Publication Date: April 2001
DCL ID: CB-01-04
Summary: This letter provides information on requesting a waiver of the 2001-2002 Federal Work-Study (FWS) community service expenditure requirements
April 2001
CB-01-04
SUMMARY: This letter provides information on requesting a waiver of the 2001-2002 Federal Work-Study (FWS) community service expenditure requirements.
REFERENCE: Student Financial Aid Handbook, Campus-Based Programs Reference
Dear Partner:
This letter provides information necessary to request a waiver of the community service expenditure requirements for the 2001-2002 award year. A school is required to expend at least seven percent of its total Federal allocation under the FWS Program to compensate students in community service employment. Also, in meeting that seven-percent community service expenditure requirement, one or more of the school's FWS students must be employed as a reading tutor for children in a reading tutoring project or performing family literacy activities in a family literacy project.
The Department may waive one or both of these requirements if it determines that the school has demonstrated that enforcing these requirements would cause hardship for the students at that school. The fact that it may be difficult for the school to comply with these requirements is not in and of itself a basis for granting a waiver. Information about the waiver of these requirements is provided below in a question and answer format.
Questions and Answers
1. Q: What must our waiver request include?
A: The waiver must:
- be in writing;
- specify whether you are requesting a waiver of the seven-percent requirement and/or the reading tutors of children or family literacy project requirement;
- include detailed information to demonstrate that complying with these requirements would cause hardship for your students;
- be signed by the school’s Chief Executive Officer (i.e. president, owner, etc.); and
- include the following statement:
"I certify that the information I provided in this waiver request is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge. I understand that the information is subject to audit and program review by the U.S. Department of Education."
2. Q: Where do we send our waiver request?
A: You can either fax or e-mail your waiver request as follows:
Address faxes to Sandra Donelson at (202) 260-0522 or (202) 205-1919
or
E-mail requests to the following address: Sandra.Donelson@ed.gov
3. Q: When is our waiver request due?
A: You must fax or e-mail your request by 5:00 p.m. eastern time on June 29, 2001.
4. Q: What happens if we are late in submitting our waiver request?
A: Requests received after 5:00 p.m. on June 29, 2001 will not be considered.
5. Q: What if we have additional questions about the FWS community service expenditure requirements or the procedures for requesting a waiver?
A: You should call Sandra Donelson at (202) 708-9751.
6. Q: What can we expect after we submit our waiver request by the deadline?
A: You will be notified in writing by July 27, 2001, of the decision to accept or deny your request. We will supply you with additional information at that time.
We hope this letter is helpful regarding your participation in the FWS Program.
Sincerely,
Lois Moore, Acting Director
Campus-Based Operations