Utah prepares Summer EBT rollout; state, DWS to share student data with opt-out option

The Utah State Board of Education is preparing to issue Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (Summer EBT or "SUN Bucks") benefits in summer 2025 and will share student data with the Department of Workforce Services (DWS) under a data‑sharing agreement, staff said during the board’s January data meeting.

Kim Loveland, director of Child Nutrition Programs at the Utah State Board of Education, said students who meet federal eligibility — enrolled in a National School Lunch Program (NSLP) school during the 2024–25 school year and determined eligible for free or reduced‑price meals during that school year — will receive $120 per eligible child on an electronic benefits card to spend at approved grocery stores and farmers markets.

The program will rely on three primary eligibility pathways: DWS direct certification for households already in SNAP/Medicaid caseloads; a streamlined certification pathway using S1 and newly added S5 records from local education agencies (LEAs); and a direct application to DWS for households that opt out of data sharing or whose eligibility cannot be verified through the other two routes. Natalie Barfus of the Department of Workforce Services joined the presentation and answered technical questions about direct certification and DWS’s role in issuing benefits.

Why it matters: Summer EBT is intended as a third delivery channel for summer nutrition (alongside Seamless Summer Option and the Summer Food Service Program). The state’s timeline and data handling choices will determine how many eligible children receive benefits on time and how easily LEAs can submit required data.

Key details and timeline - Utah’s S5 record (a new record object in the state data collector) will hold three new fields for Summer EBT: date of free/reduced eligibility determination (must fall in the current school year), free/reduced eligibility source (e.g., SNAP direct cert, TANF, Medicaid, categorical or income application), and a DWS Summer EBT opt‑out indicator. - Staff said preliminary collection may begin in March with a fuller submission window beginning in mid‑April; data collection will continue through August to capture students who become eligible over the summer. If the S5 collector is not available in time, the state will accept CSV/Excel submissions as a fallback. - Staff estimated roughly 200,000 children could be eligible for Summer EBT in Utah for 2025. - Families who check the opt‑out box on the 2025 Utah free/reduced lunch application will not have their information shared with DWS; those families must apply directly to DWS for benefits.

Data and privacy Loveland said the state has a signed data‑sharing agreement with DWS and that the U.S. Department of Education issued a letter clarifying that the specific data collections the state plans do not violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The USBE included an opt‑out checkbox on the 2025 free/reduced application to honor parental choices; the opt‑out is valid only for the current school year and must be re‑submitted annually.

Data validation and required fields Tammy Walker, senior business analyst for Child Nutrition Programs, listed additional S1 (student) fields that DWS will need to issue a card, including LEA/school identifiers, SSID, student name, date of birth, enrollment/withdrawal dates, guardian contact information and a mailing address. Because benefit cards are physical, accurate mailing addresses and guardian names are required to minimize returned mail and follow‑up. Walker said the S5 fields were set up as warnings (not fatal errors) in the collector so the state can accept records while the new object is implemented, though missing fields will generate warnings indicating follow‑up is needed.

Community‑eligibility and special cases Loveland warned that students in schools participating under Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) or certain non‑base‑year provisions will not automatically be included from state records because those schools do not collect free/reduced applications. For those students, households will need to apply directly to DWS via an online application that DWS plans to publish.

Questions LEAs asked and staff responses Speakers asked how direct‑certified students can opt out. Staff said DWS will handle opt‑outs and direct certification cases in DWS caseloads. LEAs asked about the S5 fields’ availability in SIS vendors; presenters said development across SIS vendors varies and that some vendors may already have fields ready while others will need 1–2 months to implement.

What the state asked LEAs to do USBE staff asked LEAs to: update guardian mailing addresses and contact information where possible; coordinate with local food service directors and SIS vendors; and expect communications materials and additional implementation details from USBE and DWS as the program rollout continues.

Ending: USBE staff said they will send follow‑up details and materials to LEAs as the S5 collector becomes available and will accept alternate CSV submissions if necessary for the first year.