Some Community College Students
Eligible for SNAP

Under a new DTA policy, community college students who are enrolled in any certificate or degree program that is considered a “Perkins eligible*” career and technical education program (or that the college otherwise determines will lead to employment) will now qualify for SNAP (formerly Food Stamps) if otherwise eligible (e.g., meet financial and citizenship/immigration status criteria). The student is not required to meet the other qualifying student exemptions - such as caring for a young child, receiving a work study grant, working 20 hours a week , etc.

Last September MLRI provided DTA with a detailed analysis that indicated that state agencies have the discretion to broadly define the scope of what constitutes a “state and local government employment and training program” and, in doing so, exempt more post secondary students from the longstanding federal bar on food stamp/SNAP benefits for students.

Over the past year, MLRI has worked closely with DTA and staff of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to develop SNAP policy guidance for DTA staff, a simplified verification form to be used by community colleges, and strategies to reach low income students enrolled in degree and certificate programs likely to lead to employment. Given the huge growth in community college attendance, increasingly scarce work study grants (receipt of work study typically qualifies many students for SNAP benefits), and lack of part time jobs (20 hrs/week work also qualifies students for SNAP), this policy change is both critical and timely. A recent Boston Globe article highlights the growing need for more options to support low income students as they strive to finish education become more employable in this tough economy: http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2010/06/03/fee_hikes_weigh_on_state_students.

Providing federal nutrition benefits will soften the blow of these tuition hikes and help more low income students who live with their parents.  

DESE has broad criteria for what community colleges (and state colleges) can define as a “Perkins eligible” program - a definition used for purposes of Massachusetts claiming federal Perkins funding for equipment and programming for the colleges directly. See http://www.doe.mass.edu/cte/perkins/ This definition not only includes degree programs such as accounting, business administration, computer programming, biotechnology, early education, criminal justice, marketing, etc - but may also include certain liberal arts majors (such as Health Science, Media Arts, etc) that the college determines meets the Perkins eligible criteria. Each year, community and state colleges provide DESE with the number of students considered "Perkins-eligible" to claim the federal Perkins grant for the Commonwealth. It will be important to check with your local community colleges to find out which programs or courses of study meet the Perkins-eligible definition, and to work with them to help students apply for SNAP or to be added to their family's SNAP benefits.

The new student policy change will not only help community college students who live alone, but also those student living in post foster care transitional living programs and students living at home but currently excluded from their family’s SNAP benefits. Under the Field Ops Memo, DTA will rely on the determination made by each community college as to whether the program in which the student is enrolled meets the definition under Perkins IV, or the student’s course of study is otherwise determined by the institution to lead directly to employment. This policy will also minimize needing to have SNAP ET workers spend time determining if a course of study leads to employment (this is still an option for students in non-community college programs through the FS/ET or SNAP/ET program who are in an approved activity). Advocates are hopeful that, down the road, DTA will consider extending this policy to students in the state college career and technical education programs.   

*This type of Perkins funding goes directly to state and community colleges; it is different from financial aid provided to individual students through Perkins grants.  

-From: “VICTORY!! More Community College Students in Mass to Qualify for
FS/SNAP Benefits!”, e-mail, Patricia Baker, Mass Law Reform Institute, June 3, 2010, forwarded by housingbenefits@googlegroups.com.

 

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