Clarification of Federal Public Benefits Under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act

About This Grant

The U.S. Department of Education (Department) issues this interpretation to revise and clarify its position on the classification of certain Department programs providing "Federal public benefits," as defined in Title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), Public Law 104-193. The Department concludes that the postsecondary education programs and "other similar benefit" programs described within this interpretive rule, including adult education programs authorized under Title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, postsecondary career and technical education programs under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006, and other programs when used to fund postsecondary learning opportunities, provide federally funded forms of assistance that constitute "Federal public benefits" subject to PRWORA's citizenship verification requirements. The interpretation also revokes and supersedes certain aspects of the Department's previously issued Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) of November 19, 1997, which mischaracterized these programs as not affected by PRWORA, for the reasons described further within this notice.