New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 10 - HUMAN SERVICES › Chapter 87 - NEW JERSEY SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (NJ SNAP) MANUAL › Subchapter 3 - ELIGIBILITY FACTORS OTHER THAN NEED › Section 10:87-3.14 - Procedures for students in an institution of higher education

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) A student in an
				institution of higher education defined: Any person who is between the ages of
				18 and 50 who is physically and mentally fit and is enrolled at least half time
				in an institution of higher education. Excluded from this definition are
				persons who are attending high school, participating in on-the-job training
				programs and training programs which are not institutions of higher
				education.
(b) An institution of
				post secondary education is any public or private educational institution which
				normally requires a high school diploma or equivalency certificate for
				enrollment or admits persons who are beyond the legal age of compulsory school
				attendance, provided that the institution is legally authorized by the State to
				provide an educational program beyond secondary education or provides a
				training program to prepare students for gainful employment.
(c) A student shall be considered "enrolled"
				in an institution of higher education beginning on the first day of the school
				term. Such enrollment shall be deemed to continue through normal periods of
				class attendance, vacation and recess unless the student graduates, is
				suspended or expelled, drops out, or does not intend to register for the next
				normal school term (excluding summer school).
(d) In order to be eligible to participate in
				the NJ SNAP program, any student (as defined in (a) above) shall meet at least
				one of the following criteria:
1. Be employed
				for a minimum of 20 hours per week and be paid for such employment or, if
				self-employed, be employed for a minimum of 20 hours per week and receive
				weekly earnings at least equal to the Federal minimum wage multiplied by 20
				hours;
2. Participate in a
				Federally financed work study program (funded in full or in part under Title
				IV-C of the Higher Education Act of 1965 as amended) during the regular school
				year, or a state financed work study program. To qualify under this provision,
				the student must be approved for work study at the time of application for NJ
				SNAP benefits, the work study must be approved for the school term, and the
				student must anticipate actually working during that time. Student eligibility
				based on work study participation begins either with the month in which the
				school term begins or the month that participation in work study is approved,
				whichever occurs last. Once eligible, the student's eligibility shall continue
				until either the end of the month in which the school term ends, or it becomes
				known that the student has refused to participate in the work study program.
				Student eligibility based on work study participation shall not continue
				between terms where there is a break of a full month or longer, unless the
				student is participating in work study during the break;
3. Be responsible for the care of a dependent
				household member under the age of six;
4. Be responsible for the care of a dependent
				household member between the ages of six and 12 for whom adequate child care is
				not available to enable the student to either attend class and satisfy the 20
				hour work requirement at (d)1 above, or to participate in a state or
				Federally-financed work study program during the regular school year;
i. The availability and adequacy of child
				care shall be determined by the CWA on a case by case basis;
ii. Only one person per dependent may qualify
				under this provision;
5.
				Be receiving benefits from the Work First New Jersey/Temporary Assistance for
				Needy Families (WFNJ/TANF) program;
6. Participate in the JOBS program under
				Title IV of the Social Security Act;
7. Be assigned to or placed in an institution
				of higher education through or in compliance with the requirements of one of
				the programs identified at (d)7i through iv below. Self-initiated placements
				during the period of time the person is enrolled in one of these employment and
				training programs shall be considered to be in compliance with the requirements
				of the employment and training program in which the person is enrolled,
				provided that the program has a component for enrollment in an institution of
				higher education, and that the program accepts the placement. Persons who
				voluntarily participate in one of these employment and training activities, and
				are placed in an institution of higher education through or in compliance with
				the requirements of the activity, shall also qualify for the exemption. The
				programs are:
i. A program under the Workforce
				Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) (
				P.L.
				105-220 ); or
ii. An NJ SNAP Employment and Training
				Program (NJ SNAP ETP) activity under
				10:87-10.4, unless the individual
				meets the exemption criteria at
				10:87-10.2(b)3;
				or
iii. A program under Section 236
				of the Trade Act of 1974 ( Public Law 93-618 ); or
iv. An employment and training program for
				low-income households that is operated by the State of New Jersey, or its local
				governments, where one or more of that program's requirements is at least
				equivalent to an acceptable NJ SNAP ETP component as specified at
				10:87-10.14; or
8. Be a single parent enrolled in
				an institution of higher education on a full-time basis (as defined by the
				institution), and be responsible for the care of a dependent child under the
				age of 12. This provision is to be applied in those situations where only one
				natural, adoptive, or step-parent (regardless of marital status) is in the same
				NJ SNAP household as the child. (For example, if one natural parent and a
				step-parent are living with the child, neither the natural parent nor the
				step-parent shall qualify as an eligible student under this provision.) If no
				natural, adoptive, or step-parent is in the same NJ SNAP household as the
				child, another full-time student in the same NJ SNAP household as the child may
				qualify for eligible student status under this provision if he or she has
				parental control over the child, and is not living with his or her
				spouse.