99-18175. Student Assistance General Provisions  

  • [Federal Register Volume 64, Number 136 (Friday, July 16, 1999)]
    [Proposed Rules]
    [Pages 38504-38508]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 99-18175]
    
    
    
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    Part II
    
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    Department of Education
    
    
    
    
    
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    34 CFR Part 668
    
    
    
    Student Assistance General Provisions; Proposed Rule
    
    Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 136 / Friday, July 16, 1999 / 
    Proposed Rules
    
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    DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
    
    34 CFR Part 668
    
    RIN 1840-AC73
    
    
    Student Assistance General Provisions
    
    AGENCY: Department of Education.
    
    ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
    
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    SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes to amend the regulations governing 
    student eligibility for the student financial assistance programs 
    authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as 
    amended (Title IV, HEA programs). These programs include the Federal 
    Pell Grant Program, the campus-based programs (Federal Perkins Loan, 
    Federal Work-Study (FWS), and Federal Supplemental Educational 
    Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) Programs), the William D. Ford Federal Direct 
    Loan (Direct Loan) Program, the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) 
    Program, and the Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP) 
    Program (formerly called the State Student Incentive Grant (SSIG) 
    Program). The proposed regulations implement changes made to the Higher 
    Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), by the Higher Education 
    Amendments of 1998 (1998 Amendments). Most of the proposed changes 
    simply conform current regulatory provisions to the statutory changes.
    
    DATES: We must receive your comments on or before September 14, 1999.
    
    ADDRESSES: Address all comments about these proposed regulations to 
    Lloyd Horwich, U.S. Department of Education, P.O. Box 23272, 
    Washington, DC 20202-3272. If you prefer to send your comments through 
    the Internet, use the following address: senprm@ed.gov.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lloyd Horwich. Telephone (202) 708-
    8242. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you 
    may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-
    8339.
        Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
    alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
    diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding 
    paragraph.
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    
    Invitation to Comment
    
        We invite you to submit comments regarding these proposed 
    regulations. To ensure that your comments have maximum effect in 
    developing the final regulations, we urge you to identify clearly the 
    specific section or sections of the proposed regulations that each of 
    your comments addresses and to arrange your comments in the same order 
    as the proposed regulations.
        We invite you to assist us in complying with the specific 
    requirements of Executive Order 12866 and its overall requirement of 
    reducing regulatory burden that might result from these proposed 
    regulations. Please let us know of any further opportunities we should 
    take to reduce potential costs or increase potential benefits while 
    preserving the effective and efficient administration of the program.
        During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
    comments about these proposed regulations at Regional Office Building 
    3, 7th and D Streets, SW, Room 3045, Washington, DC, between 8:30 a.m. 
    and 4:00 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday (excluding Federal 
    holidays).
    
    Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the Rulemaking 
    Record
    
        On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or 
    print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs 
    assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public 
    rulemaking record for these proposed regulations. If you want to 
    schedule an appointment for this type of aid, you can call (202) 205-
    8113 or (202) 260-9895. If you use a TDD, you may call the Federal 
    Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.
    
    Summary of Proposed Changes
    
        The Secretary proposes to revise the current Student Assistance 
    General Provisions, 34 CFR part 668, concerning student eligibility for 
    financial assistance programs authorized under Title IV, HEA. The 
    revisions implement changes made by the 1998 Amendments (Public Law 
    105-244, enacted October 7, 1998).
    
