11.60.140 Disbursal of Awards.
(1) Administrative processing time of at least three weeks is required after receipt and approval of complete application. The disbursal of the award is as follows:
(a) The award is sent to the student for disbursal. Students are responsible for all payments, deadlines and any penalties incurred from the school.
(b) The student will be required to return some or all of the award to the Samish Nation if they are:
(i) Not enrolled in the specified/approved school;
(ii) Suspended for academic, financial, or disciplinary reasons;
(iii) Their credit load changes to reflect a reduced academic load to a level that affects the overall cost of attendance (e.g., drops some or all classes).
(c) Samish Education Program staff may request current school enrollment verification at any time. Students who do not/cannot provide requested verification will forfeit future funding eligibility and will be required to return current funds.
(d) Samish Education Program staff have the authority to pursue all legal means to recover funds owed by the student to the Tribe. See STC 11.60.160.
(2) All awards received under this program are covered under the IRS ruling regarding general welfare benefits for Tribal members. Under this rule, awards are not considered part of the recipient’s gross income and do not qualify for inclusion by schools during federal financial aid calculations. Information regarding the application of this benefit can be found at https://www.irs.gov/government-entities/indian-tribal-governments/tribal-general-welfare-guidance. [Res. 2021-12-032 § 1, 2021; Res. 2021-03-014, 2021.]