The Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP) Program assists States in providing grants and work-study assistance to eligible students who attend institutions of higher education and have substantial financial need. The work-study assistance is provided through campus-based community service work learning study programs, hereinafter referred to as community service-learning job programs.

(a) State participation. A State that meets the requirements in §§ 692.20 and 692.21 is eligible to receive payments under the LEAP program.

(b) Student participation. A student must meet the requirements of § 692.40 to be eligible to receive assistance from a State under the LEAP program.

The following regulations apply to the LEAP Program:

(a) The regulations in this part 692.

(b) The Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) as follows:

(1) 34 CFR 75.60-75.62 (Ineligibility of Certain Individuals to Receive Assistance).

(2) 34 CFR part 76 (State-Administered Programs).

(3) 34 CFR part 77 (Definitions That Apply to Department Regulations).

(4) 34 CFR part 79 (Intergovernmental Review of Department of Education Programs and Activities).

(5) [Reserved]

(6) 34 CFR part 82 (New Restrictions on Lobbying).

(7) 34 CFR part 84 (Governmentwide Requirements For Drug-Free Workplace (Financial Assistance)).

(8) 34 CFR part 86 (Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention).

(c) The Student Assistance General Provisions in 34 CFR part 668.

(d)(1) 2 CFR part 180 (OMB Guidelines to Agencies on Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement)), as adopted at 2 CFR part 3485; and

(2) 2 CFR part 200 (Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards), as adopted at 2 CFR part 3474.

The following definitions apply to the regulations in this part:

(a) The definitions of the following terms under 34 CFR part 600:

(b) The definitions of the following terms under 34 CFR part 668:

(c) The definitions of the following terms also apply to the LEAP Program:

Full-time student means a student carrying a full-time academic workload—other than by correspondence—as measured by both of the following:

(1) Coursework or other required activities, as determined by the institution that the student attends or by the State.

(2) The tuition and fees normally charged for full-time study by that institution.

Nonprofit has the same meaning under this part as the same term defined in 34 CFR 77.1 of EDGAR.

(a)(1) The Secretary allots to each State participating in the LEAP program an amount which bears the same ratio to the Federal LEAP funds appropriated as the number of students in that State who are “deemed eligible” to participate in the State's LEAP program bears to the total number of students in all States who are “deemed eligible” to participate in the LEAP program, except that no State may receive less than it received in fiscal year 1979 for the programs under this part.

(2) For the programs under this part, if the Federal funds appropriated for a fiscal year are not sufficient to allot to each State the amount of Federal funds it received in fiscal year 1979, the Secretary allots to each State an amount which bears the same ratio to the amount of Federal funds appropriated as the amount of Federal funds that State received in fiscal year 1979 bears to the amount of Federal funds all States received in fiscal year 1979.

(b) For the purpose of paragraph (a)(1) of this section, the Secretary determines the number of students “deemed eligible” to participate in a State's LEAP Program by dividing the amount of that State's LEAP expenditures, including both its Federal allotment and the State funds matching the allotment, by the average grant award per student of all participating States. The Secretary determines the “average grant award per student” by dividing the total number of student recipients for all States into the total amount of LEAP expenditures for all States, including both the Federal allotments and the State funds matching those allotments. In making this determination, the Secretary uses the most current available data reported by each State.

A State may use the funds it receives under the LEAP Program only to make grants to students and to pay wages or salaries to students in community service-learning jobs.

(a) For each fiscal year that it wishes to participate, a State shall submit an application that contains information that shows that its Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership Program meets the requirements of § 692.21.

(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (b)(2) of this section, the State must submit its application through the State agency designated to administer its Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership Program as of July 1, 1985.

(2) If the Governor of the State so designates, and notifies the Secretary in writing, the State may submit its application under paragraph (a) of this section through an agency that did not administer its Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership Program as of July 1, 1985.