    Negotiated Rulemaking Process
    
        Section 492 of the HEA requires that, before publishing any 
    proposed regulations to implement programs under Title IV of the Act, 
    the Secretary obtain public involvement in the development of the 
    proposed regulations. After obtaining advice and recommendations, the 
    Secretary must conduct a negotiated rulemaking process to develop the 
    proposed regulations. All published proposed regulations must conform 
    to agreements resulting from the negotiated rulemaking process unless 
    the Secretary reopens the negotiated rulemaking process or provides a 
    written explanation to the participants in that process why the 
    Secretary has decided to depart from the agreements.
        To obtain public involvement in the development of the proposed 
    regulations, we published a notice in the Federal Register (63 FR 
    59922, November 6, 1998) requesting advice and recommendations from 
    interested parties concerning what regulations were necessary to 
    implement Title IV of the HEA. We also invited advice and 
    recommendations concerning which regulated issues should be subjected 
    to a negotiated rulemaking process. We further requested advice and 
    recommendations concerning ways to prioritize the numerous issues in 
    Title IV, in order to meet statutory deadlines. Additionally, we 
    requested advice and recommendations concerning how to conduct the 
    negotiated rulemaking process, given the time available and the number 
    of regulations that needed to be developed.
        In addition to soliciting written comments, we held three public 
    hearings and several informal meetings to give interested parties an 
    opportunity to share advice and recommendations with the Department. 
    The hearings were held in Washington, DC, Chicago, and Los Angeles, and 
    we posted transcripts of those hearings to the Department's Information 
    for Financial Aid Professionals website (http://ifap.ed.gov).
        We then published a second notice in the Federal Register (63 FR 
    71206, December 23, 1998) to announce the Department's intention to 
    establish four negotiated rulemaking committees to draft proposed 
    regulations implementing Title IV of the HEA. The notice announced the 
    organizations or groups believed to represent the interests that should 
    participate in the negotiated rulemaking process and announced that the 
    Department would select participants for the process from nominees of 
    those organizations or groups. We requested nominations for additional 
    participants from anyone who believed that the organizations or groups 
    listed did not adequately represent the list of interests outlined in 
    section 492 of the HEA. Once the four committees were established, they 
    met to develop proposed regulations over the course of several months, 
    beginning in January.
        The proposed regulations contained in this NPRM reflect the final 
    consensus of Committee III, which was made up of the following members:
    
    Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges of Technology
    American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions 
    Officers
    
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    American Association of Community Colleges
    American Association of Cosmetology Schools
    American Association of State Colleges and Universities
    American Council on Education
    Association of American Universities
    Career College Association
    Coalition of Higher Education Assistance Organizations
    Education Finance Council
    Legal Services Counsel/Legal Aid (a coalition)
    National Association of College and University Business Officers
    National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education
    National Association of Graduate/Professional Students
    National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
    National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs/
    National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs (a coalition)
    National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges
    National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
    National Direct Student Loan Coalition
    The College Board
    The College Fund/United Negro College Fund
    United States Department of Education
    United States Student Association
    U.S. Public Interest Research Group
        As stated in the committee protocols, consensus means that there 
    must be no dissent by any member in order for the committee to be 
    considered to have reached agreement. Consensus was reached on all of 
    the proposed regulations in this document.
    
    Section 668.32 Student Eligibility--General
    
    Home-Schooled Students
    
        Section 484(d) of the HEA, as amended by the 1998 Amendments, 
    allows a student who completes a secondary school education in a home 
    school that is treated as a home school or private school under State 
    law to be eligible to receive Title IV, HEA program funds. The 
    Secretary proposes to amend Sec. 668.32(e) to reflect that change.
        The negotiating committee discussed the language of the 1998 
    Amendments, and how different States oversee home schools, and 
    concluded that the statute would be implemented best by not adding any 
    additional eligibility requirements for a home-schooled student beyond 
    his or her State's home-school completion requirements.
        Under proposed Sec. 668.32(e)(4), to be eligible to receive Title 
    IV, HEA program funds, a home-schooled student must satisfy the home-
    school completion requirements of the State in which the student was 
    home-schooled. Thus, if a State requires a home-schooled student to 
    obtain a secondary school completion credential for home-school study 
    that is more than an attestation that the student was exempt from the 
    State's mandatory school attendance law, the student must obtain such a 
    credential to be eligible for Title IV, HEA program funds. If the State 
    does not require the student to obtain such a credential, the student 
    will satisfy Sec. 668.32(e)(4) based on the exemption from the State's 
    mandatory school attendance law.
        For purposes of Title IV, HEA program aid, the Secretary will allow 
    a home-schooled student to self-certify his or her eligibility in the 
    same way a high school graduate or GED recipient may.
    Statement of Educational Purpose
        The proposed regulations amend Sec. 668.32(h), which governs a 
    student's filing of his or her Statement of Educational Purpose, to 
    comply with changes made to the HEA by the 1998 Amendments. Previously, 
    a student who received a loan under the FFEL program had to file the 
    Statement with the lender. Under proposed Sec. 668.32(h), a student 
    simply would be required to file the Statement with the Secretary.
    Technical Corrections and Cross-References
        The Secretary proposes to amend Sec. 668.32(k)(7) to reflect the 
    name-change of the SSIG program to the LEAP program. The Secretary 
    proposes to add as Sec. 668.32(l) a cross-reference that reflects the 
    student eligibility criterion concerning drug convictions added by the 
    1998 Amendments and implemented by the proposed addition of 
    Sec. 668.40.
    
