A Reminder from the Department of Transitional Assistance:
Many low-income students attending state-funded community colleges may be eligible to participate in the SNAP program.
Identifying Eligible Students
Students enrolled in an institution of higher education as defined under 106 CMR 362.400 may be eligible for SNAP benefits if they meet any one of the following requirements listed under 106
CMR 362.410, that is, if they are:
• receiving federal or state-funded work study, regardless of the
amount of hours worked;
• employed or self-employed for at least 20 hours per week averaged
monthly;
• caring for a dependent child under the age of 6;
• caring for a child age 6 to 12 where adequate child care is not available to enable the student to attend both school and work 20 hours a week;
• a single parent responsible for a child under age 12, regardless of availability of child care;
• receiving TAFDC benefits; or
• enrolled in a program of higher education through the SNAP Education and Training (E&T) Program, or a program under section 236 of the Trade Act, or an education and training program under the Food and Nutrition Act, or other state funded or locally funded employment or training program.
Case managers must now also explore the possibility that the student is attending a community college and is enrolled in a career or technical education program under the Perkins IV Program or in a course of study that
would lead to employment, as verified by the college.
To be eligible for SNAP, a student must:
• be attending community college at least half-time; and
• be considered by the community college to be pursuing a career or
technical education program under Perkins IV that will lead to
employment.
If the student meets these two eligibility requirements, no other student eligibility factor must be met.
The following is a list of community colleges:
Massachusetts Community Colleges
Berkshire Community College
Bristol Community College
Bunker Hill Community College
Cape Cod Community College
Greenfield Community College
Holyoke Community College
Massachusetts Bay Community College
Massasoit Community College
Middlesex Community College
Mount Wachusett Community College
North Shore Community College
Northern Essex Community College
Quinsigamond Community College
Roxbury Community College
Springfield Technical Community College
Any financial aid received by the student must be treated in accordance with current SNAP policy. Financial aid or educational loans must be verified by using an Education Income and Expenses form (EDUC-1) or by a financial
aid letter from the college. If the CCE-1form indicates that the student is attending more than half-time
and is enrolled under the Perkins IV Program or in a course of study that will lead to employment, and the student is otherwise eligible, the case must be approved. The case manager must annotate the BEACON Narrative that the
student meets eligibility based on these criteria.
