compliance with such standards for development, ad-
ministration, and scoring as the Secretary may pre-
scribe in regulations.
‘‘(2) DETERMINATION.—The student shall be
determined as having the ability to benefit from the
education or training in accordance with such proc-
ess as the State shall prescribe. Any such process
described or approved by a State for the purposes of
this section shall be effective 6 months after the date
of submission to the Secretary unless the Secretary
disapproves the process. In determining whether to
approve or disapprove the process, the Secretary
shall take into account the effectiveness of the proc-
ess in enabling students without secondary school di-
plomas or the recognized equivalent to benefit from
the instruction offered by institutions utilizing the
process, and shall also take into account the cultural
diversity, economic circumstances, and educational
preparation of the populations served by the institu-
tions.
‘‘(e) 
SPECIAL
RULE
FOR
CORRESPONDENCE
COURSES.—A student shall not be eligible to receive a
grant under this subpart for a correspondence course un-
less the course is part of a program leading to an associ-
ate, bachelor, or graduate degree.
‘‘(f) COURSES OFFERED THROUGH TELECOMMUNI-
CATIONS.—
‘‘(1) 
RELATION
TO
CORRESPONDENCE
COURSES.—A student enrolled in a course of in-
struction at an eligible institution of higher edu-
cation (other than an institute or school that meets
the definition in section 521(4)(C) of the Carl D.
Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Edu-
cation Act (20 U.S.C. 2471(4)(C))) that is offered
in whole or in part through telecommunications and
leads to a recognized associate, bachelor, or graduate
degree conferred by the institution shall not be con-
sidered to be enrolled in correspondence courses un-
less the total amount of telecommunications and cor-
respondence courses at the institution equals or ex-
ceeds 50 percent of the courses.
‘‘(2) RESTRICTION OR REDUCTIONS OF FINAN-
CIAL AID.—A student’s eligibility to receive a grant
under this subpart may be reduced if a financial aid
officer determines under the discretionary authority
provided in section 479A that telecommunications
instruction results in a substantially reduced cost of
attendance to the student.
‘‘(3) DEFINITION.—For the purposes of this
subsection, the term ‘telecommunications’ means the
use of television, audio, or computer transmission,
including open broadcast, closed circuit, cable,
microwave, or satellite, audio conferencing, computer
conferencing, or video cassettes or discs, except that
the term does not include a course that is delivered
using video cassette or disc recordings at the institu-
tion and that is not delivered in person to other stu-
dents of that institution.
‘‘(g) STUDY ABROAD.—Nothing in this subpart shall
be construed to limit or otherwise prohibit access to study
abroad programs approved by the home institution at
which a student is enrolled. An otherwise eligible student
who is engaged in a program of study abroad approved
for academic credit by the home institution at which the
student is enrolled shall be eligible to receive a grant under
this subpart, without regard to whether the study abroad
program is required as part of the student’s degree pro-
gram.
‘‘(h) VERIFICATION
OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUM-
BER.—The Secretary, in cooperation with the Commis-
sioner of Social Security, shall verify any social security
number provided by a student to an eligible institution
under subsection (a)(5)(B) and shall enforce the following
conditions:
100
‘‘(1) PENDING VERIFICATION.—Except as pro-
vided in paragraphs (2) and (3), an institution shall
not deny, reduce, delay, or terminate a student’s eli-
gibility for assistance under this subpart because so-
cial security number verification is pending.
‘‘(2) DENIAL OR TERMINATION.—If there is a
determination by the Secretary that the social secu-
rity number provided to an eligible institution by a
student is incorrect, the institution shall deny or ter-
minate the student’s eligibility for any grant under
this subpart until such time as the student provides
documented evidence of a social security number
that is determined by the institution to be correct.
‘‘(3) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sub-
section shall be construed to permit the Secretary to
take any compliance, disallowance, penalty, or other
regulatory action against—
‘‘(A) any institution of higher education
with respect to any error in a social security
number, unless the error was a result of fraud
on the part of the institution; or
‘‘(B) any student with respect to any error
in a social security number, unless the error
was a result of fraud on the part of the stu-
dent.’’.
101
Subtitle D—Immunity
SEC. 1041. GENERAL IMMUNITY FOR TOBACCO PRODUCERS
AND TOBACCO WAREHOUSE OWNERS.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, a
participating tobacco producer, tobacco-related growers
association, or tobacco warehouse owner or employee may
not be subject to liability in any Federal or State court
for any cause of action resulting from the failure of any
tobacco product manufacturer, distributor, or retailer to
comply with the National Tobacco Policy and Youth
Smoking Reduction Act.
Æ