AmeriCorps State and National Updates

<RULE> CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE <CFR>45 CFR Part 2522</CFR> <RIN>RIN 3045-AA84</RIN> <SUBJECT>AmeriCorps State and National Updates</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Corporation for National and Community Service. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Final rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The Corporation for National and Community Service (operating as AmeriCorps) is revising regulations governing the number of terms for which AmeriCorps will fund living allowances and other benefits for AmeriCorps State and National members. Specifically, this rule increases the flexibility of the current rule by providing that AmeriCorps funding may be used for living allowances and other benefits for members for as long as it takes the members to either earn the aggregate value of two full-time Segal Education Awards or four terms, whichever is longer. </SUM> <DATES> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> This rule is effective January 17, 2025. </DATES> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Jennifer Bastress Tahmasebi, Deputy Director, AmeriCorps State and National, at <E T="03">JBastressTahmasebi@americorps.gov,</E> (202) 606-6667; or Elizabeth Appel, Associate General Counsel, at <E T="03">EAppel@americorps.gov,</E> (202) 967-5070. </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">I. Background</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">II. Overview of Final Rule (§ 2522.235)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">III. Response to Public Comments</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Comments in Support of Proposed Rule</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Comments in Opposition to Proposed Rule</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Comments Requesting Changes to Proposed Rule</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">IV. Regulatory Analyses</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Regulatory Flexibility Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Paperwork Reduction Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. Executive Order 13132, Federalism</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">G. Takings (Executive Order 12630)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">H. Civil Justice Reform (Executive Order 12988)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">I. Consultation with Indian Tribes (Executive Order 13175)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">I. Good Cause for Immediate Effective Date</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Background</HD> The National and Community Service Act of 1990, as amended, 42 U.S.C. 12501 <E T="03">et seq.,</E> aims to encourage United States citizens to engage in national service and to expand education opportunity by rewarding individuals who participate in national service with an increased ability to pursue higher education. Specifically, the Act establishes the National Service Trust and authorizes AmeriCorps to use funds from that Trust to provide education awards to eligible individuals who have fulfilled a term of service in an approved national service position and meet other applicable requirements. The Act also requires AmeriCorps State and National programs to provide living allowances and certain other benefits to full-time national service program participants. Notices of funding opportunity specify that programs may to choose to provide living allowances with AmeriCorps funding to members who serve less than full-time. The “term of service” that members serve in AmeriCorps State and National can be of different lengths, depending on the needs of the program. Full-time service is defined as 1,700 hours of service during a period of not more than one year. <E T="03">See</E> 45 CFR 2522.220(a)(1). Part-time service is defined as 900 hours of service during a period of not more than two years. <E T="03">See</E> 45 CFR 2522.220(a)(2). Reduced part-time terms of service may include terms at a reduced number of hours for categories of participants in certain approved AmeriCorps programs and on a case-by-case basis. <E T="03">See</E> 45 CFR 2522.220(a)(3). Summer program terms are considered part-time programs and members serve less than 1,700 hours. <E T="03">See</E> 45 CFR 2522.220(a)(4). Under 45 CFR 2525.50, AmeriCorps State and National members can earn up to the value of two full-time education awards. Because full-time and less than full-time ( <E T="03">e.g.,</E> part-time, reduced part-time, summer) terms of service have different hour requirements, each takes a different number of terms to reach the aggregate value of the two full-time education awards. 45 CFR 2522.220; 2525.100. During the period that AmeriCorps State and National members are serving and earning Segal Education awards, AmeriCorps funds living allowances and other member benefits ( <E T="03">e.g.,</E> financial benefits during an extended term of disaster-related service, childcare, health care). The current regulation, which took effect October 1, 2024, allows members to serve as many terms as necessary to earn the value of two full-time education awards, regardless of whether those terms are served on a full-time or less than full-time time basis. The prior regulation allowed AmeriCorps funding to support members' living allowances and benefits for up to four terms of service. <HD SOURCE="HD1">II. Overview of Final Rule</HD> Overall, this final rule is intended to increase the flexibility of AmeriCorps State and National regulations that removed the four-term limit on AmeriCorps funding for AmeriCorps State and National members' living allowances and other benefits. <E T="03">See</E> 89 FR 46024 (May 28, 2024). The final rule, which appears at 45 CFR 2522.235, retains the current provision that allows AmeriCorps funding for living allowances and other member benefits for the number of terms it takes to earn the aggregate value of two full-time education awards and also reinstates the former provision that allowed AmeriCorps funding for up to four terms. Thus, living allowances and other benefits for members who serve less than full time may continue to be funded for however many terms it takes those members to earn the aggregate value of two education awards, while living allowances and other benefits for members who have earned the aggregate value of two full-time education awards in fewer than four terms may continue to be funded up to four terms. <HD SOURCE="HD1">III. Response to Public Comments</HD> AmeriCorps published a proposed rule on August 28, 2024, at 89 FR 68845 and received 46 public comments in response by the September 27, 2024, comment deadline. Summaries of the points raised in those comments, and AmeriCorps' responses, are provided here. No changes to the proposed regulatory text were made in response to these comments or otherwise, as explained in the response to comments. <HD SOURCE="HD2">A. Comments in Support of Proposed Rule</HD> Several commenters stated their general support for providing AmeriCorps funding for members' living allowances and other benefits for service in AmeriCorps State and National programs for either four terms or as many terms needed to attain the aggregate value of two-full time education awards, whichever is longer. The commenters highlighted that the flexibility in term limits supports members, grantees, and the communities served by, for example: protecting members' opportunity to serve; offering the necessary support for members to complete their service; supporting members' personal and professional growth; enabling members to earn the statutorily allotted two Segal Education awards; benefiting the grantee organizations through members' institutional knowledge and providing organizations with the ability to better determine recruitment and funding needs; creating a value-added benefit for communities and people served; and ensuring continuity of service in rural and remote communities. Other commenters specifically noted that allowing continued service into third and fourth terms, after two education awards have been attained, is beneficial. For example, one commenter described the importance of her experience as a member who continued to serve a third term of service after earning the aggregate value of two full-time education awards and credited her third term of service as contributing to her growth as a leader, allowing her to earn her teaching certification, and changing the trajectory of her life. A commenter speaking from the perspective of a grantee stated that third- and fourth-year full-time members contribute institutional knowledge and expertise to programs, a “spirit of service,” efficacy, and continuity at service sites. Another commenter noted that consecutive terms of service translate into professional development and leadership opportunities for AmeriCorps members. Several commenters expressed the importance of allowing up to four terms for programs in rural and remote communities where members typically serve full-time and it can be difficult to recruit members due to smaller applicant pools. Some commenters emphasized their support for continuing to allow members to serve beyond four terms until they have earned the value of two full-time education awards. One commenter noted that some members serve only during summers and require more than four terms to earn the value of two full-time education awards. Another commenter stated that the major issue their organization encountered was that members reached the four-term limit (under the prior rule) before they earned the maximum education award and that allowing them to continue to serve to earn the education award addresses this issue. <E T="03">Response:</E> This final rule carries forward the proposal that allows AmeriCorps funding to be used for living allowances and other benefits for as long as it takes members to either earn the aggregate val ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 25k characters. 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