FAFSA COLLEGE SUPPORT STRATEGY
On February 5, the Department released a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) College Support Strategy to provide additional personnel, funding, resources, and technology to help students and families complete the 2024-25 FAFSA form and help schools prepare to process student records as quickly and accurately as possible. The agency’s priority is to ensure students can access the maximum amount of financial aid for which they are eligible to pursue their higher education goals and bring college within reach for even more Americans.
The strategy will particularly focus on lower-resourced schools that may have a smaller number of administrative staff and may utilize older software systems. The goal is not only to deploy resources for institutions to accelerate the development of student aid packages but also to make sure students have adequate time to make important decisions about their higher education options. (As supported by the American Council on Education and other organizations, the Department welcomes colleges providing students and families as much time as possible to review aid offers to make sound enrollment decisions.)
The strategy includes:
· deploying federal financial aid experts to a group of lower-resourced schools to ensure they have the tools and information needed to process student aid packages, deliver on-campus support, and provide ongoing consultations and trainings as needed;
· standing up a new concierge service in the Federal Student Aid (FSA) office to provide a broad set of colleges with direct contact to financial aid experts for personalized support;
· allocating $50 million in federal funding to non-profit groups specializing in financial aid support and services, allowing them to recruit financial aid professionals to provide additional technical assistance;
· releasing test versions of institutional student information records (ISIRs) by February 16 and working with financial aid system developers so that schools and states can prepare their systems; and
· posting new data and resources to help schools drive FAFSA completion and improve the user experience for the new form (see also FSA Electronic Announcement).
The Department also announced a new resource, at StudentAid.gov/FAFSAtips, that gives applicants and contributors guidance to help them successfully complete and submit the form. Since the new form became available on December 30, 2023, nearly four million forms have been successfully transmitted.
EASING STUDENT RECORD PROCESSING
On February 13, the Department announced additional steps to help schools prepare to process student financial aid information as efficiently as possible. These steps will make it easier for colleges to process student records and, in turn, spend more time helping students.
These actions include:
· significantly reducing verification requirements (with the implementation of the direct data exchange with the Internal Revenue Service [IRS], made possible by this year’s overhaul of the form, the Department is receiving the vast majority of income data from the IRS, which will not need to be verified), while continuing key measures focused on avoiding identify fraud;
· suspending all new program reviews through June 2024, except for those related to the most serious issues (such as suspected fraud or a severe breach of fiduciary duty), and allowing any institution with an ongoing program review to request extensions for responses; and
· waiving a 90-day-in-advance re-certification requirement for institutions whose Program Participation Agreement (PPA) expires in 2024, meaning they will have until their expiration date to submit a re-certification application.
YOUTH POLICY SUMMIT
Also this week, the Biden Administration brought together nearly 90 young people from across the nation at the Department for the first-ever interagency Youth Policy Summit, subtitled “Cultivating Possibilities.” This summit, designed and planned in partnership with youth, allowed policymakers from federal agencies to hear directly from young people and learn from one another about how to improve policies and programs to ensure that all youth have the opportunity to thrive. To continue hearing from and being informed by young people, in the next six months, the Department will reconvene youth participants and federal agencies virtually, sustaining the two-way dialogue that began at the summit (recap and photos).
The event included several panel discussions on federal policies and programs and their intersection with developmental goals in adolescence: Well-being, Belonging, Purpose, Identity and Meaning-making, Agency and Decision-making, and Leadership and Contribution. Youth and key systems leaders within youth-serving agencies and organizations (across education, child welfare, housing, justice/juvenile justice, employment, and health/mental health) discussed how policy decisions and alignment across systems can better serve young people — especially those furthest from opportunity. Featured speakers included Secretary Cardona, Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, and Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, while representatives from the Departments of Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, and Justice also participated.
To help advance policy ideas and partnerships, the Funders for Adolescent Science Translation announced a commitment of $600,000, with a portion of this commitment dedicated to microgrants for youth and organizations associated with the summit to work more deeply together on enhancing federal youth policy.
STUDENT LOAN RELIEF
Meanwhile, the Administration released proposed regulatory text focused on providing debt relief for borrowers facing hardship on their student loans. In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the Administration’s original student debt relief plan, President Biden announced a new path to provide debt relief for as many borrowers as possible under the Department’s existing rulemaking authorities. The text will be discussed as part of a negotiated rulemaking session on February 22 and 23 (press release).
The proposal outlines a set of factors that could be used to identify hardship, such as a borrower’s total student loan balance and required payments relative to household income and whether a borrower has high-cost burdens for essential expenses like health care and child care. The text specifies that the Secretary of Education may consider these and other factors to determine whether borrowers are experiencing the type of hardship that would qualify for debt relief.
