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<title>Priority Notice: P-EBT Benefit Information</title>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto">All, this priority notice was just posted by the Maine DOE, I wanted to share it here as well in case any of you did not see it.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#505050">Priority Notice from the Maine Department of Education<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p style="line-height:150%"><strong><span style="font-size:15.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#505050">P-EBT Benefit Information </span></strong><span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#505050"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:150%"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#505050">Dear Champions of Education, <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:150%"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#505050">Many Maine families received a card in the mail recently containing federally funded benefits through the Pandemic-EBT (P-EBT) program.
We understand that these cards came with no advance notice and have created confusion and questions from families in your school communities. While the Maine Department of Education (DOE) does not administer the program, we are providing further information
to help you address the questions you may be receiving. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:150%"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#505050">P-EBT is a federal program administered in Maine by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). It began in May of 2020 as part
of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 and ended in May of 2023. These cards contained the final payment to families. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:150%"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#505050">This
<a href="https://maine.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a582edd6473e477ef6307c769&id=7aa20bafab&e=d89fcd9d0f" target="_blank">
<span style="color:#336699">FAQ document,</span></a> created by DHHS, contains additional information on the program and the multiple ways that families qualify. This includes families who have school-aged children eligible for free or reduced school lunch
and children who attend a school that uses the federal <a href="https://maine.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a582edd6473e477ef6307c769&id=f3e35e9d4c&e=d89fcd9d0f" target="_blank">
<span style="color:#336699">Community Eligibility Provision or Special Provision II</span></a>, which support schools in offering free school meals to all students through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. Students at these schools are
eligible for P-EBT regardless of their financial circumstances. No personal financial information was shared. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:150%"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#505050">If families do not wish to use the cards, they can simply discard them. Unused benefits will be returned to the U.S. Department of Agriculture
in nine months. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:150%"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#505050">Families who have additional questions can be referred to DHHS at 207-287-3707 and their
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<span style="color:#336699">FAQ</span></a>. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:150%"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#505050">We apologize for any confusion this has caused. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="line-height:150%"><em><span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#505050">Sent October 3, 2023</span></em><span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#505050"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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