WAC 388-482-0005 How does being a student impact my eligibility for the Washington Basic Food Program?



1. For Basic Food, we consider you a student if you are:  
   1. Age 18 through 49;
   2. Physically and mentally able to work; and
   3. Enrolled in an institution of higher education at least half-time as defined by the institution.
2. An institution of higher education is:
   1. An educational institution that requires a high school diploma or general education development certificate (GED);
   2. A business, trade or vocational school that requires a high school diploma or GED; or
   3. A two-year or four-year college or university that offers a degree but does not require a high school diploma or GED.
3. If you are a student, you must meet one of the following conditions to be eligible for Basic Food:
   1. Have paid employment of at least twenty hours per week;
   2. Be self-employed, work at least twenty hours per week, and earn at least the amount you would earn working twenty hours at the federal minimum wage;
   3. Be participating in a state or federal work study program at the time you applied for Basic Food benefits.  For the purpose of being eligible for Basic Food, work study is:
      1. Working and receiving money from the work study program; and
      2. Not turning down a work assignment.
   4. Be responsible for more than half the care of a dependent person in your Assistance Unit (AU) who is age five or younger;
   5. Be responsible for more than half the care of a dependent person in your AU who is between age six and eleven if we have determined that there is not adequate child care available during the school year to allow you to:
      1. Attend class and satisfy the 20-hour work requirement; or
      2. Take part in a work study program.
   6. Be a single parent responsible for the care of your natural, step, or adopted child who is age eleven or younger;
   7. Be an adult who has the parental responsibility of child who is age 11 or younger if none of the following people live in the home:
      1. The child’s parents; or
      2. Your spouse.
   8. Participate in the WorkFirst program under WAC 388-310-0200;
   9. Receive TANF or SFA benefits; or
   10. Attend an institution of higher education through:
       1. The Workforce Investment Act (WIA);
       2. The Food Stamp Employment and Training Program under Chapter 388-444 WAC;
       3. An approved state or local employment and training program; or
       4. Section 236 of the Trade Act of 1974.
4. If you are a student and the only reason you are eligible for Basic Food is because you participate in work study, you are only eligible while you work and receive money from work study.  If your work study stops during the summer months, you must meet another condition to be an eligible student during this period.
5. If you are a student, your status as a student:
   1. Begins the first day of the school term; and
   2. Continues through vacations.  This includes the summer break if you plan to return to school for the next term.
6. We do not consider you a student if you:
   1. Graduate;
   2. Are suspended or expelled;
   3. Drop out; or
   4. Do not intend to register for the next school term other than summer.