To receive a payment under the LEAP Program for any fiscal year, a State must have a program that—

(a) Is administered by a single State agency;

(b) Provides assistance only to students who meet the eligibility requirements in § 692.40;

(c) Provides that assistance under this program to a full-time student will not be more than the lesser of $12,500 or the student's cost of attendance under section 472 of the HEA for each academic year;

(d) Provides for the selection of students to receive assistance on the basis of substantial financial need determined annually by the State on the basis of standards that the State establishes and the Secretary approves;

(e) Provides that no student or parent shall be charged a fee that is payable to an organization other than the State for the purpose of collecting data to make a determination of financial need in accordance with paragraph (d) of this section;

(f) Provides that all public or private nonprofit institutions of higher education and all postsecondary vocational institutions in the State are eligible to participate unless that participation is in violation of—

(1) The constitution of the State; or

(2) A State statute that was enacted before October 1, 1978;

(g) Provides that, if a State awards grants to independent students or to students who are less-than-full-time students enrolled in an institution, a reasonable portion of the State's allocation must be awarded to those students;

(h) Provides that—

(1) The State will pay an amount for grants and work-study jobs under this part for each fiscal year that is not less than the payment to the State under this part for that fiscal year; and

(2) The amount that the State expends during a fiscal year for grants and work-study jobs under the LEAP Program represents an additional amount for grants and work-study jobs for students attending institutions over the amount expended by the State for those activities during the fiscal year two years prior to the fiscal year in which the State first received funds under the LEAP Program;

(i) Provides for State expenditures under the State program of an amount that is not less than—

(1) The average annual aggregate expenditures for the preceding three fiscal years; or

(2) The average annual expenditure per full-time equivalent student for those years;

(j) Provides that, to the extent practicable, the proportion of the funds awarded to independent students in the LEAP Program shall be the same proportion of funds awarded to independent students as is in the State program or programs of which the State's LEAP Program is a part;

(k) Notifies eligible students that the grants are—

(1) Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership Grants; and

(2) Funded by the Federal Government, the State, and, where applicable, other contributing partners; and

(l) Provides for reports to the Secretary that are necessary to carry out the Secretary's functions under the LEAP Program.

(a)(1) Each year, a State may use up to 20 percent of its allotment for a community service-learning job program that satisfies the conditions set forth in paragraph (b) of this section.

(2) A student who receives assistance under this section must receive compensation for work and not a grant.

(b)(1) The community service-learning job program must be administered by institutions in the State.

(2) Each student employed under the program must be employed in work in the public interest by an institution itself or by a Federal, State, or local public agency or a private nonprofit organization under an arrangement between the institution and the agency or organization.

(c) Each community service-learning job must—

(1) Provide community service as described in paragraph (d) of this section;

(2) Provide participating students community service-learning opportunities related to their educational or vocational programs or goals;

(3) Not result in the displacement of employed workers or impair existing contracts for services;

(4) Be governed by conditions of employment that are considered appropriate and reasonable, based on such factors as type of work performed, geographical region, and proficiency of the employee;

(5) Not involve the construction, operation, or maintenance of so much of any facility as is used or is to be used for sectarian instruction or as a place for religious worship; and

(6) Not pay any wage to a student that is less than the current Federal minimum wage as mandated by section 6(a) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

(d) For the purpose of paragraph (c)(1) of this section, “community service” means direct service, planning, or applied research that is—

(1) Identified by an institution through formal or informal consultation with local nonprofit, governmental, and community-based organizations; and

(2) Designed to improve the quality of life for residents of the community served, particularly low-income residents, in such fields as health care, child care, education, literacy training, welfare, social services, public safety, crime prevention and control, transportation, recreation, housing and neighborhood improvement, rural development, and community improvement.

(e) For the purpose of paragraph (d)(2) of this section, “low-income residents” means—

(1) Residents whose taxable family income for the year before the year in which they are scheduled to receive assistance under the LEAP Program did not exceed 150 percent of the amount equal to the poverty level determined by using criteria of poverty established by the United States Census Bureau; or

(2) Residents who are considered low-income residents by the State.

To be eligible for assistance, a student must—

(a) Meet the relevant eligibility requirements contained in 34 CFR 668.32; and

(b) Have substantial financial need as determined annually in accordance with the State's criteria approved by the Secretary.

(a) A State determines whether a student has substantial financial need on the basis of criteria it establishes that are approved by the Secretary. A State may define substantial financial need in terms of family income, expected family contribution, and relative need as measured by the difference between the student's cost of attendance and the resources available to meet that cost. To determine substantial need, the State may use—

(1) A system for determining a student's financial need under part F of title IV of the HEA;

(2) The State's own needs analysis system if approved by the Secretary; or

(3) A combination of these systems, if approved by the Secretary.

(b) The Secretary generally approves a need-analysis system under paragraph (a) (2) or (3) of this section only if the need-analysis system applies the term “independent student” as defined under section 480(d) of the HEA. However, for good cause shown, the Secretary may approve, on a case-by-case basis, a State's need analysis system that uses a definition for “independent student” that varies from that term as defined in section 480(d) of the HEA.