BACKGROUND
Claimant, who has turned 18, was entitled to CIB on the account of the NH. Claimant
submitted an SSA-1372-BK form stating that she attended the Minnesota Virtual High
School (MVHS), an online secondary school, from January 25, 2011 until June 8, 2011.
Claimant asserted that she was scheduled to attend online classes 20 hours/week. Claimant
had transferred to a different school in September 2011, and expected to graduate
in the summer of 2012.
Stacy, the dean of students for MVHS, certified that the information on Claimant’s
SSA-1372-BK was correct. She also provided a student progress report showing Claimant’s
login times for the semester that she attended MVHS. In e-mail correspondence with
SSA, Dean stated that Claimant would have been considered a full-time student. Dean
also attested that MVHS’s course of study was at least 13 weeks in duration. Successful
students at MVHS must log on for 20-25 hours of learning on the computer each week,
and make adequate weekly progress in their lessons. The minimum required login time
is five hours per day, or 25 hours per week. To facilitate students’ weekly progress,
school staff are available online to communicate with students about questions, computer
problems, and school struggles. School policy requires students to attend all mandatory
testing days.
According to its website, MVHS is an online program for grades 6-12, offered by the
Minnesota Transitions Charter School. MVHS students receive their diploma from Transitions
Charter School, which is part of the Minnesota state school system. MVHS is a public
school, available at no cost to students throughout Minnesota. Only residents of Minnesota
are eligible for enrollment. MVHS receives the same per-student funding from the state
of Minnesota as traditional brick-and-mortar schools. Because MVHS is a public school,
it also provides special instruction and services to students with disabilities, including
students who require individualized education plans. MVHS is accredited by the North
Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement (NCA-CASI),
an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education.
To be considered in full-time attendance at MVHS, students must log on daily and spend
a minimum of 5 hours per school day, 25 hours per week, online working in their courses.
See MVHS 2010/2011 Parent Student Handbook at 6; www.minnesotavirtualhighschool.com. MVHS tracks attendance through an online
system. To graduate, students must take a minimum of 64.5 credits in English (12 credits),
Social Studies (12 credits), Math (9 credits), Science (9 credits), Fine Arts (3 credits),
PE/Health (3 credits), and 16.5 credits of elective courses. They must also pass all
state-mandated annual assessments and graduation tests. Students must take this tests
in person at state-specific testing centers, rather than online. MVHS requires that
its teachers be certified by Minnesota. Teachers are available to students around
the clock from 10 PM Sunday through 8 PM Friday, via phone, e-mail, or instant messaging.
Students are also assigned an online counselor to help them choose an appropriate
curriculum.
DISCUSSION
The Social Security Act (“the Act”) provides for the payment of CIB to certain unmarried
children of individuals who are deceased or who are entitled to old-age or disability
insurance benefits. 42 U.S.C. § 402(d). A child who has reached the age of 18 but
has not yet turned 19 can continue to receive benefits if the child is a full-time
elementary or secondary school student. 42 U.S.C. §§ 402(d)(1), 402(d)(7)(A); 20 C.F.R.
§§ 404.350(a)(5), 404.367. CIB benefits terminate when the child turns 19, regardless
of her educational status. 42 U.S.C. § 402(d)(1)(F).
The Act specifies that full-time attendance at an educational institution is a prerequisite
to receiving CIB. 42 U.S.C. § 402(d). Thus, to be eligible to receive CIB, an individual
who has turned 18 years of age but has not yet reached age 19 must be a full-time
elementary or secondary school student at an educational institution. 42 U.S.C. §
402(d)(7)(A); 20 C.F.R. § 404.367. Section 202(d)(7)(C)(i) of the Act specifies that
an "elementary or secondary school" is “a school which provides elementary or secondary
education, respectively, as determined under the law of the State or other jurisdiction
in which it is located.” 42 U.S.C. § 402(d)(7)(C)(i); see also 20 C.F.R.§ 404.367(a)(1); POMS RS 00205.200. Unless there is some indication to the contrary, the following public schools in
the United States are considered educational institutions: elementary schools, middle
schools, junior high schools, and high schools. See POMS RS 00205.250(B)(1). The POMS also sets forth the procedure for determining the status of a school
as an educational institution. Id.
The POMS defines an online school as one that offers Internet-based courses to students.
POMS RS 00205.295. A child attending an online school may be a full-time student if the student meets
the standards for full-time attendance as defined in POMS RS 00205.300, and the online school is consistent with the law of the state in which the online
school is located. Id. To meet Federal attendance standards, the student must be scheduled for attendance
at the rate of at least 20 hours per week; be enrolled in a course that is not a correspondence
course; and be enrolled in a course of study that last for at least 13 weeks. POMS
RS 00205.300(c).
MVHS Is an Educational Institution
You asked whether MVHS is an educational institution under Minnesota law. Therefore,
pursuant to the statute, regulations, and POMS, it is necessary to examine Minnesota
law to determine whether MVHS is an educational institution. Under Minnesota law,
a “secondary school” means any school with building, equipment, courses of study,
class schedules, enrollment of pupils ordinarily in grades 7 through 12 or any portion
thereof, and staff meeting the standards established by the commissioner of education.