    Section 668.38  Enrollment in Telecommunications and Correspondence 
    Courses
    
        Prior to the 1998 Amendments, section 484(l) of the HEA provided 
    that a student enrolled in a telecommunications course would not be 
    considered to be enrolled in a correspondence course under certain 
    circumstances, including that the student was enrolled in a program 
    that led to an associate, bachelor, or graduate degree. The 1998 
    Amendments amended section 484(l) by adding another category of 
    students to be similarly treated: students who are enrolled in programs 
    of one academic year or longer that lead to a certificate. The proposed 
    regulations amend Sec. 668.38(b) to reflect that change.
        Thus, under proposed Sec. 668.38(b), the Secretary does not 
    consider a student enrolled in a telecommunications course at an 
    institution of higher education (as defined in Sec. 668.38(b)(2)) to be 
    enrolled in a correspondence course, if the student is enrolled in a 
    program described in the preceding paragraph, and the number of 
    telecommunications and correspondence courses offered by the 
    institution is less than half the total number of courses offered by 
    the institution.
        The 1998 Amendments also restricted the type of institution at 
    which telecommunications courses can be considered not to be 
    correspondence courses. Proposed Sec. 668.38(b)(2) reflects that 
    restriction. It defines an institution of higher education as one which 
    is not described in section 521(4)(C) of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational 
    and Applied Technology Education Act, and at which at least half of the 
    programs of study lead to an associate, bachelor, or graduate degree. 
    If the student is enrolled in telecommunications courses at an 
    institution other than an institution of higher education as defined by 
    proposed Sec. 668.38(b)(2), those courses are considered correspondence 
    courses.
    
    Section 668.40  Suspension of Eligibility for Drug-Related Offenses
    
        The 1998 Amendments added section 484(r) to the HEA. Under that 
    subsection, a student who has been convicted under Federal or State law 
    of possession or sale of a controlled substance, regardless of when the 
    conviction occurred, is ineligible for Title IV, HEA program funds for 
    the period specified in that subsection.
        The periods of ineligibility, which begin as of the date of the 
    conviction, are as follows:
        If convicted of an offense involving the possession of a controlled 
    substance, the ineligibility period is:
    
    First offense............................  1 year.
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    Second offense...........................  2 years.
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    Third offense............................  Indefinite.
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        If convicted of an offense involving the sale of a controlled 
    substance, the ineligibility period is:
    
    First offense............................  2 year.
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    Second offense...........................  Indefinite.
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        The Secretary proposes to add Sec. 668.40(a) and (b) to implement 
    those statutory provisions. Note that for purposes of determining a 
    student's
    
