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Deadline nearing to apply for waiver of Federal Work Study community service requirements
March 14, 2024
Institutions who won't be able to meet the community service requirements of the Federal Work Study program have until next month to request a waiver.
In a March 12 Electronic Announcement, the Department of Education said April 22 is the deadline for an institution to submit a waiver request for the 2024-25 Federal Work Study (FWS) community service requirements.
An institution that participates in the Federal Work Study Program is required to expend at least seven percent of its FWS federal allocation to pay the federal share of wages to students employed in community service jobs in an award year. A school is also expected to provide the institutional share of wages to students employed in community service jobs. In addition, one or more of the school's FWS students must be employed as a reading tutor for children in a reading tutoring project or performing family literacy activities in a family literacy project.
In requesting the waiver, the institution must specify for which requirement it is requesting the waiver and it must also include detailed information to demonstrate that complying with the requirement(s) would cause hardship for the school's students.
According to the announcement, a waiver request that is received after April 22, 2024, will not be considered.
Financial aid professionals with additional questions about the FWS community service expenditure requirements or the procedures for requesting a waiver should contact the FSA Partner and School Relations Center at 1-800-848-0978 or email CODSupport@ed.gov.