M.S.A. § 120A.05(13). Under Minnesota law, admission to a school supported by public
funds is free to anyone under the age of 21 who meets the residency requirements of
the district that operates the school. M.S.A. § 120A.20. Schools must provide instruction
in basic communications skills (including reading, writing, literature and fine arts);
mathematics and science; social studies (including history, geography and government);
and health and physical education. M.S.A. § 120A.22(9).
Despite the requirement that a secondary school have a building and scheduled classes,
M.S.C. § 120A.05(13), the Minnesota Education Code expressly authorizes online learning
options. M.S.A. § 124D.095. A school district, two or more cooperating school districts,
and Minnesota charter schools may provide online learning programs to Minnesota residents.
M.S.A. § 124D.095(b)-(e). Online learning programs must meet or exceed state academic
standards. M.S.A. § 124D.095(a).
MVHS is not sponsored by a traditional school district, but by Minnesota Transitions
Charter School. However, the Minnesota Education Code expressly authorizes the formation
of charter schools. M.S.A. § 124D.10. Minnesota includes charter schools in its definition
of “public schools.” Minn. Admin. Code § 2501.0030(11) (citing M.S.A. § 120A ). Individual school districts may authorize charter schools within
their districts. M.S.A. § 124D.10 In addition, nonsectarian charitable organizations
whose sole purpose is to charter schools may become charter school authorizers under
Minnesota law, as long as they are incorporated in Minnesota and, among other criteria,
the Minnesota Commissioner of Education determines that they meet the requirements
of the Minnesota Education Code. M.S.A. § 124D.10(3)(b)(5), 124D.10(3)(c)-(d). One
purpose of charter schools is to encourage different and innovative teaching methods.
M.S.A. § 124D.10(3). The Minnesota Commissioner of Education must review the authorizer’s
performance at least every five years. M.S.A. § 124D.10(3)(i). Minnesota generally
considers an independent authorizer of charter schools to be equivalent to a school
district, and teachers at charter schools must generally hold professional licenses
from the state of Minnesota. M.S.A. § 124D.10(4); Minn. Admin. Code § 8710.0300.
MVHS meets Minnesota’s requirements for a secondary school. Although classes are entirely
online, and students proceed at their own pace, MVHS has physical offices, and provides
students with specific courses of study. MVHS receives public funds, and is free to
Minnesota residents under age 21. MVHS hires professional teachers who hold Minnesota
teaching certificates. It meets Minnesota’s basic curriculum requirements, and its
curriculum is directed toward providing MVHS students with high school diploma. MVHS’s
graduation requirements exceed the minimum requirements under Minnesota law. See M.S.A. § 120B.024(a). Therefore, MVHS meets the criteria for an educational institution
under the Act.
Claimant Apparently Did Not Meet MVHS Requirements for Full-Time Attendance
Claimant asserted that she was scheduled for at least 20 hours of instruction per
week, in a program that lasted more than 13 weeks, for courses that Minnesota does
not consider to be correspondence courses. Dean has certified that Claimant’s statements
are correct. Thus, Claimant meets the minimum Federal standards for a full time student.
POMS RS 00205.300(C). However, to qualify as a full time student she must also meet MVHS’s standards
and practices for day students. POMS RS 00205.300(B). Dean stated in an e-mail to SSA that Claimant “would have been considered [a]
full time” student at MVHS. However, this statement appears to be at odds with the
attendance log that Dean provided to SSA. Claimant was enrolled at MVHS for a full
semester, and the attendance log shows only one day during that semester when Claimant
logged on for more than five hours. The MVHS Parent/Student Handbook states “Attendance
is tracked in our online system and students failing to meet our attendance requirements
will be marked absent for the day. . . . A full time student is required to be online
working in their courses no less than 5 hours per school day.”
MVHS 2010-2011 Parent/Student Handbook at 6; www.minnesotavirtualhighschool.com. In addition, MVHS requires full-time students
to “engage
daily in course work that totals a minimum of 25 hours per week.” Id. at 7. The attendance log also shows that throughout the semester that Claimant was
enrolled at MVHS, she never spent more than 16 hours logged on in a given week, and
most weeks logged on for less than ten hours. Thus, it appears that Claimant did not
meet MVHS’s minimum requirements for full-time day students. Because Dean’s statement
that Claimant “would have been considered full time” appears inconsistent with the
evidence from Claimant’s login times, we recommend that you re-contact Dean and ask
for a more extensive explanation of why Claimant was not considered absent on days
when she spent less than five hours online, and thus whether Claimant met MVHS’s minimum
attendance standards for a full time student. Claimant may not considered in full-time
attendance for purposes of the Act unless she met MVHS’s minimum attendance standards
in addition to the minimum federal standards. POMS RS 00205.300(B).
CONCLUSION
MVHS is an educational institution because it provides a secondary education as determined
under the law of Minnesota. A student at MVHS who meets the school’s minimum requirements
for full time attendance would be considered a full time student for purposes of receiving
CIB. However, it is not clear that Claimant met MVHS’s requirements for full-time
attendance. SSA should clarify her status in order to determine whether she was entitled
to CIB on the NH’s account during the period in question.
Grace M. Kim
Acting Regional Chief Counsel, Region V
By_________
Julie L. Bentz
Assistant Regional Counsel