By Bill DeBaun, Senior Director of Data and Strategic Initiatives
Reading time: Five minutes
The spring 2023 legislative session was a busy one on the universal Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) front as four states (Connecticut, Indiana, Nebraska, and Oklahoma)
all voted to adopt some form of the policy. 12 states now have universal FAFSA in some form or another while at least another dozen have introduced the policy but not yet passed it.
Indiana
In Indiana, Governor Eric Holcomb (R) signed Senate Bill (SB) 167 into law on April 20. The law builds on one passed in 2022 that required a model notice regarding
the FAFSA be sent to all students by each school corporation. SB 167 keeps the model notice but also requires that high school seniors complete the FAFSA no later than April 15 of each academic year. The bill makes two exceptions:
“(1) a parent of a student or a student, if the student is an emancipated minor, signs a waiver that the student understands what the FAFSA is and declines to complete it; or
(2) the principal or school counselor of the student's high school waives the requirement for a group of students due to the principal or school counselor being unable to reach the parents or guardians of the students by April 15 after at least two reasonable
attempts to contact the parents or guardians.”
Indiana’s legislation goes into effect for the 2024-25 academic year (class of 2025 seniors).
Oklahoma
Oklahoma also passed universal FAFSA legislation in the form of Senate Bill 93, which was signed into law by Governor Kevin Stitt (R) on May 5. Like most other universal FAFSA bills,
the legislation requires public high school seniors, starting with the class of 2025, to complete a FAFSA to graduate and allows them to opt out of the requirement with approval from a parent or guardian. Students aged 18 or over may opt themselves
out. In terms of school staff, Oklahoma leaves the decision to opt a student out of the requirement up to school counselors.
In addition to the graduation requirement, Oklahoma’s legislation requires the State Department of Education to, “develop and publish materials for students, parents, and legal guardians explaining the requirements to complete the FAFSA, the benefits
to completing the FAFSA, and the opt-out provisions…and…an opt-out form to be used by school districts, charter schools, and virtual charter schools….” Lastly, each school district’s superintendent is required to designate a school employee to collect
the FAFSA completion data.
Nebraska
Nebraska’s unicameral legislature approved LB 705 and sent it to Governor Jim Pillen (R), who signed the bill into law on June 1. Starting with the 2024-25
academic year, Nebraska will require seniors in public high schools to complete a FAFSA. As with most other states, parents, guardians, and students who are emancipated or over the age of 19 can waive a student out of this requirement. Additionally,
a school principal or their designee can waive a student out of this requirement “for good cause.”
Connecticut
Last, well, last in this list but surely neither least nor the last state that’s going to pass universal FAFSA, is Connecticut.
Close observers who delve nearly 600 pages into an omnibus budget bill (see Sec. 336, pg. 586) will find the legislature adopting universal FAFSA for the Nutmeg State. Districts and schools will have to move quickly; the section regarding universal FAFSA doesn’t delay the effective
date, which indicates that it will affect class of 2024 seniors. Much like other universal FAFSA states, Connecticut requires FAFSA completion for high school graduation, an application for institutional aid (for students without legal immigration
status), or a waiver from a parent, legal guardian, or the student themselves if they are over 18 or emancipated.
After March 15 of the academic year, “a principal, school counselor, teacher or other certified educator may complete such waiver…if such principal, school counselor, teacher or other certified educator affirms that they have made a good faith effort
to contact the parent, legal guardian or student about completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or an application for institutional financial aid for students without legal immigration status.”
These four states will jump into the universal FAFSA pool and offer new opportunities to examine this policy’s effectiveness in driving postsecondary enrollment and, downstream, persistence and completion.
These states join Louisiana (class of 2018); Illinois (2021); Alabama and Texas (2022); California and Maryland (2023); New Hampshire (2024); and Kansas (2028) as the other adopters of universal FAFSA.
The National College Attainment Network (NCAN) endorses universal FAFSA with supports and has identified it as a state policy priority and one of eight college and career readiness
policy levers that are a focus of NCAN’s ongoing systems change work.
NCAN’s recommendations to states who are considering universal FAFSA include:
Require FAFSA completion for high school graduation through legislative or other policy vehicles.
Include a robust opt-out system for students who are unable to access parental financial information, have undocumented parents, or whose parents allow them to abstain.
Provide (at minimum) one full FAFSA cycle from the bill passing, or the item being administratively added to a list of requirements before the actual requirement takes effect.
Make the change administratively, if high school graduation requirements do not live in statute.
If not already in place, build and provide robust training and support through school counselors and/or college access advisers to ensure students are helped through the process.
Provide regular data-sharing on completion to high schools and community-based organizations to allow for better-targeted FAFSA completion efforts.
Looking for more information on universal FAFSA as a policy strategy? NCAN has some initial findings on implementation and
impacts. uAspire also offers this brief on the policy’s opportunities and challenges.
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