II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4247 

To simplify loan repayment for Federal student loans under title IV of 

the Higher Education Act of 1965, to make it easier to apply for 

Federal aid and making that aid predictable, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 21, 2020 

Mr. ALEXANDER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To simplify loan repayment for Federal student loans under 

title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, to make 

it easier to apply for Federal aid and making that aid 

predictable, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Student Loan Repay5 ment and FAFSA Simplification Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SIMPLIFYING STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 455 of the Higher Edu8 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (d)(1)— 

2 (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

3 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

4 (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking the 

5 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

6 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(F) notwithstanding any other provision 

8 of law, in the case of a loan described in sub9 section (a) that enters repayment on or after 

10 October 1, 2020, or for which a borrower seeks 

11 to change to a different repayment plan on or 

12 after October 1, 2020, only a repayment plan 

13 described in subsection (r).’’; and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(r) REPAYMENT.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For loans described under 

17 subsection (a) that enter repayment on or after Oc18 tober 1, 2020, or for which the borrower seeks to 

19 change to a different repayment plan on or after Oc20 tober 1, 2020, only the following repayment options 

21 shall be made available: 

22 ‘‘(A) A standard repayment plan, with a 

23 fixed annual repayment amount paid over a 

24 fixed period of time, not to exceed 10 years. 


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1 ‘‘(B) An income determined repayment 

2 plan, with an annual repayment amount in the 

3 amount determined in accordance with para4 graph (2). 

5 ‘‘(2) INCOME DETERMINED REPAYMENT

6 PLANS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An income determined 

8 repayment plan under paragraph (1)(B) shall 

9 require a borrower to pay an amount equal to 

10 10 percent of the result obtained by calculating, 

11 on at least an annual basis, the amount by 

12 which— 

13 ‘‘(i) the borrower’s, and the bor14 rower’s spouse’s (if applicable), adjusted 

15 gross income; exceeds 

16 ‘‘(ii) 150 percent of the poverty line 

17 applicable to the borrower’s family size as 

18 determined under section 673(2) of the 

19 Community Services Block Grant Act (42 

20 U.S.C. 9902(2)). 

21 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(i) REDUCTION FOR CERTAIN BOR23 ROWERS.—For a borrower, and the bor24 rower’s spouse (if applicable), whose ad25 justed gross income exceeds 800 percent of 


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1 the poverty line applicable to the bor2 rower’s family size as determined under 

3 section 673(2) of the Community Services 

4 Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)), the 

5 percentage amount calculated under sub6 paragraph (A)(ii) shall decrease by 5 per7 cent for each percentage point that the 

8 borrower’s adjusted gross income exceeds 

9 800 percent. 

10 ‘‘(ii) UNAVAILABILITY TO CERTAIN

11 BORROWERS.—The plan described in para12 graph (1)(B) shall not be available to the 

13 borrower of a Federal Direct PLUS Loan 

14 made on behalf of a dependent student or 

15 a Federal Direct Consolidation Loan, if 

16 proceeds of such loan were used to dis17 charge the liability on such Federal Direct 

18 PLUS Loan. 

19 ‘‘(C) REPAYMENT PERIOD.—The amount 

20 of time a borrower is permitted to repay such 

21 loans under paragraph (1)(B) may exceed 10 

22 years. 

23 ‘‘(D) LOAN FORGIVENESS.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

25 shall repay or cancel any outstanding balVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:56 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4247.IS S4247

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1 ance of principal and interest due on any 

2 loan repaid under the repayment plan de3 scribed under paragraph (1)(B)— 

4 ‘‘(I) for any undergraduate bor5 rower who has made payments under 

6 such plan for 20 years; or 

7 ‘‘(II) for any graduate borrower 

8 who has made payments under such 

9 plan for 25 years. 

10 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—Any period of 

11 time in which a borrower is in delinquency 

12 or default shall not count toward the re13 payment or cancellation described in clause 

14 (i). 

15 ‘‘(3) MONTHLY PAYMENTS.—The Secretary 

16 shall determine the borrower’s monthly payment ob17 ligation to satisfy the payment amount determined 

18 in accordance with subparagraphs (A) or (B) of 

19 paragraph (1). 

20 ‘‘(4) BORROWER CHOICE.—A borrower who is 

21 repaying a loan under paragraph (1)(B) may elect, 

22 at any time, to terminate repayment pursuant to the 

23 income determined repayment plan and repay such 

24 loan under the standard repayment plan under para25 graph (1)(A).’’. 


