§ 686.42 Discharge of agreement to serve or repay.

(a) Death.

(1) If a grant recipient dies, the Secretary discharges the obligation to complete the agreement to serve or repay based on—

(i) An original or certified copy of the death certificate;

(ii) An accurate and complete photocopy of the original or certified copy of the death certificate;

(iii) An accurate and complete original or certified copy of the death certificate that is scanned and submitted electronically or sent by facsimile transmission; or

(iv) Verification of the grant recipient's death through an authoritative Federal or State electronic database approved for use by the Secretary.

(2) Under exceptional circumstances and on a case-by-case basis, the Secretary discharges the obligation to complete the agreement to serve or repay based on other reliable documentation of the grant recipient's death that is acceptable to the Secretary.

(b) Total and permanent disability.

(1) A grant recipient's agreement to serve or repay is discharged if the recipient becomes totally and permanently disabled, as defined in 34 CFR 685.102(b), and the grant recipient applies for and satisfies the eligibility requirements for a total and permanent disability discharge in accordance with 34 CFR 685.213.

(2) If at any time the Secretary determines that the grant recipient does not meet the requirements of the three-year period following the discharge as described in 34 CFR 685.213(b)(7), the Secretary will notify the grant recipient that the grant recipient's obligation to satisfy the terms of the agreement to serve or repay is reinstated.

(3) The Secretary's notification under paragraph (b)(2) of this section will—

(i) Include the reason or reasons for reinstatement;

(ii) Provide information on how the grant recipient may contact the Secretary if the grant recipient has questions about the reinstatement or believes that the agreement to serve or repay was reinstated based on incorrect information; and

(iii) Inform the TEACH Grant recipient that he or she must satisfy the service obligation within the portion of the eight-year period that remained after the date of the discharge.

(4) If the TEACH Grant made to a recipient whose TEACH Grant agreement to serve or repay is reinstated is later converted to a Direct Unsubsidized Loan, the recipient will not be required to pay interest that accrued on the TEACH Grant disbursements from the date the agreement to serve or repay was discharged until the date the agreement to serve or repay was reinstated.

(c) Military discharge.

(1) A grant recipient who has completed or who has otherwise ceased enrollment in a TEACH Grant-eligible program for which he or she received TEACH Grant funds and has exceeded the period of time allowed under § 686.41(a)(2)(ii), may qualify for a proportional discharge of his or her service obligation due to an extended call or order to active duty status. To apply for a military discharge, a grant recipient or his or her representative must submit a written request to the Secretary.

(2) A grant recipient described in paragraph (c)(1) of this section may receive a—

(i) One-year discharge of his or her service obligation if a call or order to active duty status is for more than three years;

(ii) Two-year discharge of his or her service obligation if a call or order to active duty status is for more than four years;

(iii) Three-year discharge of his or her service obligation if a call or order to active duty status is for more than five years; or

(iv) Full discharge of his or her service obligation if a call or order to active duty status is for more than six years.

(3) A grant recipient or his or her representative must provide the Secretary with—

(i) A written statement from the grant recipient's commanding or personnel officer certifying—

(A) That the grant recipient is on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States;

(B) The date on which the grant recipient's service began; and

(C) The date on which the grant recipient's service is expected to end; or

(ii)

(A) A copy of the grant recipient's official military orders; and

(B) A copy of the grant recipient's military identification.

(4) For the purpose of this section, the Armed Forces means the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, a reserve component of the Armed Forces named in 10 U.S.C. 10101, or the National Guard.

(5) Based on a request for a military discharge from the grant recipient or his or her representative, the Secretary will notify the grant recipient or his or her representative of the outcome of the discharge request. For the portion on the service obligation that remains, the grant recipient remains responsible for fulfilling his or her service obligation in accordance with § 686.12.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1845–0083)

[73 35495, June 23, 2008, as amended at 74 FR 55950, Oct. 29, 2009; 81 FR 76089, Nov. 1, 2016; 85 FR 49827, Aug. 14, 2020]