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    eligibility for Title IV assistance, a conviction means a conviction 
    that is on a student's record at the time the student's eligibility is 
    being determined. Therefore, a conviction that was reversed, set aside, 
    or removed from the student's record is not relevant.
        Because the statutory ineligibility periods begin on the date of 
    conviction, if a student has been convicted of both possession and sale 
    of a controlled substance and the two ineligibility periods overlap, 
    the periods run concurrently for the time during which they overlap. 
    The start of the ineligibility period for the later conviction is not 
    postponed until the ineligibility period for the earlier conviction 
    ends. For example, if a student is convicted on July 1, 2000 for the 
    first time for possession of a controlled substance and convicted on 
    January 1, 2001 for the first time for sale of a controlled substance, 
    the student will regain eligibility on January 1, 2003.
        Section 484(r) of the HEA further provides that a student can 
    regain eligibility, regardless of the number or type of convictions on 
    the student's record, by successfully completing a drug rehabilitation 
    program that complies with criteria established by the Secretary and 
    that includes two unannounced drug tests. The proposed regulations 
    establish criteria for an acceptable drug rehabilitation program in 
    Sec. 668.40(d)(2). Under the proposed criteria, a drug rehabilitation 
    program must (1) have received or be qualified to receive funds 
    directly or indirectly under a Federal, State, or local government 
    program, (2) be administered or recognized by a Federal, State, or 
    local government agency or court, (3) have received or be qualified to 
    receive payment directly or indirectly from a State-licensed insurance 
    company, or (4) be administered or recognized by a State-licensed 
    hospital, health clinic or medical doctor. The Secretary believes, and 
    the rest of Committee III concurs, that these criteria would ensure the 
    availability of a wide-range of opportunities for students to regain 
    their eligibility, and that an acceptable drug rehabilitation program 
    would have to be approved by an entity qualified to make such an 
    assessment.
        Having reviewed the language of the new statutory provision and its 
    legislative history, the Secretary believes, and the rest of Committee 
    III concurs, that Congress intended the drug rehabilitation relief 
    provision to be available at the same time students are subject to the 
    loss of eligibility. Members of Congress specifically indicated in 
    statements on the floor of Congress that students should be able to 
    regain Title IV, HEA program eligibility if they complete a 
    rehabilitation program. Since the HEA requires that acceptable 
    rehabilitation programs comply with criteria prescribed by the 
    Secretary in regulations and such regulations (as proposed in this 
    NPRM) will not be effective until July 1, 2000, this new student 
    eligibility provision will not be implemented until July 1, 2000. Until 
    that time no student will be determined to be ineligible for Title IV 
    assistance under the new provision.
        Nonetheless, a student's actions between now and the effective date 
    of the regulations may affect eligibility. For example, a first 
    conviction for possession of a controlled substance on February 1, 
    2000, will make a student ineligible for Title IV assistance from July 
    1, 2000--the effective date of the regulations--through January 31, 
    2001--one year from the date of the conviction. If the conviction were 
    the student's second, the student would not regain eligibility until 
    February 1, 2002. Because of the serious consequences to some students 
    of the new provision and because there are certain actions that they 
    could take to mitigate those consequences, the Secretary strongly 
    encourages, but is not requiring, institutions to inform their students 
    of this provision and to help students understand how their actions 
    might affect their future eligibility. For example, students whose 
    Title IV assistance otherwise would be jeopardized under the new law 
    can avoid a loss of eligibility by completing an acceptable drug 
    rehabilitation program before July 1, 2000.
        The Secretary will not require institutions to question their 
    Federal aid applicants about drug-related matters. The Secretary 
    intends to use the 2000-2001 aid applicantion processes--Free 
    Applications for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and Student Aid Report 
    (SAR)--to collect needed informatiom from applicants and to report the 
    results to schools on Institutional Student Information Records 
    (ISIRs). The Secretary has been working with representatives from the 
    higher education community in planning these new and sensitive 
    processes, and will keep the community updated as these plans are 
    developed.
    
    Executive Order 12866
    
    1. Potential Costs and Benefits
    
        Under Executive Order 12866, we have assessed the potential costs 
    and benefits of this regulatory action.
        The potential costs associated with the proposed regulations are 
    those resulting from statutory requirements and those we have 
    determined as necessary for administering this program effectively and 
    efficiently.
        In assessing the potential costs and benefits of this regulatory 
    action--both quantitative and qualitative--we have determined that the 
    benefits would justify the costs.
        We have also determined that this regulatory action would not 
    unduly interfere with State, local, and tribal governments in the 
    exercise of their governmental functions.
        We note that, as these proposed regulations were subject to 
    negotiated rulemaking, the costs and benefits of the various 
    requirements were discussed thoroughly by negotiators. The resultant 
    consensus reached on a particular requirement generally reflected 
    agreement on the best possible approach to that requirement in terms of 
    cost and benefit.
        To assist the Department in complying with the specific 
    requirements of Executive Order 12866, the Secretary invites comments 
    on whether there may be further opportunities to reduce any potential 
    costs or to increase any potential benefits resulting from these 
    proposed regulations without impeding the effective and efficient 
    administration of the Title IV, HEA programs.
        Elsewhere in this preamble, we discuss the potential costs and 
    benefits of these proposed regulations under the heading Regulatory 
    Flexibility Act Certification.
    
    2. Clarity of the Regulations
    
        Executive Order 12866 and the President's Memorandum of June 1, 
    1998 on ``Plain Language in Government Writing'' require each agency to 
    write regulations that are easy to understand.
        The Secretary invites comments on how to make these proposed 
    regulations easier to understand, including answers to questions such 
    as the following:
         Are the requirements in the proposed regulations clearly 
    stated?
         Do the proposed regulations contain technical terms or 
    other wording that interferes with their clarity?
         Does the format of the proposed regulations (grouping and 
    order of sections, use of headings, paragraphing, etc.) aid or reduce 
    their clarity?
         Would the proposed regulations be easier to understand if 
    we divided them into more (but shorter) sections? (A ``section'' is 
    preceded by the symbol ``Sec. '' and a numbered heading; for example, 
    Sec. 668.32, Student eligibility--general.)
    
