For an LEA that meets the requirements of § 222.14(a) (timely filed forgiveness request) and § 222.14(b) (timely filed information and documentation), the Secretary forgives an eligible overpayment as follows:

1. (a) Forgiveness in whole. The Secretary forgives the eligible overpayment in whole if the Secretary determines that the LEA meets—

   1. (1) The requirements of § 222.17 (undue financial hardship), and the LEA's current expenditure closing balance for the LEA's fiscal year immediately preceding the date of its forgiveness request (“preceding fiscal year”) is ten percent or less of its total current expenditures (TCE) for that year; or
   2. (2) The manifestly unjust repayment exception in § 222.14(c)(2).

2. (b) Forgiveness in part.

   1. (1) The Secretary forgives the eligible overpayment in part if the Secretary determines that the LEA meets the requirements of § 222.17 (undue financial hardship), and the LEA's preceding fiscal year's current expenditure closing balance is more than ten percent of its TCE for that year.

   2. (2) For an eligible overpayment that is forgiven in part, the Secretary—

      1. (i) Requires the LEA to repay the amount by which the LEA's preceding fiscal year's current expenditure closing balance exceeded ten percent of its preceding fiscal year's TCE (“calculated repayment amount”); and
      2. (ii) Forgives the difference between the calculated repayment amount and the LEA's total overpayments.

   3. (3) For the purposes of this section, “current expenditure closing balance” means an LEA's closing balance before any revocable transfers to non-current expenditure accounts, such as capital outlay or debt service accounts.

      Example:An LEA that timely requests forgiveness has two overpayments of which portions remain owing on the date of its request—one of $200,000 and one of $300,000. Its preceding fiscal year's closing balance is $250,000 (before a revocable transfer to a capital outlay or debt service account); and 10 percent of its TCE for the preceding fiscal year is $150,000. The Secretary calculates the amount that the LEA must repay by determining the amount by which the preceding fiscal year's closing balance exceeds 10 percent of the preceding year's TCE. This calculation is made by subtracting 10 percent of the LEA's TCE ($150,000) from the closing balance ($250,000), resulting in a difference of $100,000 that the LEA must repay. The Secretary then totals the eligible overpayment amounts ($200,000 + $300,000), resulting in a total amount of $500,000. The Secretary subtracts the calculated repayment amount ($100,000) from the total of the two overpayment balances ($500,000), resulting in $400,000 that the Secretary forgives.

      (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7712)

[62 FR 35414, July 1, 1997]