[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 20, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 20CFR216.74]

[Page 206-207]
 
                      TITLE 20--EMPLOYEES' BENEFITS
 
                  CHAPTER II--RAILROAD RETIREMENT BOARD
 
PART 216_ELIGIBILITY FOR AN ANNUITY--Table of Contents
 
                        Subpart H_Child's Annuity
 
Sec. 216.74  When a child is a full-time elementary or secondary school 
student.

    (a) A child is a full-time elementary or secondary school student if 
he or she meets all of the following conditions:
    (1) The child is in full-time attendance at an elementary or 
secondary school; or
    (2) The child is instructed in elementary or secondary education at 
home in accordance with a home school law of the State or other 
jurisdiction in which the child resides; or
    (3) The child is in an independent study elementary or a secondary 
education program administered by the local school, district, or 
jurisdiction, which is in accordance with the law of the State or other 
jurisdiction in which he or she resides.
    (b) The child is in full-time attendance in a day or evening non-
correspondence course of at least 13 weeks duration and he or she is 
carrying a subject load that is considered full-time for day students 
under the institution's standards and practices. If he or she is in a 
home schooling program as described in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, 
he or she must be carrying a subject load that is considered full-time 
for day students under the standards and practices set by the State or 
other jurisdiction in which the student resides.
    (c) To be considered in full-time attendance, scheduled attendance 
must be at the rate of at least 20 hours per week unless one of the 
exceptions in paragraphs (c) (1) and (2) of this section applies. If the 
student is in an independent study program as described in paragraph 
(a)(3) of this section, the number of hours spent in school attendance 
is determined by combining

[[Page 207]]

the number of hours of attendance at a school facility with the agreed 
upon number of hours spent in independent study. The student may still 
be considered in full-time attendance if the scheduled rate of 
attendance is below 20 hours per week if the Board finds that:
    (1) The school attended does not schedule at least 20 hours per week 
and going to that particular school is the student's only reasonable 
alternative; or
    (2) The student's medical condition prevents him or her from having 
scheduled attendance of at least 20 hours per week. To prove that the 
student's medical condition prevents him or her from scheduling 20 hours 
per week, the Board may request that the student provide appropriate 
medical evidence or a statement from the school; or
    (3) The student is not attending classes, but is graduating in that 
month and classes ended the month before.
    (d) An individual is not a full-time student if, while attending an 
elementary or secondary school, he or she is paid compensation by an 
employer who has requested or required that the individual attend the 
school. An individual is not a full time student while he or she is 
confined in a penal institution or correctional facility because he or 
she committed a felony after October 19, 1980.
    (e) A student who reaches age 19 but has not completed the 
requirements for a secondary school diploma or certificate and who is a 
full-time elementary or secondary student, as defined in paragraph (a) 
of this section, will continue to be eligible for benefits until the 
first day of the first month following the end of the quarter or 
semester in which he or she is then enrolled, or if the school is not 
operated on a quarter or semester system, the earlier of:
    (1) The first day of the month following completion of the course(s) 
in which he or she was enrolled when age 19 was reached; or
    (2) The first day of the third month following the month in which he 
or she reached age 19.

[63 FR 17326, Apr. 9, 1998]