To be considered in full-time attendance (FTA), an individual must be enrolled in a course of study that is at least 13 weeks' duration. The duration of the course refers to the entire course of study (e.g., a 4-year high school program or GED course) and not the individual course offering or other segment of the entire course (i.e., semester or summer session). A break in FTA of more than 4 months ends the duration of a course requirement.

EXAMPLE 1: A student (age 19 in April) is allowed to graduate in May with their class, on the condition they will attend summer school for 3 weeks in June to complete a course. The regular school year is September through May. The 3 weeks of schooling in June is considered part of the regular school year and benefits are payable through June.

EXAMPLE 2: A student (age 18) has not attended high school for 6 months, starts summer school in July, and expects to continue FTA in September through the following June. Student benefits are payable from July to age 19 attainment.

The 13-week-duration requirement is met if the course lasts for 13 weeks, including the beginning and ending weeks of the course.

EXAMPLE 1: A course which begins on Tuesday, September 20, and ends on Wednesday, December 13, is a course of 13 weeks, even though the beginning and ending weeks are not full calendar weeks.

A student attending a course of at least 13 weeks' duration, who subsequently drops out or is dropped before completing the 13 weeks, can be entitled for the months they were in FTA.

EXAMPLE 2: John is in FTA at the local public high school in September through December and drops out of school in December. Since the course they are attending is at least 13 weeks’ duration, they can be entitled for September through December even though they did not attend for the entire duration of the course.

Since some General Education Development (GED) courses are of indefinite length, use the actual time in FTA to determine whether the duration requirement is met. The student must be in FTA for at least 13 consecutive weeks. (See RS 00205.340C.2.)