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         Could the description of the proposed regulations in the 
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this preamble be more helpful in 
    making the proposed regulations easier to understand? If so, how?
         What else could we do to make the proposed regulations 
    easier to understand?
        Send any comments that concern how the Department could make these 
    proposed regulations easier to understand to the person listed in the 
    ADDRESSES section of the preamble.
    
    Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification
    
        The Secretary certifies that these proposed regulations would not 
    have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
    entities.
        Entities affected by these regulations are institutions of higher 
    education that participate in the Title IV, HEA programs. These 
    institutions are defined as small entities, according to the U.S. Small 
    Business Administration, if they are: for-profit or nonprofit entities 
    with total revenue of $5,000,000 or less; or entities controlled by 
    governmental entities with populations of 50,000 or less. These 
    proposed regulations would not impose a significant economic impact on 
    a substantial number of small entities. The regulations would benefit 
    both small and large institutions, without requiring significant 
    changes to current institutional system operations, through: the 
    further simplification of the filing of a student's Statement of 
    Educational Purpose; and the expansion of Title IV eligibility 
    provisions regarding home-schooled students and students enrolled in 
    telecommunications and correspondence courses. These proposed 
    regulations also implement the new statutory criterion for Title IV 
    eligibility concerning convictions for possession or sale of a 
    controlled substance. This provision was discussed extensively as part 
    of the negotiated rulemaking process, and the Secretary believes that 
    the proposal to implement this change through the use of the student 
    aid application processes is the best approach and would prevent 
    unnecessary administrative burden on institutions.
        The Secretary invites comments from small institutions as to 
    whether the proposed changes would have a significant economic impact 
    on them.
    
    Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
    
        These proposed regulations do not contain any information 
    collection requirements.
    
    Intergovernmental Review
    
        This program is not subject to Executive Order 12372 and the 
    regulations in 34 CFR Part 79.
    
    Assessment of Educational Impact
    
        The Secretary particularly requests comments on whether these 
    proposed regulations would require transmission of information that any 
    other agency or authority of the United States gathers or makes 
    available.
    
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    List of Subjects in 34 CFR Part 668
    
        Administrative practice and procedure, Colleges and universities, 
    Student aid, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
    
        Dated: July 8, 1999.
    Richard W. Riley,
    Secretary of Education.
    
    (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance numbers: 84.007 Federal 
    Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program; 84.032 
    Consolidation Program; 84.032 Federal Stafford Loan Program; 84.032 
    Federal PLUS Program; 84.032 Federal Supplemental Loans for Students 
    Program; 84.033 Federal Work-Study Program; 84.038 Federal Perkins 
    Loan Program; 84.063 Federal Pell Grant Program; 84.069 LEAP; and 
    84.268 William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Programs)
    
        The Secretary proposes to amend part 668 of title 34 of the Code of 
    Federal Regulations as follows:
    
    PART 668--STUDENT ASSISTANCE GENERAL PROVISIONS
    
        1. The authority citation for part 668 is amended to read as 
    follows:
    
        Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1001, 1002, 1003, 1085, 1088, 1091, 1092, 
    1094, 1099c, and 1099c-1, unless otherwise noted.
    
        2. Section 668.32 is amended as follows:
        A. In paragraph (e)(2), by removing ``or'';
        B. In paragraph (e)(3), by removing the period at the end of the 
    paragraph and adding in its place a semi-colon, and adding ``or'' after 
    the semi-colon;
        C. By adding a new paragraph (e)(4) to read as follows;
        D. In paragraph (h), by removing ``or in the case of a loan made 
    under the FFEL Program, with the lender'';
        E. In paragraph (j), by removing the ``and'' after the semi-colon;
        F. In paragraph (k)(7), by removing ``SSIG'' and adding in its 
    place, ``LEAP,'' by removing the period at the end of the paragraph and 
    adding in its place a semi-colon, and adding ``and'' after the semi-
    colon; and
        G. By adding paragraph (l) to read as follows.
    
    
    Sec. 668.32  Student eligibility--general.
    
    * * * * *
        (e) * * *
        (4) Was home-schooled, and either--
        (i) Obtained a secondary school completion credential for home 
    school (other than a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent) 
    provided for under State law; or
        (ii) If State law does not require a home-schooled student to 
    obtain the credential described in paragraph (e)(4)(i) of this section, 
    has completed a secondary school education in a home school setting 
    that qualifies as an exemption from compulsory attendance requirements 
    under State law.
    * * * * *
        (l) Is not ineligible under 34 CFR 668.40.
        3. Section 668.38 is amended by revising paragraph (b) to read as 
    follows:
    
    
    Sec. 668.38  Enrollment in telecommunications and correspondence 
    courses.
    
