To qualify for HEP, applicants must:

• Be at least 17 years of age (16 years with court order).
• Lack a high school diploma or its equivalent.
• Have a valid TEXAS ID or driver’s license.
• Have performed some type of agricultural and/or seasonal farm work in the previous 24 months for a minimum of 75 days (applicants 21 and under may qualify under immediate family member who performed the work).

Qualifications (Age)

• Applicants must be at least 17 years of age.
• Applicants 16 years of age may be accepted if applying as part of a court order. Written approval from his/her probation officer and a judge is needed.
• Minors must submit an official withdrawal form from their last school attended and submit parental permission forms for attending classes.
• No upper age limit exists. All persons above minimum age requirements are welcome and encouraged to participate.
• Any migrant or seasonally employed agricultural worker who in the 24 months prior to applying with HEP:

• Conducted at least 75 days of agricultural work.
• Was eligible to participate or had participated in a migrant education program under Chapter I, Migrant Education.
• Participated in a WIA Section 167 program.

• Eligible agricultural work includes, but is not limited to, seasonal farmwork, migrant farmwork, ranching, fishing, transportation of raw products (trucking) and shrimping (shrimp farms).
• Applicants may qualify under a parent, legal guardian or spouse who meets the above requirements.

Qualifications (Documentation)

• Submit a completed HEP application.
• Submit two forms of official identification, i.e., Social Security card, driver’s license, state ID or birth certificate.
• Submit documentation showing agricultural worker status as previously defined, i.e., paycheck stubs, W-2 forms, notarized affidavit, or Certificate of Eligibility (COE) from a school’s Migrant Education Program.
• Minors must also submit a school withdrawal form, as well as a parental permission form. A letter from a probation department, if applicable, must also be submitted for 16-year-olds.
• Persons who have previously taken the GED exam must submit a recent copy of their official GED scores.

Qualifications (Entrance Exam)

• Applicants must pass the Test for Adult Basic Education (TABE) with a minimum average score of 7.5 in three main categories: Reading, Mathematica and Language.
• The entrance exam may be waived for some prospective students with previous satisfactory GED scores.
• Depending upon their TABE score, students not passing the exam will be referred to other local adult literacy sites better suited to their needs or will be provided with study packets and an opportunity to retest at a later time.