3-33 Verifying Eligibility of a Student for Assistance

• A. Verification of Eligibility of Students for Section 8 Assistance

  1. Verifying parents’ income.

     • a. Owners must verify parents income each time they determine the eligibility of the student to receive Section 8 assistance unless the student can demonstrate his or her independence from parents. (See Paragraph 3-13 for determining a student’s eligibility.)

     • b. Owners may accept a signed declaration and certification of income from the parents, which includes a penalty of perjury clause.

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• (1) If the owner determines that the parents’ declaration and certification of income or their eligibility is questionable, the owner may request and review supporting documentation including, but not limited to:

  • (a) IRS tax returns;

  • (b) Consecutive and original pay stubs;

  • (c) Bank statements;

  • (d) Pension benefit statements;

  • (e) Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF);

  • (f) Social Security Administration award letters; or

  • (g) Other official and authentic documents from a federal, State or local agency.

• (2) If the student’s parents refuse to provide a declaration and certification of their income, the student is not eligible for Section 8 assistance unless the student can demonstrate his or her independence from parents.

• (3) Owners may adopt and implement the following criteria for determining whether to obtain the declaration and certification of income from parents individually or jointly:

  • (a) If the student’s parents are married and living with each other, obtain the declaration and certification of income from each parent.

  • (b) If the student’s parent is widowed or single, obtain the declaration and certification of income from that parent.

  • (c) If the student’s parents are divorced or separated, obtain the declaration and certification of income from each parent.

  • (d) If the student has been living with one of his or her parents and has not had contact with or does not know where to contact his or her other parent, obtain from the student a certification addressing the circumstances and that they have not received any financial assistance, directly or indirectly, from the absent parent. The certification must include a penalty of perjury clause. The owner must also obtain from the parent with whom the student has

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• c. The owner should use the applicable low income limit for the parents’ family size for the locality where the parents reside when determining the parents’ income eligibility for Section 8 assistance. (See paragraph 3-6 E.4 for guidance on determining family size for income limits and paragraph 3-6 F for applying the income limit to determine eligibility for assistance.)

If the student’s parents live outside of the United States in areas where income limits have not been established for the Section 8 program, the owner should use the applicable low income limit for the parent’s family size for the same locality used in determining the student’s eligibility.

2. Verification of student’s independence from parents.

When a student claims his or her independence from parents, owners must verify the student’s independence from his or her parents by taking into consideration all of the following. Owners must:

• a. Review and verify previous address information to determine evidence of a separate household, or

• b. Verify the student meet’s the U.S. Department of Education’s definition of independent student.

• c. Review prior year income tax returns to verify if a parent or guardian has claimed the student as a dependent (except if the student meets the Department of Education’s definition of independent student.)

• d. Verify income provided by a parent by requiring a written certification from the individual providing the support. Certification is also required if the parent(s) is not providing support to the student. Financial assistance that is provided by persons not living in the unit is part of annual income.

• e. Verify additional criteria established, if applicable, to use when determining the student’s independence from parents. Verification would be obtained in accordance with the owner’s policies.

• f. Verify the amount of financial assistance the student receives under the Higher Education Act of 1965, from private sources, or from an institution of higher education.

3. Owners should also verify the following, if applicable:

   • a. Age (See paragraph 3-28 C and Appendix 3)

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• b. Dependent child (See the Glossary for definition of Dependent Child)

• c. Married

• d. Institution of Higher Education. The owner will need to verify that the school where the student is enrolled meets the Department of Education’s definition for an institution of higher education. (See the Glossary for the definition of Institution of Higher Education.)

• e. Tuition (See the Glossary for the definition of Tuition.)

• f. Veteran status (See the Glossary for the recommended definition for Veteran.)

• g. Disabled student was receiving Section 8 assistance on November 30, 2005.