will benefits be issued to that?
A33: Everyone will receive a new card for 2025 regardless if they held onto the 2024 card.
Miscellaneous
Q34: If our school does not participate, we should promote the SFSP Site Finder?
A34: Yes, all schools are required to share information about how to locate SFSP sites. Here is sample language you can use: The USDA’s Summer Food Service Program operates in more than 200 locations in Nebraska. These sites provide no-cost meals to children ages 1 – 18 years. Find sites approved to provide meals in summer 2025 using the USDA’s SFSP Site Finder. The site information will populate the site finder after May 23, 2025.
Q35: Can a student become eligible for SEBT during the summer break?
A35: Yes, a student can become eligible during the summer break if they begin participation in SNAP, the types of Medicaid that qualify for Free or Reduced-price meals, TANF, or by completing the Summer EBT application if their household income has changed and the household believes the child may be eligible. Complete the SEBT application here.
Q36: Will the NDE share the results of approved applications with schools in order to qualify the student for carryover benefits in SY2024-25?
A36: No, the NDE will not share the results of processed applications with schools.
Q37: My school has an S-EBT report built into its student information system. Will this work?
A37: Possibly. Ensure your system’s SEBT report matches the formatting requirements and organization of data columns contained in the NDE SEBT template. If it does, then you can use the report generated from your system.
Q38: Who should I encourage parents to contact for questions or concerns? DHHS be better at answering questions via phone calls from parents?
A38: Please direct parents to email DHHS at DHHS.SEBT@nebraska.gov or call 800- 383-4278.