Rules & Regulations of the State of Tennessee
Title 1240 - Human Services
Subtitle 1240-01 - Family Assistance Division
Chapter 1240-01-47 - Non-Financial Eligibility Requirements - Families First Program
Section 1240-01-47-.15 - SCHOOL ATTENDANCE

Universal Citation: TN Comp Rules and Regs 1240-01-47-.15

Current through September 24, 2024

(1) All school age children are required to attend school, including kindergarten, where available, unless good cause is established for non-attendance.

(a) The Department of Human Services will accept the school's determination as to whether the child is in attendance or truant.

(b) A home schooling program which is recognized by the county/city Board of Education will be acceptable in meeting the school attendance requirement for a school age child; however, a parent/caretaker relative who is home-schooling his/her children will not be exempt from the Families First Employment and Training participation requirement.

(c) Failure to comply with the school attendance requirement will result in a 20 percent reduction in the assistance group's cash payment.
1. The penalty will be assessed whenever the child is truant unless it is determined that there was good cause for failure of the child to attend school.

2. Good cause for non-attendance includes a verified illness that prohibits attendance, suspension from school with reentry forbidden and no alternative school available, removal of the child from the school by the courts, and other verified situations which prevent the child from attending.

3. The school attendance requirement applies to all assistance groups, whether or not the caretaker is included in the AG.
(i) This requirement extends to all minors in the AG, including married minors and minor parents.

4. Compliance with the requirement following a period of non-compliance will result in the reinstatement of the 20 percent effective the next calendar month.

5. The maximum penalty that can be assessed against an AG for failure to comply with the school attendance requirement is 20 percent, even if more than one child is truant.

(2) An individual who is not the head of household, who has not reached eighteen (18) years of age, who has a child who is at least sixteen (16) weeks of age in such person's care, and who has not successfully completed a high school education or its equivalent, will be removed from the Families First AG unless the individual participates in educational activities directed toward the attainment of a high school diploma or its equivalent.

(3) An individual who is the head of his/her household, who has not reached twenty (20) years of age, who has a child who is at least sixteen (16) week s of age in such person's care, and who has not successfully completed a high school education or its equivalent, will be subject to sanction for his/her entire AG unless the individual participates in:

(a) Educational activities directed toward the attainment of a high school diploma or its equivalent; or

(b) Thirty (30) hours of countable work activities as described in 1240-01-49-.03.

(4) Earned Income Exclusions/Disregards for Student Child Recipients.

(a) Exclusion of Earnings for a Full-Time Student. Earnings of a child recipient who is a full-time student are excluded for the gross income standard test and grant computations up to six months each calendar year. An additional exclusion for purposes of the GIS test may be applied to earnings from JTPA employment for up to six months each calendar year.

(b) Disregard of Earnings for a Full-Time Student or a Part-Time Student not Employed Full-Time.
1. If a child's gross earnings are within the gross income standard, the earnings of a child recipient who is a full-time student or a part-time student not employed fulltime are disregarded.

2. For a part-time student employed full-time, or for a child recipient without student status, the applicable earned income disregards ($150, child/dependent care) are applied.

3. For purposes of applying these exclusions/disregards, a student is a child recipient attending school, college, university, or a course in vocational or technical training designed to prepare him/her for gainful employment and includes participation in the Job Corps Program under JTPA.

(5) The caretaker/parent is required to report any change in a child's school attendance (e.g., a child drops out of school).

(6) A student retains student status during official school vacations and breaks if he/she met requirements prior to the vacation/break and intends to return to school after the vacation/break.

(7) A child who is receiving elementary/secondary or equivalent level vocational/technical instruction from a homebound teacher meets student requirements. A homebound teacher is a certified teacher employed by the school in which the child is enrolled.

(8) Participation in correspondence courses, other courses of home study, apprenticeships and rehabilitation programs other than academic or instructional, vocational/technical training, does not qualify a child as a student.

(9) A child who is age 18 but not yet 19 may be eligible for Families First as a dependent child if she/he is a full-time student in a secondary school or the equivalent level of vocational or technical training and is reasonably expected to complete the program before reaching age 19.

Authority: T.C.A. §§ 4-5-201 et seq., 4-5-202, 4-5-209, 71-1-105, 71-3-152, 71-3-153, 71-3-154, and 71-3-154(h), 71-3-158(d)(2)(D); 42 U.S.C. §§ 601 et seq., 42 U.S.C. § 607(c)(2)(C), 42 U.S.C. § 607(c), (d) and (e), 42 U.S.C. § 608(a)(4), and 42 U.S.C. § 608(a)(6)(A), 42 USC § 1315(a), Public Acts of 1996, Chapter 950, 45 C.F.R. § 261.2 and 45 CFR 233.20, § 1115 of the Social Security Act; Deficit Reduction Act 2005 ( Pub. L. 109-171 §§ 7101 and 7102, February 8, 2006); 71 Federal Register 37454 (June 29, 2006); and Acts 2007, Chapter 31.

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