13 FAM 601.2
GRANTS AND REIMBURSEMENTS TO FACILITATE TRAINING FOR
ELIGIBLE FAMILY MEMBERS
(CT:TPD-1; 09-18-2019)
(Office of Origin: FSI)
13 FAM 601.2-1 Authority
(CT:TPD-1; 09-18-2019)
(Uniform State/Agriculture /USAGM/Commerce/USAID)
(Applies to Foreign Service and Civil Service Employees)
Section 705 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C.
4025), as amended, authorizes the making of grants to eligible family members
for language training undertaken at a public or private institution when the
family member is unable to participate in language training provided by the
Foreign Service Institute (FSI). Training is subject to pre-approval by FSI or
by USAIDs Office of Training and Education (M/HR/TE). (FSI does not
pre-approve training for the Department of Agriculture.)
13 FAM 601.2-2 ADMINISTRATION OF
GRANTS AND REIMBURSEMENTS
(CT:TPD-1; 09-18-2019)
(Uniform State/Agriculture/Commerce /USAID)
(Foreign Service Employees)
Grants and reimbursements to eligible family members shall
be administered by the agency authorizing official or designee, listed in the
table that follows:
|
State
|
Director, FSI
|
|
USAID
|
Deputy Assistant
Administrator for Human Resources (DAA/M/HR)
|
|
Commerce
|
Human Resources Manager,
Office of Foreign Service Human Resources (ITA/USFCS/OFSHR)
|
|
Agriculture
|
Director, HRD/FSA;
Assistant Deputy Administrator, International Services (APHIS)
|
13 FAM 601.2-3 TRAINING GRANTS
AVAILABLE TO ELIGIBLE FAMILY MEMBERS
(CT:TPD-1; 09-18-2019)
(Uniform State/Agriculture/Commerce/USAID)
(Foreign Service Employees)
Subject to availability of funds, training-related grants
may be made to eligible family members to facilitate attendance in the
following programs, in anticipation of their accompanying the family member who
is a member of the Service on their assignment abroad:
(1) Area study courses, full or part-time;
(2) Programs of the Overseas Briefing Center;
(3) Regular full-time, early morning, part-time,
familiarization and short-term (FAST), and specially arranged language
training, including the area study portions of such courses; or
(4) Such other course offerings as may be determined
by the agency authorizing official, or designee, as being necessary for the
orientation, language training, and functional training appropriate for
anticipated prospective employment under sections 311 and 704 of the Foreign
Service Act, as amended.
13 FAM 601.2-4 LANGUAGE TRAINING
PROVIDED AT OTHER INSTITUTIONS
(CT:TPD-1; 09-18-2019)
(Uniform State/Agriculture/Commerce/USAID)
(Foreign Service Employees)
The specifications of language training, which may be
provided under section 705 of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4025),
as amended, must include:
(1) Training in a primary, primary-alternate, or
secondary language of the post to which the member of the Service is assigned;
(2) Training conducted by a public or private
institution; and
(3) Training of at least 10 but not more than 30 class
hours per week, exclusive of language laboratory or other self-study hours.
13 FAM 601.2-5 ELIGIBILITY
13 FAM 601.2-5(A) Approval of
Assignment and Notification
(CT:TPD-1; 09-18-2019)
(Uniform State/Agriculture/Commerce/USAID)
(Foreign Service Employees)
a. In order for an eligible family member to utilize
the programs authorized under 13 FAM 601.2,
the appropriate office (listed below) must have approved the onward assignment
and notified the covered member of the Service in writing of his or her
assignment.
|
State
|
Office of Career
Development and Assignments (HR/CDA)
|
|
Agriculture
|
Director, HRD/FSA;
Assistant Deputy Administrator, International Services (APHIS)
|
|
Commerce
|
Human Resources Manager,
Office of Foreign Service Human Resources
|
|
USAID
|
Division Chiefs for the
Personnel Operations Division (M/HR/POD) and the Executive Management Staff (M/HR/EM)
|
b. In addition, the following offices (as appropriate)
must be notified of the onward assignment.
|
State
|
FSI
|
|
Agriculture
|
Director, Personnel
Division, APHIS
|
|
USAID
|
(M/HR/TE)
|
13 FAM 601.2-5(B) Language
Training at Nongovernment Institutions
(CT:TPD-1; 09-18-2019)
(Uniform State/Agriculture/Commerce/USAID)
(Foreign Service Employees)
a. For language training to be sponsored at a
nongovernment institution (for State, as authorized under 13 FAM 601.2-4,
for reasons that the family member is unable to attend U.S.
