1. Program Overview
The SUN Bucks program
(Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer) provides grocery benefits to eligible
children during the summer months when school meals are not available.
Eligibility for SUN Bucks is
determined through several pathways:
- Direct Certification
- Categorical Eligibility
- Income-based eligibility through a
school application
Students who are directly
certified through programs such as CalFresh, CalWORKs, or Medi-Cal
(≤185% FPL) are automatically eligible and do not need to submit an
application.
Students who are not
automatically certified may qualify by submitting either:
- A
School Meal Application, or
- A
Universal Benefits Application (UBA).
For districts operating under
certain federal meal provisions, the UBA is the primary method used to
determine SUN Bucks eligibility.
RocketScan is used by
districts to collect, scan, validate, and process UBAs and meal applications
efficiently and accurately.
2. When UBAs Are Required
Application requirements
depend on the district’s meal service model.
|
Meal Program Model
|
Application Requirement
|
|
Standard Counting &
Claiming
|
Collect School Meal
Applications annually
|
|
Community Eligibility
Provision (CEP)
|
Collect Universal
Benefits Applications annually
|
|
Provision 2 (Base Year)
|
School Meal Applications
|
|
Provision 2 (Non-Base Year)
|
Universal Benefits
Applications
|
The UBA enables schools to
determine eligibility for:
- SUN
Bucks
- Free
or Reduced-Price Meal (FRPM) status
- Local
Control Funding Formula (LCFF) unduplicated pupil counts.
3. SUN Bucks Eligibility Period
For the 2026 SUN Bucks
program cycle:
Eligibility period: July 1, 2025 – August 31,
2026.
Applications collected during
this period may be used to determine eligibility for the upcoming summer
benefit.
Districts should continue to
accept UBAs year-round and process them promptly.
4. RocketScan Workflow for SUN Bucks Applications
RocketScan supports the complete lifecycle of SUN
Bucks application processing.
Step 1 – Application Collection
Districts
may collect UBAs through:
- Paper
forms submitted to schools
- Online
application portals
- District
enrollment packets
Districts
should focus outreach on students who:
- Are
not directly certified
- Are
not identified as homeless, migrant, or foster
- May
qualify based on household income.
These
students require an approved application to establish eligibility.
Step 2 – Document Scanning (RocketScan Scan Module)
Paper
UBAs are scanned into RocketScan using batch scanning.
Recommended
scanning practices:
- Prep
applications in batches of 25 or fewer
- Ensure
forms are complete and signed
- Ensure
barcodes are visible and none of the forms are copies in black
- Use
dark ink for readability
RocketScan
captures and stores the application images for automated processing.
Step 3 –AutoProcess -
Intelligent Name Recognition
RocketScan
automatically reads scanned forms using intelligent character recognition
(ICR).
This
process extracts data fields such as:
- Student
name
- Household
members
- Income
information
- Case
numbers
- Parent/guardian
information
Applications
are then routed to the validation queue.
Step 4 – Validation and Data Review
RocketScan operators review
each application to verify accuracy.
Validation tasks include:
- Confirming
student identity
- Reviewing
household size
- Confirming
income data
- Verifying
case numbers (if provided)
- Correcting
unread or incomplete fields
Applications requiring
additional review may be placed in:
- Held
Applications
- Missing
Student ID queues
- Manual
review queues
Once validated, the
application becomes eligible for export to district systems.
5. SUN Bucks Verification Requirements
To maintain program
integrity, California requires LEAs to verify a sample of applications used to
determine eligibility.
Verification applies to:
- Universal
Benefits Applications
- Locally
created SUN Bucks applications.
The verification process
confirms that information on the application is accurate using documentation or
administrative records.
2026 Verification Requirement
Beginning with the 2026
program year:
- LEAs
must select a random 3% sample of approved UBAs for verification.
- The
sample is selected April 1, 2026.
- Verification
must be completed before submitting eligibility data to the state
system.
Required Verification
Steps
- Select the 3% random sample of
approved UBAs.
- Conduct direct verification first
using available administrative data.
- If necessary, request documentation
from the household.
- Update eligibility determinations if
required.
- Notify households of verification
outcomes.
- Submit verified eligibility records
to the Education Data Collection System (EDCS).
Direct verification must be
attempted before requesting documents from families.
6. Data Submission and Reporting
Once UBAs are validated and
verified (if selected), eligibility records must be submitted to the California
Department of Education.
Key reporting steps:
- Finalize eligibility determinations.
- Upload records through the Education
Data Collection System (EDCS).
- Maintain application records and
verification documentation.
RocketScan assists districts
by:
- Maintaining
application images
- Recording
validation history
- Generating
audit files
- Exporting
eligibility data to district systems.
7. Best Practices for District Implementation
To ensure accurate SUN
Bucks eligibility processing:
Prioritize
outreach -
Encourage families who are not automatically certified
to submit UBAs.
Process
applications promptly -
Applications should be processed within 15 days of
receipt.
Maintain
audit documentation -
Store application images and validation history.
Prepare
for verification -
Ensure UBAs are accessible and organized for
verification sampling.
8. Benefits of Using RocketScan
RocketScan helps
districts:
- Process
high volumes of applications quickly
- Reduce
manual data entry
- Improve
accuracy of eligibility determinations
- Maintain
compliance with SUN Bucks requirements
- Produce
audit-ready documentation for verification.