Westbank Louisiana News

U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced legislation requiring the Department of Education (DeptEd) to make the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form available to students each year on October 1. U.S. Representative Erin Houchin (R-IN) previously introduced the companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The annual FAFSA form has typically been available by October 1, giving students and schools enough time to fill out the application and process financial aid offers ahead of acceptance deadlines. While Secretary Cardona has stated that next year’s FAFSA would be ready by October, concerns have been raised by both Republicans and Democrats about DeptEd's progress on its FAFSA responsibilities. The Department has indicated it will not publish the draft FAFSA for comment as is normally done by March, making it harder to provide feedback before October.

This development follows delays in this year's FAFSA program implementation under the Biden administration, which was not fully operational until late January. DeptEd subsequently delayed providing information to colleges until March. In April, DeptEd announced that approximately 30 percent of FAFSA forms had processing or data errors and were not reprocessed until after May 1, impacting many students' ability to receive timely financial aid offers.

“The Department of Education has had more than 3 years to properly implement the new FAFSA. Yet, the Department is once again behind on making the FAFSA form available to students by October 1,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Another class of students may skip college altogether because they don’t know if they can afford it. This bill holds Secretary Cardona accountable to ensure students have their financial offers in time to choose the best, affordable college option for them.”

"Timely access to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid is essential for making higher education accessible and affordable," said Representative Houchin. "The current flexibility in the FAFSA release date creates unnecessary obstacles and allows the Department of Education to string families along."

Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC), chairwoman of the House Education and Workforce Committee added: “FAFSA is a vital tool for millions of students, and the Biden administration’s gross mismanagement has put it at risk.” She continued: “This bill is a simple fix that will force the Department of Education to do its job.”