Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A.
Requirement: A child of school age, as defined by PED, must
attend school and have satisfactory attendance to meet the personal
responsibility requirements of the parent, specified relative, or
caretaker.
B.
Student
status:
(1) A dependent child of
school age must be a full-time student at a certified educational facility or
participating and fully complying with a home-schooling program approved by the
New Mexico PED. School age means any dependent child who turns six years of age
prior to September first and is under 18 years of age.
(2) A participant who is 18 years of age may
be included in the NMW benefit group if the individual is enrolled in high
school, or the high school equivalent level of vocational or technical
training. Such an individual may be eligible to be included in the NMW benefit
group until the end of the month in which the individual graduates or until the
end of the month in which the individual turns 19 years of age, whichever
occurs first.
(3) A student who is
between 18 and 21 years of age may be included in the NMW benefit group as long
as the student is enrolled in high school and is receiving special education
services regulated by the PED. There must be a current valid individual
education plan (IEP) for the student to verify the special education
services.
(4) A dependent child age
17 years of age or younger who has graduated from high school or has obtained a
GED shall be deemed to be a full-time student and to fulfill attendance
requirements.
(5) A minor unmarried
parent who does not have a child under the age of 12 weeks, must attend school
full time to obtain a high school diploma or must participate in a GED program
full-time or participate in approved alternate schooling unless the minor
unmarried parent has already graduated from high school or obtained a
GED.
C.
School
attendance:
(1)
Full time
attendance: A child is considered a full-time student based on the below
criteria:
(a) School attendance is defined by
the standards of the educational facility or program in which the child is
enrolled including regularly scheduled vacations and breaks provided the child:
(i) has not been removed for non attendance;
and
(ii) resumes attendance when
classes start again;
(b)
is currently enrolled in a home schooling programming approved by the New
Mexico PED.
(2)
Verification:(a) Verification of
school attendance must be provided at time application and certification for
any:
(i) minor unmarried parent; and
(ii) dependent child 18 years of age and
over.
(b) The statement
of the parent or caretaker is acceptable verification of school attendance for
all other dependent children, unless otherwise questionable.
D.
Unsatisfactory attendance:
(1) A child
shall be considered not meeting the school attendance requirement when the
child:
(a) is not enrolled in
school;
(b) has accumulated three
unexcused absences in a grading period, but not on the same day;
(c) has dropped out of school during the
current grading period; or
(d) has
one or more unexcused absences during the time period covered by a current
school attendance plan.
(2)
Reporting requirement:
Within 14 days of the date it becomes known, the parent, specified relative, or
caretaker must report to ISD if a child is not enrolled in school, has
accumulated three unexcused absences during the current grading period, or has
dropped out of school. Failure to report that a child has not met school
attendance requirements shall not result in a non-reporting sanction for the
parent, or the specified relative or caretaker if included in the benefit
group.
(3)
Failure to
meet: In the absence of good cause for failure to meet the school
attendance requirements the conciliation process shall be initiated.
(a)
Conciliation process: Prior
to removing the child's needs from the benefit group's standard of need, the
parent, specified relative or caretaker shall have a 10 working day
conciliation period to address school non-attendance. The conciliation period
is a 10 working day period affording an opportunity for the parent, child, and
the school to develop a plan to ensure regular attendance by the child and
comply with NMW requirements.
(i) Within 10
days of receipt of verification that a child has not met school attendance
requirements, the caseworker shall take action to initiate a conciliation
period by issuing a notice of action.
(ii) The benefit group shall have 10 working
days from the date of issuance of the notice to provide a school attendance
plan indicating the school's confirmation of satisfactory
arrangements.
(iii) If a benefit
group fails to provide a school attendance plan, a notice of adverse action
shall be sent within five working days.
(iv) If the school confirms that satisfactory
arrangements have been made to ensure regular attendance by the child, the
child shall remain eligible.
(b)
Benefit reduction:
(i) The child shall be removed from the
benefit group effective the month following the month the notice of adverse
action expires.
(ii) If there is
one or more unexcused absence following successful submission of a school
attendance plan (the school's confirmation of satisfactory arrangements), the
caseworker shall remove the child from the benefit group effective the month
following the month the notice of adverse action expires.
(c)
Case closure: If the child
is the only child included in the benefit group, the cash assistance case shall
be subject to closure in the month following the notice of adverse
action.
(4)
Good
cause: A child with unsatisfactory school attendance or enrollment shall
be warranted good cause based on the following circumstances:
(a) periods of personal illness or
convalescence;
(b) family
emergencies, for a period not to exceed 30 days;
(c) participation in or attendance at
cultural and religious activities as long as the child has parental consent;
or
(d) a minor parent has a child
under 12 weeks of age.
E.
Regaining eligibility: Once
a child has been removed from the benefit group due to failure to comply with
school attendance requirements, the child can not be considered a member of any
benefit group. Changes in school attendance must be reported by the
parent/caretaker. Eligibility may be regained when:
(1) the child has attended school with no
unexcused absences for the 30 days;
(2) circumstances of good cause apply as
listed in Paragraph (4) of Subsection D; or
(3) during the summer months if the child is
promoted, attending summer school or graduating.