§ 674.51 Special definitions.

The following definitions apply to this subpart:

(a) Academic year or its equivalent for elementary and secondary schools and special education:

(1) One complete school year, or two half years from different school years, excluding summer sessions, that are complete and consecutive and generally fall within a 12-month period.

(2) If such a school has a year-round program of instruction, the Secretary considers a minimum of nine consecutive months to be the equivalent of an academic year.

(b) Academic year or its equivalent for institutions of higher education: A period of time in which a full-time student is expected to complete—

(1) The equivalent of 2 semesters, 2 trimesters, or 3 quarters at an institution using credit hours; or

(2) At least 900 clock hours of training for each program at an institution using clock hours.

(c) Title I Children: Children of ages 5 through 17 who are counted under section 1124(c)(1) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended.

(d) Child with a disability: A child or youth from ages 3 through 21, inclusive, who requires special education and related services because he or she has one or more disabilities as defined in section 602(3) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

(e) Community defender organizations: A defender organization established in accordance with section 3006A(g)(2)(B) of title 18, United States Code.

(f) Early intervention services: Those services defined in section 632(4) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that are provided to infants and toddlers with disabilities.

(g) Educational service agency: A regional public multi-service agency authorized by State law to develop, manage, and provide services or programs to local educational agencies as defined in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended.

(h) Elementary school: A school that provides elementary education, including education below grade 1, as determined by—

(1) State law; or

(2) The Secretary, if the school is not in a State.

(i) Faculty member at a Tribal College or University: An educator or tenured individual who is employed by a Tribal College or University, as that term is defined in section 316 of the HEA, to teach, research, or perform administrative functions. For purposes of this definition an educator may be an instructor, lecturer, lab faculty, assistant professor, associate professor, full professor, dean, or academic department head.

(j) Federal public defender organization: A defender organization established in accordance with section 3006A(g)(2)(A) of title 18, United States Code.

(k) Firefighter: A firefighter is an individual who is employed by a Federal, State, or local firefighting agency to extinguish destructive fires; or provide firefighting related services such as—

(1) Providing community disaster support and, as a first responder, providing emergency medical services;

(2) Conducting search and rescue; or

(3) Providing hazardous materials mitigation (HAZMAT).

(l) Handicapped children: Children of ages 3 through 21 inclusive who require special education and related services because they are—

(1) Individuals with intellectual disabilities;

(2) Hard of hearing;

(3) Deaf;

(4) Speech and language impaired;

(5) Visually handicapped;

(6) Seriously emotionally disturbed;

(7) Orthopedically impaired;

(8) Specific learning disabled; or

(9) Otherwise health impaired.

(m) High-risk children: Individuals under the age of 21 who are low-income or at risk of abuse or neglect, have been abused or neglected, have serious emotional, mental, or behavioral disturbances, reside in placements outside their homes, or are involved in the juvenile justice system.

(n) Infant or toddler with a disability: An infant or toddler from birth to age 2, inclusive, who needs early intervention services for specified reasons, as defined in section 632(5)(A) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

(o) Librarian with a master's degree: A librarian with a master's degree is an information professional trained in library or information science who has obtained a postgraduate academic degree in library science awarded after the completion of an academic program of up to six years in duration, excluding a doctorate or professional degree.

(p) Local educational agency:

(1) A public board of education or other public authority legally constituted within a State to administer, direct, or perform a service function for public elementary or secondary schools in a city, county, township, school district, other political subdivision of a State; or such combination of school districts of counties as are recognized in a State as an administrative agency for its public elementary or secondary schools.

(2) Any other public institution or agency having administrative control and direction of a public elementary or secondary school.

(q) Low-income communities: Communities in which there is a high concentration of children eligible to be counted under title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended.

(r) Medical technician: An allied health professional (working in fields such as therapy, dental hygiene, medical technology, or nutrition) who is certified, registered, or licensed by the appropriate State agency in the State in which he or she provides health care services. An allied health professional is someone who assists, facilitates, or complements the work of physicians and other specialists in the health care system.

(s) Nurse: A licensed practical nurse, a registered nurse, or other individual who is licensed by the appropriate State agency to provide nursing services.

(t) Qualified professional provider of early intervention services: A provider of services as defined in section 632 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

(u) Secondary school:

(1) A school that provides secondary education, as determined by—

(i) State law; or

(ii) The Secretary, if the school is not in a State.

(2) However, State laws notwithstanding, secondary education does not include any education beyond grade 12.

(v) Speech language pathologist with a master's degree: An individual who evaluates or treats disorders that affect a person's speech, language, cognition, voice, swallowing and the rehabilitative or corrective treatment of physical or cognitive deficits/disorders resulting in difficulty with communication, swallowing, or both and has obtained a postgraduate academic degree awarded after the completion of an academic program of up to six years in duration, excluding a doctorate or professional degree.

(w) State education agency:

(1) The State board of education; or

(2) An agency or official designated by the Governor or by State law as being primarily responsible for the State supervision of public elementary and secondary schools.

(x) Substantial gainful activity: A level of work performed for pay or profit that involves doing significant physical or mental activities, or a combination of both.

(y) Teacher:

(1) A teacher is a person who provides—

(i) Direct classroom teaching;

(ii) Classroom-type teaching in a non-classroom setting; or

(iii) Educational services to students directly related to classroom teaching such as school librarians or school guidance counselors.

(2) A supervisor, administrator, researcher, or curriculum specialist is not a teacher unless he or she primarily provides direct and personal educational services to students.

(3) An individual who provides one of the following services does not qualify as a teacher unless that individual is licensed, certified, or registered by the appropriate State education agency for that area in which he or she is providing related special educational services, and the services provided by the individual are part of the educational curriculum for handicapped children:

(i) Speech and language pathology and audiology;

(ii) Physical therapy;

(iii) Occupational therapy;

(iv) Psychological and counseling services; or

(v) Recreational therapy.

(z) Teaching in a field of expertise: The majority of classes taught are in the borrower's field of expertise.

(aa) Total and permanent disability: The condition of an individual who—

(1) Is unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment that—

(i) Can be expected to result in death;

(ii) Has lasted for a continuous period of not less than 60 months; or

(iii) Can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 60 months; or

(2) Has been determined by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to be unemployable due to a service-connected disability.

(bb) Tribal College or University: An institution that—

(1) Qualifies for funding under the Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities Assistance Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) or the Navajo Community College Assistance Act of 1978 (25 U.S.C. 640a note); or

(2) Is cited in section 532 of the Equity in Education Land Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note).

[52 FR 45758, Dec. 1, 1987, as amended at 59 FR 61412, Nov. 30, 1994; 65 FR 65690, Nov. 1, 2000; 74 FR 55661, Oct. 28, 2009; 82 FR 31913, July 11, 2017]