Eligibility To Receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students Under the Higher Education Emergency Relief Programs – Federal Register
AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education.
ACTION: Final regulations.
SUMMARY: The Secretary amends the Department of Education regulations so that an institution of higher education (IHE) may appropriately determine which individuals currently or previously enrolled at an institution are eligible to receive emergency financial aid grants to students under the Higher Education Emergency Relief programs, as originally enacted under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (March 27, 2020).
DATES: This rule is effective on May 14, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karen Epps, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 2B133, Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: (202) 377-3711. Email: HEERF@ed.gov. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free at 1-800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Executive Summary
Purpose of This Regulatory Action
On March 27, 2020, Congress enacted the CARES Act, Public Law 116-136, to help the nation cope with the economic and health crises created by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. Section 18004 of the CARES Act establishes the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) and instructs the Secretary to allocate funding to eligible IHEs in connection with the COVID-19 outbreak. Section 18004(c) states that institutions must use at least 50 percent of their allocations “to provide emergency financial aid grants to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus (including eligible expenses under a student’s cost of attendance, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child care).”