§ 675.18 Use of funds.

(a) General. An institution may use its FWS allocation only for—

(1) Paying the Federal share of FWS wages;

(2) Paying administrative expenses as provided for in 34 CFR 673.7;

(3) Meeting the cost of a Work-Colleges program under subpart C;

(4) Meeting the cost of a Job Location and Development program under subpart B; and

(5) Transferring a portion of its FWS allocation to its FSEOG program as described in paragraph (f) of this section.

(b) Carry forward funds.

(1) An institution may carry forward and expend in the next award year up to 10 percent of the sum of its initial and supplemental FWS allocations for the current award year.

(2) Before an institution may spend its current year FWS allocation, it shall spend any funds carried forward from the previous year.

(c) Carry back funds. An institution may carry back and expend in the previous award year up to 10 percent of the sum of its initial and supplemental FWS allocations for the current award year. The institution's official allocation letter represents the Secretary's approval to carry back funds.

(d) The institution may use the funds carried forward or carried back under paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section, respectively, for activities described in paragraph (a) of this section.

(e) Transfer funds to SEOG.

(1) Beginning with the 1993–94 award year, an institution may transfer up to 25 percent of the sum of its initial and supplemental FWS allocations for an award year to its FSEOG program.

(2) An institution shall use transferred funds according to the requirements of the program to which they are transferred.

(3) An institution shall report any transferred funds on the Fiscal Operations Report required under § 675.19(b).

(f) Carry back funds for summer employment. An institution may carry back and expend in the previous award year any portion of its initial and supplemental FWS allocations for the current award year to pay student wages earned on or after May 1 of the previous award year but prior to the beginning of the current award year.

(g) Community service.

(1) For the 2000–2001 award year and subsequent award years, an institution must use at least seven percent of the sum of its initial and supplemental FWS allocations for an award year to compensate students employed in community service activities. In meeting this community service requirement, an institution must include at least one—

(i) Reading tutoring project that employs one or more FWS students as reading tutors for children who are preschool age or are in elementary school; or

(ii) Family literacy project that employs one or more FWS students in family literacy activities.

(2) The Secretary may waive the requirements in paragraph (g)(1) of this section if the Secretary determines that an institution has demonstrated that enforcing the requirements in paragraph (g)(1) of this section would cause a hardship for students at the institution.

(3) To the extent practicable, in providing reading tutors for children under paragraph (g)(1)(i), an institution must—

(i) Give priority to the employment of students to tutor in reading in schools that are participating in a reading reform project that—

(A) Is designed to train teachers how to teach reading on the basis of scientifically-based research on reading; and

(B) Is funded under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; and

(ii) Ensure that any student who is employed in a school participating in a reading reform project described in paragraph (g)(3)(i) of this section receives training from the employing school in the instructional practices used by the school.

(4)

(i) In meeting the seven percent community service expenditure requirement in paragraph (g)(1) of this section, students may be employed to perform civic education and participation activities in projects that—

(A) Teach civics in schools;

(B) Raise awareness of government functions or resources; or

(C) Increase civic participation.

(ii) To the extent practicable, in providing civic education and participation activities under paragraph (g)(4)(i) of this section, an institution must—

(A) Give priority to the employment of students in projects that educate or train the public about evacuation, emergency response, and injury prevention strategies relating to natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other emergency situations; and

(B) Ensure that the students receive appropriate training to carry out the educational services required.

(h) Payment for time spent in training and travel.

(1) For any award year, an institution may pay students for a reasonable amount of time spent for training that is directly related to FWS employment.

(2) Beginning with the 1999–2000 award year, an institution may pay students for a reasonable amount of time spent for travel that is directly related to employment in community service activities (including tutoring in reading and family literacy activities).

(i) Flexibility in the event of a major disaster.

(1) An institution located in any area affected by a major disaster may make FWS payments to disaster-affected students for the period of time (not to exceed the award period) in which the students were prevented from fulfilling their FWS obligations. The FWS payments—

(i) May be made to disaster-affected students for an amount equal to or less than the amount of FWS wages the students would have been paid had the students been able to complete the work obligation necessary to receive the funds;

(ii) May not be made to any student who was not eligible for FWS or was not completing the work obligation necessary to receive the funds, or had already separated from their employment prior to the occurrence of the major disaster; and

(iii) Must meet the matching requirements of § 675.26, unless those requirements are waived by the Secretary.

(2) The following definitions apply to this section:

(i) Disaster-affected student means a student enrolled at an institution who—

(A) Received an FWS award for the award period during which a major disaster occurred;

(B) Earned FWS wages from an institution for that award period;

(C) Was prevented from fulfilling his or her FWS obligation for all or part of the FWS award period because of the major disaster; and

(D) Was unable to be reassigned to another FWS job.

(ii) Major disaster is defined in section 102(2) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122(2)).

[52 FR 45770, Dec. 1, 1987, as amended at 57 FR 32356, July 21, 1992; 59 FR 61417, 61419, Nov. 30, 1994; 61 FR 60396, Nov. 27, 1996; 64 FR 58293, Oct. 28, 1999; 74 FR 55949, Oct. 29, 2009]