261.5 - RESPONSE TO NATIONAL EMERGENCY -- WAIVER AUTHORITY.
261.5 RESPONSE TO NATIONAL EMERGENCY -- WAIVER
AUTHORITY.
1. For purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise
requires:
a. "Active duty" means "active duty" as defined in 10
U.S.C. § 101(d)(1), except that the term does not include active duty
for training or attendance at a service school.
b. "Affected individual" means an individual who is serving
on active duty during the national emergency; or who resides or is
employed in an area that is declared a disaster area by any federal,
state, or local official in connection with the national emergency;
or who suffered direct economic hardship as a result of the national
emergency, as determined under a waiver or modification issued
pursuant to this section.
c. "Serving on active duty during the national emergency"
means any of the following individuals:
(1) A reserve of an armed force ordered to active duty under 10
U.S.C. § 12301(a), 12301(g), 12302, 12304, or 12306, or any retired
member of an armed force ordered to active duty under 10 U.S.C. §
688, as amended, for service in connection with the emergency or
subsequent actions or conditions, regardless of the location at which
the active duty service is performed.
(2) Any other member of an armed force on active duty in
connection with the emergency or subsequent actions or conditions who
has been assigned to a duty station at a location other than the
location at which the member is normally assigned.
2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, in the
event of a national emergency declared by the president of the United
States by reason of terrorist attack, the commission may waive or
modify any statutory or regulatory provision applicable to state
financial aid programs established pursuant to this chapter to
ensure, with regard to affected individuals, that the following
occurs:
a. The financial positions of affected individuals who are
state student loan borrowers are not worsened in relation to those
loans because of their status as affected individuals.
b. Administrative requirements placed on state student loan
borrowers are minimized, to the extent possible, without impairing
the integrity of the student loan programs, to ease the burden on
these borrowers and to avoid inadvertent technical violations or
defaults.
c. The calculation of "annual adjusted family income" and
"available income", as used in the determination of need for student
financial assistance under 20 U.S.C. § 1070 et seq., for affected
individuals, or if applicable, for the spouses or dependents of
affected individuals, may be modified to mean the sums received in
the first calendar year of the award year for which the determination
is made, in order to reflect more accurately the financial condition
of the affected individuals or their families.
3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, in the
event of a national emergency declared by the president of the United
States by reason of terrorist attack, the commission may grant
temporary relief from requirements rendered infeasible or
unreasonable, including due diligence requirements and reporting
deadlines, by the national emergency, to an institution of higher
education under the state board of regents, a community college, an
accredited private institution as defined in section 261.9, eligible
lenders, and other entities participating in the state student
assistance programs in accordance with this chapter, that are located
in, or whose operations are directly affected by, areas that are
declared disaster areas by any federal, state, or local official in
connection with the national emergency. If the commission issues a
waiver in accordance with this section, the report prepared by the
commission pursuant to section 17A.9A, subsection 5, shall include
examples of measures that a postsecondary institution may take in the
appropriate exercise of discretion, as provided in 20 U.S.C. §
1087tt, to adjust financial need and aid eligibility determinations
for affected individuals.
4. This section shall not be construed as a requirement that the
commission exercise the waiver or modification authority provided
pursuant to this section on a case-by-case basis. Section History: Recent Form
2002 Acts, ch 1036, §1, 2