Employee's Student Child

The term "child" means the employee's unmarried:

• natural child;
• adopted child;
• dependent stepchild; or,
• under certain conditions, grandchild whose parents are deceased or disabled.

A child age 18-19 qualifies as a student if in full-time attendance at an elementary or secondary school.

Unmarried Student

Students must be “unmarried.” They are unmarried if:

• they have never been married; or,
• they were married before the student benefit became payable and that marriage has ended by death, divorce or annulment.

Full-Time Student

For Railroad Retirement Act (RRA) purposes, a student is generally considered to be in full-time attendance (FTA) while in an elementary or secondary school course of at least 13 weeks duration with minimum attendance of 20 hours per week. The program must be in accordance with the law of the State or other jurisdiction in which the student resides. This includes enrollment in:

• A public, private or religious educational institution; or,
• An independent study program administered by the school district in which the student resides; or,
• An elementary or secondary home school education.

Home Schooling

The RRB follows the laws of the state or other jurisdiction in which the student resides.

Form G-315H Checklist for Documentation Needed for Student Age 18-19 in Home Schooling lists the items that most states require for home schooling. These include:

• A written notice to the superintendent of the school district, including the name, age, and grade level of the student, the address at which the instruction is done, the source of instruction materials, the basic core curriculum, the proposed schedule, and the credentials of the teacher;
• Approval of the home schooling by the superintendent of the school district in which the student resides;
• A teacher with at least a high school diploma;
• Maintenance of home school attendance records for the school year; and,
• Use of nationally recognized standardized achievement tests (including reading, mathematics, language arts, science and social studies) by the end of the school year.

Vacation Period

A student is considered to be in ‘deemed” FTA during vacation, or certain other periods of non-attendance, if:

• The period does not exceed four months;
• The period was preceded by full-time attendance at a qualified school; and,
• The student intends to return to school on a full-time basis at the end of the period.

Month of Graduation

If a student ceases FTA in a month and returns to school in the following month to attend graduation ceremonies, the student will be considered in FTA for the month of graduation.

However, if there is an interval of one or more calendar months between the cessation of FTA and graduation, the student is not entitled after the month FTA ceases.

Age 19 Attainment

If students complete graduation requirements and attain age 19 in the same month, they are in FTA that month. If students then participate in their graduation ceremonies in the following month, the students would also be in FTA in the month of graduation.

If students have not completed their requirements for high school diplomas or equivalent certificates, their student benefits normally end the first day of the month in which they attain age 19.

An exception is made for students who are in actual full-time attendance in the month of attainment of age 19. If the students are in actual full-time attendance, they will be "deemed not to have attained age 19" until the earlier of the first day of the first month following completion of the course or the first day of the third month following the month in which the students attained age 19.

Note: The exception does not apply to students who attain age 19 during the months of summer vacation. If the students attain age 19 during the summer vacation months, their student benefits end the first day of the month in which they attain age 19.