Houston Independent School District will provide free breakfast and lunch to students in the Community Eligibility Provision Program (CEP) for the 2023-2024 school year, but all parents/caregivers will still need to fill out a new socioeconomic form (SIF).

It can be completed online via the HISD Parent Portal or submitted in a paper form to their campus. The HISD Parent Portal will be available to input data on Monday, Aug. 28, 2023.

For students not in the CEP program, a Meal Application will need to be completed. Those campuses include Kinder High School for Performing & Visual Arts, Horn Elementary, Travis Elementary, Oak Forest Elementary, River Oaks Elementary, West University Elementary, and Roberts Elementary.

Parents/caregivers must complete and return one form to each school where they have a child enrolled. The deadline is Friday, October 27, 2023.

Because all HISD-CEP students qualify for free breakfast and lunch, parents will not need to complete and return a free and reduced-price meal application. However, HISD is still required to collect and report the socioeconomic status of each student via a socioeconomic information form (SIF) that is then sent to the Texas Education Agency. This ensures campuses receive federal and state funds. 

It is very important that families complete the form so that schools can receive federal and state funding (i.e., Title I and State Compensatory Education), which directly impact campuses and students throughout the district. Title I and State Compensatory Education funding can be used to hire personnel, provide tutoring services, order technology, and provide professional development for teachers.

Socioeconomic forms are also utilized in the annual state accountability ratings, ensuring that each campus is compared to other campuses with the same percentage of economically disadvantaged students.

The Public Education Information Management System encompasses all data requested and received by TEA about public education, including student demographic and academic performance, personnel, financial, and organizational information.