NEWS: Scott, Sanders, Murray, and 106 Colleagues Urge Department of Education to Address FAFSA Rollout Issues
“The recent announcements from the Department were a welcome first step…But now, it is imperative that we all work together to ensure no student falls through the cracks or faces unnecessary challenges in accessing the aid they are due.”
WASHINGTON – As the traditional May 1st “college decision day” approaches, education leaders in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, along with 106 of their colleagues, today wrote to Secretary Miguel Cardona of the U.S. Department of Education to call on the department to urgently address the operational issues with the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form that impacts millions of students across the country.
The letter was led by Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-Va.), Ranking Member House Committee on Education & the Workforce, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.).
The Members wrote: “We are supportive of the Department’s decision to make these adjustments in the updated form, but were disappointed to hear these adjustments would lead to even further delays in this year’s FAFSA processing…We write today to ask for more clarity on how the Department plans to communicate any further delays in FAFSA processing, and how the Department intends to minimize the potential impact on students and families so they can make the most informed decision possible about their futures, including through providing prompt, clear timelines.”
They continued: “Any delays in financial aid processing will most impact the students that need aid most, including many students of color, students from mixed status families, students from rural backgrounds, students experiencing homelessness or in foster care, first-generation students, and students from underserved communities. For institutions to support students’ ability to make informed decisions about their future, they need clear guidance and resources from the Department immediately on any and all next steps.”
Every year, about 17 million students fill out the FAFSA form as a first step to access the financial aid needed to cover the skyrocketing costs of higher education. In 2020, Congress passed the bipartisan FAFSA Simplification Act to make the federal student financial aid process more efficient and straightforward. The FAFSA Simplification Act directed the Department to streamline the application form and make long overdue updates to the formulas that assess a student’s financial need. According to the Department, as a result of this law, the 2024-2025 FAFSA form will ensure 610,000 more students from low-income backgrounds will be eligible to receive a federal Pell Grant, and 1.5 million more students will be eligible to receive a maximum Pell award.
However, implementation of these changes was a significant undertaking, one that the Department has had to do with less funding than it anticipated. As a result, operational glitches and delays in the rollout of this new version of the FAFSA form has left students and colleges in limbo and locked many families out of the process altogether.
“The recent announcements from the Department were a welcome first step in addressing the many challenges students, counselors, aid administrators, and relevant stakeholders are facing in accessing, submitting, and processing the new FAFSA form. But now, it is imperative that we all work together to ensure no student falls through the cracks or faces unnecessary challenges in accessing the aid they are due.”
The letter was signed by 71 Representatives, including: Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), Eric Swalwell (CA-14), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Gerald E. Connolly (VA-11), Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-Del.), Barbara Lee (CA-12), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Jesús G. “Chuy” Garcia (IL-04), Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (MP-Del.), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Kathy Castor (FL-14), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Mark Takano (CA-39), Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24), Paul D. Tonko (NY-20), Jennifer L. McClellan (VA-04), Greg Stanton (AZ-04), Nikema Williams (GA-05), Henry C. “Hank” Johnson Jr. (GA-04), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Alma S. Adams (NC-12), Sean Casten (IL-06), Judy Chu (CA-28), Susan Wild (PA-07), Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE-At-Large), Ann Kuster (NH-02), Joe Courtney (CT-02), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Steve Cohen (TN-09), Val Hoyle (OR-04), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Dan Goldman (NY-10), Dina Titus (NV-01), J. Luis Correa (CA-46), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Susie Lee (NV-03), Patrick Ryan (NY-18), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Greg Landsman (OH-01), Colin Z. Allred (TX-32), Rick Larsen (WA-02), Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Jim Himes (CT-04), Seth Magaziner (RI-02), Tony Cárdenas (CA-29), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07), Summer Lee (PA-12), Donald S. Beyer Jr. (VA-08), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Derek Kilmer (WA-06), Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02), Pete Aguilar (CA-33), Bill Foster (IL-11), and Troy A. Carter Sr. (LA-02).
Read the full text of the letter here.
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