Rule 290-2-28-.18 LEARNFARE

(1) The Department of Human Resources, Division of Family and Children Services shall establish a LEARNFARE Pilot Program in at least 10 counties in Georgia. The counties selected for this pilot will provide evidence that the local cooperation needed to allow the program to be successfully implemented has been assured. The purpose of this pilot program will be to require school attendance of all teenagers. For the purposes of LEARNFARE, teenagers are defined as youth ages 13-16.

(2) School is defined as a public school, private school, vocational, technical or adult education school, valid home study program authorized under Code Section 20-2-690 , or a course of study meeting the standards established by the Department of Education or Department of Technical and Adult Education for the granting of a General Equivalency Diploma (GED).

(3) Teenagers residing in counties chosen to participate in LEARNFARE who are included in a cash assistance grant under TANF, reside with a parent or guardian, and who have not graduated from high school or received a GED shall be required to meet the LEARNFARE provisions.

(4) Teenagers in LEARNFARE counties must meet school attendance requirements. A teenager shall be considered to have met the attendance requirement by having no more than two full days of unexcused absences in a calendar month. The school system's definition of excused/unexcused absences shall apply.

(5) If the school that the teenager is currently enrolled in does not keep attendance records, the teenager shall be considered to be meeting the attendance requirement if the school verifies the continuing enrollment of the teenager in the semester or quarter under review.

(6) Either the teenager or the teenager's parent shall cooperate in providing information needed to verify enrollment information or good cause. If the teenager or the teenager's parent does not cooperate, the teenager will be removed from the TANF grant until compliance is effected.

(7) Upon a determination that a teenager has failed to meet attendance requirements without good cause, the teenager will be removed from the TANF grant for the next possible payment month.

(8) Sanctions applied under this Section shall be effective for one month for each month that the teenager failed to meet the monthly attendance requirement.

(9) If a teenager drops out of school, the sanction shall remain in effect until the teenager or teenager's family provides written proof from the school system that the teenager has re-enrolled and has met the monthly attendance requirement for one-calendar month.