The California Department of Education (CDE) has opened the 2026 SUN Bucks Universal Benefits Application (UBA) Processing and Verification Report. Applicable Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) must submit the report by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 15, 2026.
The information collected supports federal program oversight and will be used to determine SUN Bucks funding apportionments for LEAs.
Who Must Complete the Report?
According to the CDE, the report applies to LEAs with school sites operating the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) and/or Provision 2 under the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program.
LEAs using only Standard Counting and Claiming do not collect UBAs and therefore do not complete this report.
Information to Gather
LEAs should report only UBAs processed and verified during the 2026 SUN Bucks eligibility period of July 1, 2025, through August 31, 2026.
| Information required | Reporting details |
|---|---|
| UBA processing totals | UBAs received, processed, approved, and denied |
| Student totals | Individual students represented in the UBAs |
| Verification sample | Number of UBAs selected for verification |
| Verification results | Results of completed verification activities |
| Verification for cause | UBAs verified due to identified concerns |
| Direct verification | UBAs verified using approved data sources |
Do not include information from Alternative Income Forms or National School Lunch Program meal applications.
If an LEA submitted 2026 UBA data through the Education Data Collection System for more than one district or charter school, it must complete a separate report for each LEA.
Separate Verification Requirement Still Applies
Completing this SUN Bucks report does not replace the annual School Food Authority Verification Collection Report in the Child Nutrition Information and Payment System. These are separate reporting requirements.
The CDE estimates that the SUN Bucks report will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. Applicable LEAs should reconcile their UBA processing and verification records before beginning.
Complete the 2026 SUN Bucks UBA Processing and Verification Report.
Questions may be directed to the CDE SUN Bucks Team at SummerEBT@cde.ca.gov.
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