Applicability of Exemptions

[63-406.21]

In order for a student to be eligible to participate in CalFresh, the student shall meet at least one exemption criteria on the date of the interview. Once eligibility for an exemption has been established, the exemption will apply through the certification period.

Employment

Students in the following situations are considered eligible for CalFresh based on working 20 hours per week.

  • Officially employed, but the first day of work begins later in the month, or the following month, provided that employment is expected to be 20 hours per week.
  • Working an average of 20 hours per week (at least 80 hours per month, but not evenly spaced out through the month).
  • Work stops for two weeks or less during school vacations, provided the student remains employed.

Students in the following situations do NOT meet the employment student eligibility criterion.

  • Paid with in-kind benefits (such as free housing, utilities, food, or clothing) instead of cash.
  • Student teaching, or other employment where no pay is received.
  • There is no work from June through August, and the student will return to work in September. (There is no student eligibility from June through August, but the student would be eligible from September through May.)

Work Study

This exemption begins the month the school term starts or the month work study is approved, whichever is later. The exemption continues until the end of the month the school term ends, or it becomes known that the student refused a work assignment.

An exemption must be granted on this basis if a student has verified that they have been approved for federal or state work study, as defined by the institution of higher education. If a student is approved (or awarded or accepted) for state or federally financed work study during a specific school term, anticipates working during that term, and has not refused a work assignment, that student remains eligible for this exemption.

The fact that a work study job assignment has not yet begun or is not available does not disqualify the student from receiving the exemption. A student can fairly anticipate that they will be offered a work study job assignment until they receive notice of denial.

The exemption shall not continue between terms when there is a break of a full month or longer unless the student is participating in work study during the break. Otherwise, during the break, the student must meet one of the other student eligibility criteria to maintain eligible student status.

Note: Counties are not required to follow up for students who were determined exempt based on work study during the certification period. Student eligibility, including whether of not the students meets the criteria for an exemption from the student work rule, is determined at application and recertification. Students are not required to report a change in work study during the certification. However, if the household voluntarily reports mid-period that the student will have a break in their work study for longer than a month and the report is verified, then the EW must tact on the reported information. The student is no longer exempt based on work study, theretofore, the EW must re-assess whether the student meets other criteria for another exemption before determining continuing eligibility (State PI: June 15, 2017 RA).

ExampleExample

A student is eligible based upon being approved for work study and anticipating working during the school term which began in September 1999. In November 1999 during the RC, the student advises that he was offered a work study assignment but turned it down. At that point, he no longer qualifies for the work study exemption. Unless he meets one of the other student eligibility criteria, he is no longer an eligible student.

ExampleExample

A student is eligible based upon being approved for work study and anticipating working during the school year. The school term ends May 26, 2000. The student's intent is to return to school in the fall. The new school year begins on August 21, 2000. Since there is a break of a full month, unless the student is participating in work study during the break, he/she must meet one of the other student eligibility criteria to maintain eligible student status during the break.

CALWORKS Recipient

An applicant for CalWORKs is not considered to be a recipient. A student who begins to actually receive CalWORKs meets the “Student Eligibility Criteria” effective the first of the following month.

Parental Control

Only one adult per FAMILY may be designated as “exerting parental control over a dependent household member.” (There may be more than one family in a household, and therefore possibly more than one adult exerting parental control within some households.)

Adequate Child Care

Availability of child care shall be determined on a case-by-case basis. Situations where adequate child care services are not available include the following:

  • Child care hours offered by the day care provider do not coincide with the student's employment hours or potential employment hours, or
  • The distance between the student's home, school, place of employment and child care prevents the student from meeting his/her school or employment schedule, or
  • The institution of higher education provides child care to the children of students only while the student is attending class, and no other child care is available, or
  • In addition to all of the above factors, an adult member in the home is either unable or unwilling to provide child care.

ExampleExample

A student mother with a ten-year-old son has no child care for him. They live with the boy's grandmother, who is a household member, but she refuses to babysit for the boy. There is a child care center ten miles away that would take him, but it is in the opposite direction from the college attended by the student mother and would add an hour to her daily commute routine. Suitable child care is considered unavailable.

Receipt of a Cal Grant A or B

Federal regulation allows receipt of a TANF-funded non-cash benefit is sufficient to confer the exemption. Each year the State allocates TANF funds to the CSAC for the purpose of issuing Cal Grants to low-income college students that meet the TANF eligibility requirements.

Only Cal Grant A and B are TANF funded. Therefore, only receipt of Cal Grant A or B can be used to determine that a student meets the criteria for an exemption from the student eligibility rule. Cal Grant B Access and Cal Grant C are not TANF funded. Therefore, receipt of Cal Grant B Access and Cal Grant C cannot be used to determine that a student meets the criteria for an exemption from the student eligibility rule.

