The sun bucks program is the summer electronic benefits transfer program that provides a one-time food benefit to eligible children during designated summer periods following an academic school year. Sun bucks is administered by the department of social and health services and is not bound by the same state or federal rules, regulations, or procedures governing basic food as described in WAC 388-400-0040.

The following definitions apply to this program:

1. (1) "Categorically eligible" means a school age child, as defined in this section, who automatically qualifies for sun bucks because they are:

   1. (a) A member of a household receiving the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) or temporary assistance for needy families (TANF); or
   2. (b) A foster child, homeless child, migrant child, head start child, or runaway child; as defined in the Richard B. Russell act.
2. (2) "CEP or provision 2 school" means a community eligibility provision or provision 2 school that provides free or reduced-price meals to all children regardless of meeting income eligibility guidelines.
3. (3) "CNEEB" means a child nutrition eligibility and education benefit application for free and reduced-price meals, including sun bucks, submitted by a household for a child or children enrolled at a school that participates in NSLP/SBP.
4. (4) "Department" means the department of social and health services.
5. (5) "Direct certification" means automatic eligibility for free or reduced-price meals based on documentation provided by the department that a child is categorically eligible as defined in this section.
6. (6) "Direct verification" means the process of verifying household income or categorical eligibility by matching against data sources or other records without the need to contact the household for documentation.
7. (7) "Dual participation" means a child simultaneously receiving sun bucks benefits from more than one state or simultaneously receiving multiple allotments from the same state.
8. (8) "Expungement" means removal of unused benefits after 122 days from the date sun bucks benefits were deposited into the EBT account.
9. (9) "Free or reduced-price meals" means meals provided to students qualified as eligible by the Richard B. Russell national school lunch act.
10. (10) "Household" means a group of related or nonrelated individuals, who are not residents of an institution or boarding house, but who are living as one economic unit as defined in the US department of agriculture food and nutrition service eligibility manual for school meals.
11. (11) "Income eligibility guidelines" means income limits to determine eligibility for free and reduced-price meals adjusted annually by the US department of agriculture food and nutrition service as required by the national school lunch act.
12. (12) "Instructional year" means the period from July 1 of the prior year through one day prior to the summer operational period.
13. (13) "NSLP/SBP" means the national school lunch program established under the Richard B. Russell national school lunch act and the school breakfast program established under the child nutrition act.
14. (14) "Period of eligibility" means the period of time from the first day of the instructional year immediately preceding the summer operational period, through the last day of the summer operational period.
15. (15) "School-aged" means the age children are required to attend school as defined by state law; in Washington state this is age eight to 18 years old.
16. (16) "Streamline certified" means automatically enrolling an eligible child for sun bucks without need for further application or confirmation of school enrollment.
17. (17) "Summer operational period" means the period between the end of the current school year and the start of the next school year, as determined by the state.
18. (18) "Sun bucks application" means an application available to households with potentially eligible children who do not automatically meet streamline certification criteria.
19. (19) "Sun bucks card" means the unique EBT card that accesses sun bucks food benefits issued to individual eligible children.
20. (20) "Verification" means the confirmation of eligibility for a sun bucks application. Verification includes the confirmation of income eligibility and other information as requested by the department.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.04.500, 74.04.510, 74.08.090, 74.08A.120, and Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (H.R. 2617). WSR 26-01-114, s 388-487-0010, filed 12/16/25, effective 1/16/26; WSR 24-23-099, s 388-487-0010, filed 11/20/24, effective 12/21/24.]