Ohio Administrative Code › Title 5101:1 - Division of Public Assistance › Chapter 5101:1-23 - Income › Section 5101:1-23-50 - Ohio works first: learning, earning and parenting program

Current through all regulations passed and filed through July 1, 2024
The learning, earning and parenting (LEAP) program, as described in
	 section
	 5107.30
	 of the Revised Code, is a program designed to encourage pregnant and parenting
	 teens to attend and complete high school or the equivalent.
(A) Who is eligible for LEAP?
With the exception of teens who have obtained a high school diploma or
	 the equivalent, teen custodial parents, and pregnant teens under the age of
	 nineteen who are applying for or in receipt of Ohio works first (OWF), are
	 potentially subject to the LEAP program requirements. These requirements apply
	 to teens who live on their own and to teens who live with their parents, other
	 caretaker relatives, legal guardians or legal custodians. The requirements
	 apply to both the teen custodial mother and the teen custodial father of the
	 child and to all pregnant teens.
(B) The following definitions apply to the
  LEAP program:
(1) "Attendance bonus" means a
  sixty-two dollar financial bonus added to the OWF payment for the assistance
  group for each LEAP teen included in the assistance group who meets the LEAP
  attendance requirements as defined in this rule.
(2) "Attendance month" means the
  calendar month that the teen attended school. Attendance in the month is
  evaluated in order to determine if an attendance bonus is issued or an
  attendance sanction is proposed in the corresponding payment month.
(3) "Attendance sanction" means that a LEAP
  teen with more than two unexcused absences in a month is:
(a) Not eligible for the attendance bonus
  payment; and
(b) The assistance
  payment for the assistance group containing the LEAP teen will be reduced by
  sixty-two dollars.
(4)
  "Enrollment bonus" means a one-time one-hundred dollar financial bonus added to
  the OWF payment for the assistance group for each LEAP teen included in the
  assistance group who enrolls in school for the first time after being notified
  of LEAP program participation.
(5)
  "Excused absence" means the reason for the absence meets the school district's
  definition of a valid reason for the teen not to attend school or it was not an
  absence excusable under the school's attendance rules but upon review by the
  county agency at the request of the teen, it was acceptable under the good
  cause reasons provided in the LEAP program.
(6) "Full day" means the entire school day as
  defined by the school district.
(7)
  "Grade completion bonus" means a one-hundred dollar financial bonus added to
  the OWF payment for the assistance group for each LEAP teen included in the
  assistance group for each subsequent grade completed, except grade twelve.
  Grade completion is defined by the local school district.
(8) "Graduation bonus" means a one-time
  five-hundred dollar financial bonus for each LEAP teen included in the
  assistance group who has graduated from high school or obtained a high school
  equivalence diploma.
(9) "High
  school equivalence diploma" means a diploma attesting to the achievement of the
  equivalent of a high school education as measured by scores on the tests of
  general educational development (GED) as published by the "American Council on
  Education." High school equivalence diploma includes a certificate of high
  school equivalence. This program formerly issued the general equivalency
  diploma or GED.
(10) "Home
  education" means education primarily directed and provided by the parent or
  guardian of the child under division (A) of section
  3321.04 of
  the Revised Code for the child who is of compulsory school age and is not
  enrolled in a nonpublic school.
(11) "Internet- or computer-based community
  school," as defined in section
  3314.02
  of the Revised Code, means a community school in which the enrolled students
  work primarily from their residences on assignments in nonclassroom-based
  learning opportunities provided via an internet- or other computer-based
  instructional method that does not rely on regular classroom instruction or via
  comprehensive instructional methods that include internet-based, other
  computer-based, and noncomputer-based learning opportunities unless a student
  receives career-technical education under section
  3314.086
  of the Revised Code. Internet- or computer-based schools are also sometimes
  referred to as "electronic schools," or "e-schools."
(12) "Retrospective cycle" means a four
  sequential month period. The four month period begins with the attendance
  month, followed by two processing months, and ends with the payment
  month.
(13) "School" means an
  educational program that leads to a high school diploma or the equivalent and
  includes the following: a public school; a private school; a vocational,
  technical, or adult education school; or a course of study meeting the
  standards established by the state of Ohio for granting a high school
  equivalence diploma.
(14) "School
  attendance officer" means an employee designated by the school who is
  responsible for matters relating to school attendance and truancy.
(15) "School district" means the territorial
  unit for school administration as specified in section
  3313.64
  of the Revised Code.
(16) "School
  year" for the LEAP program is September through May. These are the months that
  attendance will be monitored and enrollment/attendance bonuses and attendance
  sanctions will be given. This definition does not apply to teens enrolled in a
  GED program. The school year for GED program purposes is the twelve-month
  period beginning with the first month of mandatory attendance.
(17) "Unexcused absence" means the reason for
  the absence does not meet the school district's definition of a valid reason
  for the teen not to attend school and upon review by the county agency, at the
  request of the teen, the reason also does not meet any of the LEAP program good
  cause reasons.