As one exercise of the Secretary’s authority, the proposal would allow for automatic relief for borrowers who are highly likely to be in default in two years. These borrowers would be identified via a methodology developed by the Secretary using available information. Beyond such relief, the text allows the Secretary to provide further relief to borrowers experiencing hardship through an application or automatic process.
EQUITY ACTION PLAN
On February 14, the Department released a 2023 Update to its Equity Action Plan, in coordination with the Biden Administration’s whole-of-government equity agenda. The plan is part of the agency’s efforts to implement the President’s Executive Order on “Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities through the Federal Government” (see also White House fact sheet).
The Department identified five areas of focus through visits to communities, listening sessions and roundtables with people impacted by or interested in these issues, grantee and research community discussions, Tribal consultations, formal written invitations for comment, and more. The agency will continue to engage the public on these action areas, progress, and next steps throughout this year and beyond.
The areas of focus are:
· improving college access, affordability, and degree completion for underserved students to increase economic mobility;
· implementing Maintenance of Equity requirements to ensure historically underserved students have equitable resources for learning recovery;
· addressing inequities faced by justice-impacted individuals by expanding access to postsecondary learning opportunities that improve outcomes for communities and reduce recidivism rates;
· advancing equity in and through career and technical education; and
· increasing mental health resources with an emphasis on underserved communities, from legislation and funding provided by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA).
Any further updates will be posted at ed.gov/equity. Learn more about the Administration’s equity work at whitehouse.gov/equity, and check out other federal Equity Action Plans at performance.gov/equity.
ODDS AND ENDS
· President Biden issued a statement on the deadly gun violence in Kansas City, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta.
· Today (February 15), the Administration kicked off its fourth Investing in America tour. Notably, Secretary Cardona is joining First Lady Dr. Jill Biden in Green Bay, Wisconsin, to highlight career-connected learning programs that prepare high school and community college students for jobs in growing sectors.
· The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) shared the latest findings from the School Pulse Panelon public school facilities and learning recovery, including teacher planning time, availability of instructional coaches, and schools’ parental engagement strategies during the 2023-24 school year.
· In the most recent episode of Inside Voices, first-grader Hazel demonstrates her scary kitty cat monster for Secretary Cardona.
· During National School Counseling Week (February 5-9), the Secretary visited Bowie State University in Maryland, spotlighting two grant awards that have helped the institution increase enrollment and preparation of students of color to become school-based mental health professionals and educators (photos).
· And, the Secretary recorded a
for Digital Learning Day (February 15).
· This month, PBS KIDS debuted “Lyla in the Loop,” a new animated TV series for children ages 4-8. This show follows Lyla, a dynamic seven-year-old girl who lives in the big city with her close-knit family, fantastical blue sidekick Stu, and a host of relatable characters in her community, who use creative problem-solving and critical thinking skills to tackle a range of everyday problems. Funded by the Department’s Ready to Learn Programming, the series is available in both English and Spanish.
· The Department announced a settlement agreement with for-profit school owner International Educational Corporation and its subsidiaries — Florida Career College and United Education Institute — related to violations of the ability-to-benefit test regulations.
· Review new White House fact sheets on the Affordable Connectivity Program (including state-by-state enrollment data) and advancing equity and opportunity for Black Americans and communities.
· Also, review new White House readouts of a convening with community college presidents and provosts and Community Violence Awareness Week.
· In his latest blog, Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Director Mark Schneider discusses how statistics can help us better understand National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results.
· The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) unveiled a new Federal Program Inventory, including spending and performance data on over 2,300 federal programs.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“We are determined to drive a constant drumbeat of action to fulfill the transformational potential of the Better FAFSA…. We will strive to leave no stone unturned to make this FAFSA process easier and simpler for colleges, universities, and students.”
— Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona (2/13/24), announcing additional actions for the Better FAFSA
UPCOMING EVENTS
Register today for any of the following upcoming Better FAFSA, Better Future webinar series events:
· Understand the New FAFSA Submission Summary (February 20, 1-2 p.m. Eastern Time)
· Why Should I Complete the 2024-25 FAFSA Form? (February 20, 8-9 p.m. ET)
· How to Complete the 2024-25 FAFSA Form as a Dependent Student (February 21, 6-7 p.m. ET)
· A Parent’s Guide to Federal Financial Aid (February 21, 8-9 p.m. ET)
· Best Strategies for Understanding and Comparing Schools and Financial Aid Offers (February 22, 4-5 p.m. ET)
· How to Complete the 2024-25 FAFSA Form as an Independent Student (February 22, 6-7 p.m. ET)
The Department’s Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) invites adult educators to a live webinar on Integrated Education and Training (IET) Program and Professional Development Resources on February 22, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. ET, hosted by the ADVANCE IET federal initiative.
The Department’s Office of Non-Public Education invites interested parties to a live webinar on competency-based education in public and private schools on February 27, from 1 to 2:15 p.m. ET, featuring Deputy Secretary Education Cindy Marten and district, school, and organizational leaders.