2005 Vermont Code - § 1122. — Postsecondary education program

§ 1122. Postsecondary education program

(a) The commissioner shall establish by rule a separate state program to provide living expense stipends and support services to enable parents in eligible families to pursue undergraduate postsecondary degrees in fields directly related to employment.

(b) The program authorized by this section shall be administered by the commissioner or by a contractor designated by the commissioner, and shall be supported with funds other than federal TANF block grant funds provided under Title IV-A of the Social Security Act.

(c) The amount of the program's living expense stipend shall be determined using financial assistance rules with the following modifications:

(1) The amount of the living expense stipend shall be determined at the time of the financial eligibility determination for admission into the program, and annually thereafter within 90 days before the beginning of the participant's academic year.

(2) The maximum living expense stipend for a family with three or fewer members shall be the amount that is equal to the ratably reduced sum of the Reach Up basic needs allowance for a household of three, plus the maximum monthly housing allowance for the county in which they reside.

(3) The maximum living expense stipend allowed for a family with more than three members shall be the amount that is equal to the ratably reduced sum of the Reach Up basic needs allowance for a household of four, plus the maximum housing allowance for the county in which they reside.

(d) To be financially eligible to participate in the postsecondary education program the family must meet the following applicable income test:

(1) In two-parent families, the family's gross income minus the participating parent's earnings shall not exceed 150 percent of the federal poverty level for a family of four or fewer members as established by the commissioner by rule, or 150 percent of the federal poverty level for a family of five, provided the family included five or more members as established by the commissioner by rule.

(2) In single-parent families, the gross income of the family shall not exceed 150 percent of the federal poverty level for a family of three, provided the family includes three or fewer members as established by the commissioner by rule, or 150 percent of the federal poverty level for a family of four, provided the family includes four or more members as established by the commissioner by rule.

(3) All program participants shall demonstrate financial eligibility at the time of application, for the calendar year preceding application, and within the 90-day period prior to the beginning of each academic year of the institution in which the participant is enrolled.

(4) Verification of all income amounts required by this subsection shall be provided in accordance with Reach Up program rules.

(e) All financially eligible families who apply to participate in the postsecondary education program will be considered for admission provided that they meet all of the following criteria:

(1) No more than one parent per family may participate at the same time.

(2) If the participating parent is in a two-parent family, the nonparticipating parent shall, if able-to-work, be working full-time; if able-to-work-part-time shall be working at least the number of hours per week that he or she has been determined able-to-work-part-time; or, if unable-to-work, may be unemployed.

(A) The participating parent has not already received a postsecondary undergraduate degree;

(B) The participating parent has already received a postsecondary undergraduate degree and the occupations for which it prepared the participating parent are obsolete;

(C) The participating parent, due to a disability, is no longer able to perform the occupations for which the degree prepared him or her; or

(D) The preparation for occupations that the participating parent received through the postsecondary undergraduate degree is outdated and not marketable in the current labor market.

(4) The participating parent shall be a matriculating student in a two-year or four-year degree program as provided for in the postsecondary education plan.

(5) The participating parent has been determined to be eligible for financial assistance from the Vermont student assistance corporation, and can demonstrate that he or she has the ability to cover tuition costs.

(6) The participating parent agrees to limit employment to no more than 20 hours per week when school is in session.

(7) Participating families who are eligible for Reach Up financial assistance shall agree to accept the program living expense stipend in lieu of a Reach Up financial assistance grant.

(A) For a period of five years beginning with the date of a parent's receipt of a postsecondary education degree due to successful completion of this program, the parent and the parent's family, if financially eligible, shall receive no more than 12 cumulative months of Reach Up financial assistance, and the participating parent shall comply with the following conditions:

(i) The parent shall engage in job search at a TANF-countable level for the first four weeks of the family's receipt of a financial assistance grant;

(ii) Unless employed full time, the parent shall engage in approved work activities at a TANF-countable level during all months following the initial job search that the family receives financial assistance; and

(iii) Parents who have not been sanctioned since receiving their postsecondary education degree, have not left an unsubsidized degree-related job without good cause since receiving their postsecondary education degree, and have followed through, satisfactorily, on all referrals to degree-related jobs since receiving their postsecondary education degree shall only have to accept unsubsidized jobs related to their degree during the first three months following receipt of their degree. Parents who have been sanctioned since receiving their postsecondary education degree, have left an unsubsidized degree-related job without good cause since receiving their postsecondary education degree, have not followed through, satisfactorily, on all referrals to degree-related jobs since receiving their postsecondary education degree, or have not, after receipt of three cumulative months of financial assistance, obtained a job in a field related to their postsecondary degree, shall accept any unsubsidized job that is offered.

(B) The limitation on receiving no more than 12 cumulative months of Reach Up cash assistance established under subdivision (A) of this subdivision (8) shall not apply if:

(i) the parent who received the postsecondary education degree has not been offered a full-time, unsubsidized job;

(ii) all parents in the family have become so severely disabled that they are precluded from being employed;

(iii) in the case of a single-parent family, a child in the family has become so severely disabled that the parent is precluded from being employed; or

(iv) a catastrophic family event precludes the parent's employment, as determined by the commissioner.

(9) The participating parent establishes and follows a postsecondary education plan that has been approved by the commissioner or his or her designee. Each postsecondary education plan shall include the following:

(A) the occupation that the parent proposes to pursue;

(B) a schedule that assures the participating parent will complete the coursework necessary for a two-year degree within three years and for a four-year degree within five years. The commissioner shall establish by rule criteria for exceptions to such time limits. Such criteria shall be based on circumstances beyond the parent's control;

(C) a schedule reflecting that, when an applicant has at least 15 credit hours of course credits that can be applied to the degree being pursued, four months for every 15 credit hours of coursework that can be applied to the degree has been deducted from the three-year time period allowed for a two-year degree or the five-year time period allowed for a four-year degree; and

(D) a schedule reflecting that, when a parent who has already obtained a two-year degree through participation in the program authorized by this section is pursuing a four-year degree, the time period that was used to obtain the two-year degree has been subtracted from the five-year time period allowed for a four-year degree.

(10) The family and the participating adult maintain uninterrupted residency in Vermont for the duration of participation in the postsecondary education program.

(11) The participating parent maintains good academic standing at the college.

(f) Participation in the program authorized by this section may be denied to parents meeting the eligibility criteria if program funds are insufficient to allow all eligible applicants to participate. When funds are insufficient to allow all eligible applicants to participate, priority shall be given to those individuals with no postsecondary education.

(g) Continued participation in the postsecondary education program is contingent on the participating parent:

(1) maintaining compliance with all program criteria in subsections (d) and (e) of this section; and

(2) remaining a member in good standing of the college and making progress toward a degree.

(h) For the purposes of this section:

(1) "Full-time" means 40 hours per week or a position requiring no fewer than 35 hours of work per week that the employer defines as full-time.

(2) "Parent" means either a biological parent, stepparent, or adoptive parent who has custody of and resides with a dependent minor child. (Added 1999, No. 147 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. July 1, 2001.)