    * * * * *
        (b) (1) For purposes of this section, a student enrolled in a 
    telecommunications course at an institution of higher education is not 
    enrolled in a correspondence course, if--
        (i) The student is enrolled in a program that leads to a 
    certificate for a program of study of 1 year or longer, or an 
    associate, bachelor, or graduate degree; and
        (ii) The number of telecommunications and correspondence courses 
    the institution offered during its latest completed
    
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    award year was fewer than 50 percent of all the courses the institution 
    offered during that same year.
        (2) For purposes of paragraph (b)(1) of this section, an 
    institution of higher education is one--
        (i) That is not an institute or school described in section 
    521(4)(C) of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Act; 
    and
        (ii) At which at least 50 percent of the programs of study offered 
    by the institution during its latest completed award year led to an 
    associate, bachelor, or graduate degree.
        (3) For purposes of paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section, the 
    institution must calculate the number of courses using the provisions 
    contained in 34 CFR 600.7(b)(2).
        4. Section 668.40 is added to read as follows:
    
    
    668.40  Conviction for possession or sale of illegal drugs.
    
        (a)(1) A student is ineligible to receive Title IV, HEA program 
    funds if the student has been convicted of an offense involving the 
    possession or sale of illegal drugs for the period described in 
    paragraph (b) of this section. However, the student may regain 
    eligibility before that period expires under the conditions described 
    in paragraph (c) of this section.
        (2) For purposes of this section, a conviction means only a 
    conviction that is on a student's record at the time the student's 
    eligibility is being determined. A conviction that was reversed, set 
    aside, or removed from the student's record is not relevant for 
    purposes of this section.
        (3) For purposes of this section, an illegal drug is a controlled 
    substance as defined by section 102(6) of the Controlled Substances Act 
    (21 U.S.C. 801(6)), and does not include alcohol or tobacco.
        (b)(1) Possession. Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this 
    section, if a student has been convicted--
        (i) Only one time for possession of illegal drugs, the student is 
    ineligible to receive Title IV, HEA program funds for one year after 
    the date of conviction;
        (ii) Two times for possession of illegal drugs, the student is 
    ineligible to receive Title IV, HEA program funds for two years after 
    the date of the second conviction; or
        (iii) Three or more times for possession of illegal drugs, the 
    student is ineligible to receive Title IV, HEA program funds for an 
    indefinite period after the date of the third conviction.
        (2) Sale. Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, if a 
    student has been convicted--
        (i) Only one time for sale of illegal drugs, the student is 
    ineligible to receive Title IV, HEA program funds for two years after 
    the date of conviction; or
        (ii) Two or more times for sale of illegal drugs, the student is 
    ineligible to receive Title IV, HEA program funds for an indefinite 
    period after the date of the second conviction.
        (c) If a student successfully completes a drug rehabilitation 
    program described in paragraph (d) of this section after the student's 
    most recent drug conviction, the student regains eligibility on the 
    date the student successfully completes the program.
        (d) A drug rehabilitation program referred to in paragraph (c) of 
    this section is one which--
        (1) Includes at least two unannounced drug tests; and
        (2)(i) Has received or is qualified to receive funds directly or 
    indirectly under a Federal, State, or local government program;
        (ii) Is administered or recognized by a Federal, State, or local 
    government agency or court;
        (iii) Has received or is qualified to receive payment directly or 
    indirectly from a State-licensed insurance company; or
        (iv) Is administered or recognized by a State-licensed hospital, 
    health clinic or medical doctor.
    
    (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1091(r))
    
    [FR Doc. 99-18175 Filed 7-15-99; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
    
    
    

Document Information

Published:
07/16/1999
Department:
Education Department
Entry Type:
Proposed Rule
Action:
Notice of proposed rulemaking.
Document Number:
99-18175
Dates:
We must receive your comments on or before September 14, 1999.
Pages:
38504-38508 (5 pages)
RINs:
1840-AC73
PDF File:
99-18175.pdf
CFR: (4)
34 CFR 668.40(d)(2)
34 CFR 668.32
34 CFR 668.38
34 CFR 668.40