The Impact of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) on Maryland Students

Oct 15, 2026

This study investigates how Maryland schools implemented the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) and what effects followed. CEP is a federal school-based meal option allowing high-poverty schools to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students at no cost. Introduced in Maryland from 2015 to 2022, the report tracks variation in the number of new CEP schools by year and analyzes participation in free meals, absenteeism, suspensions, and limited test-score evidence.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages28

Reading Time1 h 11 min

AccessFree to download

Executive Summary

Introduction, Context, and Research Questions

Data

Methodology

Findings

Summary and Conclusion

References

Appendix A: Technical Details on Methodology

Appendix B: Threats to Validity

Appendix C: Additional Tables and Figures

The Impact of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) on Maryland Students Office of Research September 2024 MARYLAND STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Carey M. Wright, Ed.D. State Superintendent of Schools Geoff Sanderson Deputy State Superintendent Office of Accountability Krishnanda Tallur Deputy State Superintendent Office of Finance and Operations Wes Moore Governor MARYLAND STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION Joshua L. Michael, Ph. D. ( President) Monica Goldson, Ed. D. (Vice President) Chuen-Chin Bianca Chang, MSN, PNP, RN-BC Alverne "Chet" Chesterfield Kenny Clash Clarence C. Crawford (President Emeritus) Abhiram Gaddam (Student Member) Nick Greer Dr. Irma E. Johnson Dr. Kim Lewis Dr. Joan Mele-McCarthy, D.A., CCC-SLP Rachel L. McCusker Xiomara V. Medina, M. Ed. Samir Paul, Esq. Table of Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................................. 3 Introduction, Context, and Research Questions ......................................................................................................... 4 Data ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 6 Methodology............................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Findings ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Summary and Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 17 References ................................................................................................................................................................................. 19 Appendix A: Technical Details on Methodology........................................................................................................ 20 Appendix B: Threats to Validity ......................................................................................................................................... 21 Appendix C: Additional Tables and Figures..................................................................................................................22 Executive Summary This study investigates the implementation and impact of the community eligibility provision (CEP) in Maryland schools. The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is a federal school-based meal service option that allows high poverty schools to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students at no cost. CEP was introduced over the period 2015 to 2022 in Maryland, with some years seeing a large number of schools adopt CEP and other years seeing few new schools adopting the program.1 The largest increases in new CEP schools were in 2015-2016 when the majority of new schools were in Baltimore City and in 2020-2021 when the majority of new schools were in Baltimore County. The study finds: • On average, participation in free meals increased 13-15 percentage points after CEP was introduced in schools. This change was immediate although there is also some evidence that participation declined after the initial spike. • There were small increases in absenteeism after the introduction of CEP. For example, chronic absenteeism increased 2.1 percentage points compared to eligible non-CEP schools, and this difference was found to be statistically significant. In secondary schools, chronic absenteeism increased by 4.6 percentage points.2 • There were also small decreases in suspensions. In secondary schools, the rate of susp

FAQs

What is the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) and why does it matter for schools?

CEP is a federal school-based meal service option that lets high-poverty schools provide free breakfast and lunch to all students at no cost. Participating schools must provide meals for all students without charge and receive reimbursement based on the Identified Student Percentage (ISP).

What changes did the study find after CEP was introduced?

Participation in free meals increased by about 13–15 percentage points after CEP introduction. The study also reports small increases in absenteeism (including chronic absenteeism) and small decreases in suspensions in secondary schools, with effects that may shift over time.

Does the report explain why the impacts occurred?

The study does not establish causal reasons for the observed impacts. It indicates limited test-score evidence and offers considerations such as the lack of evidence that pandemic-affected school years or other programs (e.g., Maryland Meals for Achievement) drove the study’s overall conclusions.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Maya Linwood