Legislation that would simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is on the way to President Trump for signature, according to the National College Access Network.
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed the FUTURE Act (H.B. 5363), which if enacted would reduce the number of questions on the FAFSA by 20%. The legislation also calls for changes to Internal Revenue Service rules to allow for the sharing of applicant tax data among federal agencies. This change is anticipated to eliminate the need for many of the arduous IRS FAFSA verifications that are performed each year, since income data would already be pre-verified by the IRS.
The National College Access Network has advocated to streamline and improve the complicated financial aid form to help alleviate a common barrier to accessing federal education grants and loans for millions of U.S. families. It’s estimated that each year more than $2 billion in federal aid goes unclaimed nationally simply because people who would qualify don’t complete the form. In Florida, high school graduates leave over $100 million in Pell Grants on the table each year due to not completing the form, according to the Florida College Access Network.
More information about the legislation can be found on the National College Access Network’s blog.