Government-sponsored language programs; for Commerce, see Foreign Service
Personnel Manual; and for USAID, see Automated Directives Systems, ADS 438), a
family member must:
(1) Live outside of the Washington, DC area; or
(2) Be unable to attend a U.S. Government language
training institution because of family duties, illness or disability,
employment, or a program of formal study.
b. The inability of the U.S. Government to schedule
classes at FSI or elsewhere to meet the convenience of an eligible family
member does not constitute inability of that family member to attend, if
language training can be provided by the U.S. Government in a timely fashion
before the family member must leave for the post abroad.
c. Training under this section is subject to
availability of funds.
13 FAM 601.2-6 LIMITATIONS
(CT:TPD-1; 09-18-2019))
(Uniform State/Agriculture/USAID)
(Foreign Service Employees)
The following limitations are placed on eligibility for
grants or other compensations under section 705 of the Foreign Service Act of
1980 (22 U.S.C. 4025), as amended:
(1) No grants may exceed the amount actually expended
for necessary costs incurred in conjunction with such attendance;
(2) If appropriate U.S. Government-sponsored language
training is available and the family member, although able to do so, chooses
not to participate, the family member is not eligible for the same training
elsewhere at U.S. Government expense;
(3) A family member is eligible for language training
abroad only if the member of the Service is being assigned from one post abroad
to another (with a different primary or primary-alternate language) without
opportunity for training in Washington, DC.
13 FAM 601.2-7 APPLICATION
PROCEDURES
(CT:TPD-1; 09-18-2019)
(Uniform State/Agriculture/USAID)
(Foreign Service Employees)
In addition to the appropriate application form, an
eligible family member wishing compensation for training should provide an
explanation of inability to attend U.S. Government-sponsored training. The
application must be received at least three weeks prior to the scheduled start
of the training and be approved (before training starts) by the authorizing
official, or designee, in each agency.
13 FAM 601.2-8 Criteria for
Payment
13 FAM 601.2-8(A) Reimbursement
for Tuition Costs of a Language Program at a Public or Private Institution
(CT:TPD-1; 09-18-2019)
(State, USAID, and Agriculture only)
(Foreign Service Employees)
a. Reimbursement for participation of an eligible
family member in language training is contingent upon submission of Form JF-54
with Parts A and B completed, together with receipts for actual expenditures,
to FSI for State, M/HR/TE for USAID, or the Director, HRD/FSA for the Foreign
Agriculture Service (FAS), as appropriate. Approval for reimbursement is
subject to the availability of funds.
b. (State, USAID, and Agriculture only) Reimbursement
for tuition will be based on the amounts quoted by commercial suppliers of
language training services to private, business, and U.S. Government
customers. The Director of FSI or designee for State; the Deputy Assistant
Administrator (DAA/M/HR) or designee for USAID; or the Director, HRD/FSA for
FAS, as appropriate, determines at the time Form JF-53 (for USAID, see
Automated Directives Systems, ADS 438) is submitted for approval whether the
training cost quoted by the prospective supplier of training is reasonable.
Applications may be rejected if, in the opinion of those officials, the costs
of training at a public or private institution appear excessive.
c. Reimbursements for language training provided at a
public institution may not be for more than 720 hours of instruction in
preparation for any one assignment abroad.
d. It is the policy of State, USAID, and Agriculture to
provide reimbursement for dependent care for eligible family members while they
are receiving training at a public or private institution on the same basis as
if they were in training provided by the U.S. Government at FSI or otherwise.
13 FAM 601.2-8(B) Taxability of
Grant Payments
(CT:TPD-1; 09-18-2019)
(Uniform State/Agriculture/USAID)
(Foreign Service Employees)
Individuals receiving grants for reimbursement for tuition
costs of nongovernment-sponsored language training are advised that Federal,
State, and other U.S. jurisdictions may consider such payments as taxable
income. If payments are subject to Federal taxes, the agency concerned will
report such payments to the Internal Revenue Service. Individuals receiving grants
and/or reimbursements under this section are personally responsible for
verifying State and local taxability.