The Learnfare Rule

Under Learnfare, all of your children receiving TAFDC who are mandatory school age up to age 14 must be attending school or in home schooling. If your child has too many unexcused absences, you will lose your child's portion of the TAFDC grant: about $95/month per child.

How does the Learnfare rule work?

Every school quarter (45 days), the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) will ask for attendance information on your children under age 14. DTA has an agreement with local schools that school attendance information will be reported by the schools directly to the local DTA offices.

Each school is supposed to report to the DTA the number of unexcused absences of each TAFDC recipient. You do NOT have to get this information. If you are home schooling, you will need to bring proof in to DTA from the school that they have accepted your plan.

If your child misses more than 8 school days in the 45-day schoolquarter without a good reason, your TAFDC case is put on "probation." You have a right to rebut the number of unexcused absences.

If your child has more than 3 unexcused absences during the next month,you will lose about $95/month of TAFDC benefits. You will lose about $95/month in benefits for each child on "probation" who has more than 3 unexcused absences in any school month. Your child will remain on probation until he or she meets the Learnfare attendance rules. If your child has been sanctioned for 3 consecutive months, DTA rules require a referral to the Department of Social Services (DSS) who may contact the family to provide help (this is NOT an abuse and neglect referral).

Note

You should not lose MassHealth coverage for yourself or child. However, your Food Stamps will not increase if your TAFDC goes down.

If your child had a good reason to be absent

Under the rules, excused absences include:

• Your child was sick. For kids out of school fewer than 5 consecutive days, DTA will accept a statement from you; You need written proof from a doctor to verify illness of 5 days or more. If hospitalized, you need hospital records as proof;
• Absences due to your child's disability, as defined by DTA;
• Religious holidays;
• Death of an immediate family member (proof of death certificate or newspaper article); and
  
• Crisis situations "approved by the DTA director" or person he/she assigns.

You only need to provide verifications if the school states your child had an unexcused absence and the total unexcused absences exceed 8 in a 45 day school quarter.

Are there any kids exempt from Learnfare?

Only children of disabled parents or caretakers are exempt from the Learnfare rules. The parent must meet strict disability rules to qualify as an exempt family. There are no exceptions for children who are disabled themselves or who are expelled or suspended from a school with no access to alternative education.

If you want to challenge denial of benefits

If you get a notice saying you are on probation because your child has more than eight (8) unexcused absences, you can challenge or "rebut" this. Find out what information your school reported to DTA and make sure it is correct. Bring to the DTA office proof of why your child was not in school during some of those days or why the information reported by the school is wrong. If you and your child have been homeless or fleeing abuse, besure to raise this as a crisis situation.

You have the right to appeal any denial or reduction of benefits. Ifyou get a written notice saying your benefits are being reduced because of Learnfare, request a hearing. Bring with you any proofs that might help your case. You also have a right to see your case record, including the school records, and make copies of any documents in your DTA file. You also have a right to ask the school for copies of all your child's education records.

If your child needs help in school

Poor school attendance may be a sign of an undiagnosed learning disability or other problem. You have the right to ask your child's teacher or guidance counsellor for information on the services available to help your child. In some cases, your child may benefit from special education services.