AB 214 requires that CSAC provide written notification to recipients of Cal Grant A or B awards regarding their potential eligibility for CalFresh. The letter will be provided to the student once the Cal Grant A or B has been awarded. Since CSAC has already made the determination that the student has met the TANF eligibility requirements by awarding the Cal Grant, the student satisfies this student exemption as long as the award letter is provided to the county. A copy of the award letter should be retained by the county as it serves as verification of receipt of a TANF-funded Cal Grant A or B.

The following Cal Grant recipients meet the student exemption rule:

  •  Students attending a community college are receiving a Cal Grant A.

    • Note: Students attending community college are only eligible to receive Cal Grant A and Cal Grant B Access. Because low-income community college students receive a BOG's fee waiver, Cal Grant B Access does not provide tuition assistance and is not funded by TANF. Therefore, only community college students receiving Cal Grant A receive a TANF funded benefit and qualify for an exemption from the student eligibility rule.

    • A community college student may be eligible for Cal Grant B, if and when they transfer to a four-year institution of higher education. The student will only receive the Cal Grant B at the time they transfer to the four-year institution.

  • Students attending four-year colleges or universities, including CSU, UC, or private institutions, are receiving either Cal Grant A or Cal Grant B.

    • Reminder: Cal Grant C is not TANF funded. Therefore, regardless of whether a student attends a community college, CSU, UC, or other four-year college or university, receipt of Cal Grant C does not qualify a student for an exemption from the student eligibility rule.

Local Programs that Increase Employability (LPIE) Approved by the State:

Assembly Bill (AB) 396 signed into law on October 4, 2021 requires all California Community College (CCC) and California State University (CSU) campus-based programs that meet LPIE requirements to submit an application to the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) on or before September 1, 2022, and requests University of California (UC) programs to do the same. Senate Bill (SB) 609 signed into law on October 6, 2021 requires CDSS to include Adult Education and Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs in the List of Approved LPIEs.


Process for Identifying LPIEs

Counties will no longer participate in the process for identifying or approving campus based LPIEs. Colleges must identify and submit their LPIE programs that contain the equivalent of an E&T component. The Center for Healthy Communities (CHC), a CalFresh outreach prime contractor out of Chico State University will assist campuses in identification and submission of LPIEs. CDSS updates the List of Approved LPIEs on the CDSS website on the first of each month. For the updated list, EWs must refer to the CDSS Student Resources CalFresh Student Eligibility: List of Approved LPIEs website at: https://www.cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/CalFresh-resource-center/policy. The list is accessible from Program Bureau/CF Reference Materials/EW Resources/CF Student Eligibility: List of Approved Local Program that Increase Employability.

General Programs Identified

 

In addition to individual LPIE program identification, the CCCs, CSUs, and UCs have identified two general programs which meet the criteria for an LPIE. All campuses may have students participating in one or both of the general programs below. 

• Campus Employment Program: Students employed by their campus or a recognized auxiliary organization are considered to be participating in a Campus Employment Program. For LPIE purposes, an auxiliary organization must be overseen by the CCC, CSU, or UC, and must serve the institution of higher education. Students enrolled in this program do not need to be working an average of 20 hours per week or a total of 80 hours per month to meet the criteria for an exemption to the student eligibility rule as LPIEs do not have a minimum hour requirement.

• Research and Teaching Assistantship Program: Students hired for a research or teaching assistant position, whether paid or unpaid, or part of a training program, are considered to be participating in a Research and Teaching Assistantship Program. Students may be notified of their enrollment in one of the above programs by their campus based on available student data.

Removal of LPIEs at Private Institutions

In accordance with the federal regulation, an LPIE must be operated by a state or local government. Due to this requirement, previously approved programs that are not operated by a CCC, CSU, or UC are removed from the List of Approved LPIEs effective September 1, 2022. Students receiving CalFresh due to being enrolled in a private school LPIE must remain exempt from the student eligibility rule for the length of the certification period. Student eligibility status must be reassessed during the student’s next recertification. At that time, the EW must evaluate the student’s circumstances to determine if they meet another exemption before determining the student to be ineligible.

VERIFICATION OF LPIE

To the extent possible, students enrolled in an LPIE will be notified by their campus that they meet the criteria for an exemption to the student eligibility rule. If a student states, verbally or in writing, that they are enrolled in one of the programs listed on the List of Approved LPIEs, that is sufficient information for the County to exempt the student unless it is questionable. If the information provided by a student is questionable, acceptable verification can include but is not limited to a transcript, an email from an instructor, or verbal affirmation from a campus official. Additionally, targeted outreach emails from campuses to LPIE enrollees are acceptable verification. If a program does not appear on the Approved LPIE List, the county must explore if the student is enrolled in another LPIE or meets the criteria for another exemption before determining the student to be ineligible.

Related Topics

Students