Or. Admin. Code § 137-055-5110 - Child Attending School
The purpose of this rule is to provide additional information as to how the Oregon Child Support Program will apply the provisions of ORS 107.108 when the order or modification provides for support until the child is age 21, so long as the child is a child attending school in accordance with ORS 107.108.
(1) In addition to the
definitions found in ORS 107.108, as used in OAR Chapter 137, division 55, the
following terms have the meanings given below:
(a) "Active member of the military" means:
(A) A member of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy,
Air Force, Space Force, or Coast Guard (collectively known as the "armed
forces"), who is serving on active duty;
(B) A member of the National Guard who is
serving full-time National Guard state or federal active duty; or
(C) A cadet at a federal service
academy.
(b) "Adult
child" means a child over the age of 18 and under the age of 21, who is not
married or otherwise emancipated, and is not currently a child attending
school.
(c) "Child attending
school" has the meaning given in ORS 107.108, except a child attending school
does not include an active member of the military.
(d) "Satisfactory academic progress" means:
(A) For a child attending high school who is
over age 18 but under age 21, enrollment in school and meeting attendance
requirements or as defined by the school; or
(B) For a child attending post high school
classes, as defined by the higher educational institution.
(2) If the obligor has not
provided the child attending school with an address for sending the documents
required by ORS 107.108, the administrator may release the address of the
obligor to the child attending school, pursuant to OAR 137-055-1140(3) and (4).
If the obligor has provided a contact address and that contact address is
valid, the administrator will release only that contact address to the child
attending school. If the obligor does not provide an address to the
administrator or to the child, the obligor's failure to receive required
documents is not a basis for objecting that a child does not qualify as a child
attending school.
(3) If there has
been a finding and order of nondisclosure on behalf of the child attending
school pursuant to ORS 25.020, the child may send the obligor's copy of any
documents required by ORS 107.108 to the administrator, and the administrator
will forward it to the obligor. The child must submit a copy of the documents
to the administrator within the time periods set out in ORS 107.108. The
administrator will redact the following information prior to sending a copy of
the documents otherwise required to be provided to the obligor:
(a) Residence, mailing, or contact address,
including the school name and address;
(b) Social Security number;
(c) Telephone number, including the school
telephone number;
(d) Driver
license number;
(e) Employer's
name, address, and telephone number; and
(f) Name of registrar or school
official.
(4) When
support is collected that accrued while a child qualified as a child attending
school, the Oregon Department of Justice will distribute and disburse a
prorated share of child support or medical support payments directly to the
child attending school unless the Oregon order is being enforced at the request
of another state or a reason is found to distribute and disburse support in
some other manner. For purposes of this section, such a reason may include:
(a) The child attending school provides
written, notarized authorization for distribution and disbursement to the
obligee; or
(b) The court,
administrative law judge, or administrator orders otherwise.
(5) Notwithstanding section (4) of
this rule, if the administrator is enforcing an Oregon order at the request of
another state and that state has indicated they are unable to distribute and
disburse support directly to the child, the administrator may distribute and
disburse support directly to the child.
(6)
(a) If
the administrator makes a finding that the support payment should be
distributed and disbursed to the obligee under subsection (4)(b), the
administrator will send a notice of redirection of support to the
parties.
(b) A party may contest
the administrator's finding as provided in ORS 183.484.
(7) If the child attending school no longer
qualifies to receive support in accordance with ORS 107.108, the parent paying
support or providing health care coverage can object to continuing to pay
support or to providing health care coverage as provided in ORS 107.108(8).
(a) Unless new supporting documentation can
be provided, an objection can only be made once per semester or term as defined
by the school or three months from the date of a previous objection if the
school does not have semesters or terms.
(b) Any party may contest the administrator's
finding from the objection as provided in ORS 183.484.
(8) If a child notifies the administrator in
writing that they no longer qualify as a child attending school, support for
that child attending school will be suspended immediately, and notice will be
sent to the parties.
(9) When
support has been suspended under ORS 107.108(8), it will be reinstated when the
program receives the following:
(a) Written
confirmation from the school that the child qualifies as a child attending
school,
(b) Certification from the
child that proof of consent for disclosure was provided to the obligor,
and
(c) If the case has been closed
pursuant to OAR 137-055-1120, an application for services as described in OAR
137-055-1060.
(10) When
the administrator has suspended or reinstated a support obligation pursuant to
ORS 107.108, a party may request an administrative review of the action within
30 days after the date of the notice of suspension or reinstatement.
(a) The only issues that may be considered in
the review are whether:
(A) The adult child
meets the requirements of a child attending school;
(B) The written notice of the adult child's
intent to attend or continue to attend school was sent to the
obligor;
(C) The written consent
was sent or proof of written consent was received.
(b) The burden of proof for the
administrative review is on the requesting party to provide documentation
supporting the allegation(s).
(11) When support has been suspended under
ORS 107.108, the adult child may request to receive notice of future
modifications and may request to be a party to the modification as outlined in
ORS 107.108 and OAR 137-055-3430. The adult child does not have any party
status on the case until the request has been received by the
administrator.
(12) In addition to
the rights afforded under ORS 107.108, if the obligee claims good cause under
OAR 137-055-1090, the child attending school may apply for services to enforce
the existing support obligation on behalf of the child attending school only.
The application will be handled in the same manner as outlined in OAR
137-055-1090(10)(a)-(c).
(13) If a
court orders payment from a higher education savings plan in lieu of support
under ORS 107.108, the administrator will stop collection and billing actions
on behalf of that child at age 18 and will not administratively modify the
support order to include child attending school support provisions for that
child.
(a) If the support order is for a
single or last remaining child, the administrator will close the case unless
arrears are owed.
(b) If the court
has not issued a modification of the support amount for any remaining children
of the order, this is a substantial change of circumstances for purposes of
modifying the support order.
(14) Except for support orders originally
issued by a state other than Oregon and being enforced under the provisions of
ORS 110.503 to 110.677, if the most recent order or modification for support
cites ORS 107.108 or otherwise provides for support of a "child attending
school," the administrator will follow the most recent version of this rule,
regardless of when the support order was entered.
Notes
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 25.020, 107.108 & 180.345
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 25.020, 25.080, 25.503 & 107.108
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