Do you want to be in school, but worry about a full-time course load? Here are the PaS rules.
Parents as Scholars (PaS) is a state-funded program run by the Maine Department of Human Services (DHS)
through the ASPIRE program. It was created in 1996 to allow TANF recipients to attend a two or four year
college giving them a better chance at future economic security.
Department rules say that a PaS student must be enrolled full-time and is expected to finish their degree in the
"normal" time for their program -- either two or four years. However, the rules allow students more time to finish
if they have good cause: up to 6 years to complete a 4-year program and up to 3 years to complete a 2-year program.
Additionally, we believe that some participants should be given even more time to complete their course
of study if the participant or a family member has a disability.
Have you been denied the chance to take part in Parents as Scholars because a disability in your family prevented you
from attending full-time or at a pace fast enough to allow you to finish the program in one and a half (1 1/2) times
the normal time it would take to complete the program?
We believe that the Department's rules requiring a person to complete their program in 1 1/2 times the normal time,
regardless of a disability, may violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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A
disability is any physical or mental health problem that
interferes with your major life activities |
If you or a family member has a disability that required you to take classes less than full-time,
and you weren't allowed to be in Parents as Scholars because of this, please contact:
Maine Equal Justice
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Disclaimer
Maine Equal Justice Partners
April 2004
We are providing this information as a public service. We try to make it accurate as of the date
indicated for each client education page. Sometimes the law changes. We cannot guarantee or promise that this information is
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information provided.
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taking legal action.
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