<\/p>\n
On February 5, the Department released a\u00a0Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA\u00ae) College Support Strategy<\/a>\u00a0to 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.\u00a0 The agency\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The strategy will particularly focus on lower-resourced schools that may have a smaller number of administrative staff and may utilize older software systems.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 (As\u00a0supported<\/a>\u00a0by 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.)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The strategy includes:<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0deploying 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;<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0standing 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;<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0allocating $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;<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0releasing 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<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0posting new data and resources to help schools drive FAFSA completion and improve the user experience for the new form (see also\u00a0FSA Electronic Announcement<\/a>).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Department also announced a new resource, at\u00a0StudentAid.gov\/FAFSAtips<\/a>, that gives applicants and contributors guidance to help them successfully complete and submit the form.\u00a0 Since the new form became available on December 30, 2023, nearly four million forms have been successfully transmitted.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n EASING STUDENT RECORD PROCESSING<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n On February 13, the Department announced\u00a0additional steps to help schools prepare to process student financial aid information<\/a>\u00a0as efficiently as possible.\u00a0 These steps will make it easier for colleges to process student records and, in turn, spend more time helping students.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n These actions include:<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0significantly reducing verification requirements (with the implementation of the direct data exchange with the Internal Revenue Service [IRS], made possible by this year\u2019s 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;<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0suspending 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<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0waiving 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.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n YOUTH POLICY SUMMIT<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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 \u201cCultivating Possibilities.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>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.\u00a0 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<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0photos<\/a>).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n STUDENT LOAN RELIEF<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Administration released\u00a0proposed regulatory text<\/a>\u00a0focused on providing debt relief for borrowers facing hardship on their student loans.\u00a0 In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s decision on the Administration\u2019s original student debt relief plan, President Biden announced a new path to provide debt relief for as many borrowers as possible under the Department\u2019s existing rulemaking authorities.\u00a0 The text will be discussed as part of a\u00a0negotiated rulemaking session<\/a>\u00a0on February 22 and 23 (press release<\/a>).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The proposal outlines a set of factors that could be used to identify hardship, such as a borrower\u2019s 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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As one exercise of the Secretary\u2019s authority, the proposal would allow for automatic relief for borrowers who are highly likely to be in default in two years.\u00a0 These borrowers would be identified via a methodology developed by the Secretary using available information.\u00a0 Beyond such relief, the text allows the Secretary to provide further relief to borrowers experiencing hardship through an application or automatic process.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n EQUITY ACTION PLAN<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n On February 14, the Department released a\u00a02023 Update\u00a0<\/a>to its\u00a0Equity Action Plan<\/a>, in coordination with the Biden Administration\u2019s whole-of-government equity agenda. \u00a0The plan is part of the agency\u2019s efforts to implement the President\u2019s Executive Order on \u201cFurther Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities through the Federal Government<\/a>\u201d (see also\u00a0White House fact sheet<\/a>).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 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.\u00a0 The agency will continue to engage the public on these action areas, progress, and next steps throughout this year and beyond.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The areas of focus are:<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>improving college access, affordability, and degree completion for underserved students to increase economic mobility;<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>implementing Maintenance of Equity requirements to ensure historically underserved students have equitable resources for learning recovery;<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>addressing inequities faced by justice-impacted individuals by expanding access to postsecondary learning opportunities that improve outcomes for communities and reduce recidivism rates;<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>advancing equity in and through career and technical education; and<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0increasing mental health resources with an emphasis on underserved communities, from legislation and funding provided by the\u00a0Bipartisan Safer Communities Act\u00a0<\/i>(BSCA).<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Any further updates will be posted at\u00a0ed.gov\/equity<\/a>.\u00a0 Learn more about the Administration\u2019s equity work at\u00a0whitehouse.gov\/equity<\/a>,\u00a0and check out other federal Equity Action Plans at\u00a0performance.gov\/equity<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n ODDS AND ENDS<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0President Biden issued a\u00a0statement<\/a>\u00a0on the deadly gun violence in Kansas City, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta.<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Today (February 15), the Administration kicked off its\u00a0fourth Investing in America tour<\/a>.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) shared the latest findings from the\u00a0School Pulse Panel<\/a>on public school facilities and learning recovery, including teacher planning time, availability of instructional coaches, and schools\u2019 parental engagement strategies during the 2023-24 school year.<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In the\u00a0most recent episode of Inside Voices<\/a>, first-grader Hazel demonstrates her scary kitty cat monster for Secretary Cardona.<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0During\u00a0National School Counseling Week<\/a>\u00a0(February 5-9), the Secretary visited\u00a0Bowie State University in Maryland<\/a>, 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<\/a>).<\/p>\n \u00b7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And, the Secretary recorded a\u00a0<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n
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