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1 (b) PUBLIC SERVICE LOAN FORGIVENESS RULES

2 FOR INCOME-DETERMINED REPAYMENT PLANS.—Section 

3 455(m) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

4 1087e(m)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

6 (A) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘or’’ after 

7 the semicolon; 

8 (B) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

10 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(v) payments under an income deter12 mined repayment plan or a standard re13 payment plan under subsection (r), except 

14 as provided in paragraph (3); and’’; 

15 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 

16 paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and 

17 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for loan 

21 cancellation under this subsection, a borrower 

22 who elects an income determined repayment 

23 plan under subsection (r) shall remain in such 

24 plan for the duration of repayment until such 

25 loan is cancelled. 


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1 ‘‘(B) REQUIRED NOTIFICATION AND AC2 KNOWLEDGEMENT.— 

3 ‘‘(i) NOTIFICATION.—If a borrower 

4 who has elected an income determined re5 payment plan under subsection (r) subse6 quently indicates that the borrower wishes 

7 to change repayment plans, the Secretary 

8 shall notify the borrower that changing re9 payment plans will cause any monthly pay10 ments made prior to such change to not 

11 qualify toward the 120 monthly payments 

12 required for loan cancellation under this 

13 subsection. 

14 ‘‘(ii) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.—The Sec15 retary shall require acknowledgment of re16 ceipt of the notification under clause (i) 

17 from any borrower who has elected an in18 come determined repayment plan under 

19 subsection (r) and subsequently indicates 

20 that the borrower wishes to change repay21 ment plans.’’. 

22 SEC. 3. MAKING IT EASIER TO APPLY FOR FEDERAL AID 

23 AND MAKING THAT AID PREDICTABLE. 

24 (a) NEED ANALYSIS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 471 of the Higher 

2 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087kk) is 

3 amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 471. AMOUNT OF NEED. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided 

6 therein, beginning with award year 2022–2023, the 

7 amount of need of any student for financial assistance 

8 under this title (except subpart 1 or 2 of part A) is equal 

9 to— 

10 ‘‘(1) the cost of attendance of such student, 

11 minus 

12 ‘‘(2) the student aid index (as defined in section 

13 473) for such student, minus 

14 ‘‘(3) other financial assistance not received 

15 under this title (as defined in section 480(j)). 

16 ‘‘(b) EFFECTIVE DATE OF CHANGES.—The amend17 ments made to this title under the Student Loan Repay18 ment and FAFSA Simplification Act shall take effect be19 ginning with award year 2022–2023. The amounts pro20 vided under such amendments for award year 2020–2021 

21 shall be used solely as a base to determine adjustments 

22 for subsequent award years.’’. 

23 (2) MAXIMUM AID UNDER PART D.—Section 

24 451 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 


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1 U.S.C. 1087a) is amended by adding at the end the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(c) MAXIMUM AID.—The maximum dollar amount 

4 of financial assistance provided under this part to a stu5 dent shall not exceed the cost of attendance for such stu6 dent.’’. 

7 (3) GUIDANCE TO STATES.—The Secretary of 

8 Education shall issue guidance for States on inter9 pretation and implementation of the terminology and 

10 formula adjustments made under the amendments 

11 made by this Act, including the student aid index, 

12 formerly known as the expected family contribution, 

13 and the need analysis formulas. 

14 (b) COST OF ATTENDANCE AND STUDENT AID

15 INDEX.—Sections 472 and 473 of the Higher Education 

16 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087ll and 1087mm) are amended 

17 to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 472. COST OF ATTENDANCE. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of this title, the 

20 term ‘cost of attendance’ means— 

21 ‘‘(1) tuition and fees normally assessed a stu22 dent carrying the same academic workload as deter23 mined by the institution, and including costs for 

24 rental or purchase of any equipment, materials, or 


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1 supplies required of all students in the same course 

2 of study; 

3 ‘‘(2) an allowance for books, supplies, and 

4 transportation, including a reasonable allowance for 

5 the documented rental or purchase of suggested elec6 tronic equipment, as determined by the institution; 

7 ‘‘(3) an allowance for miscellaneous personal 

8 expenses, for a student attending the institution on 

9 at least a half-time basis, as determined by the insti10 tution; 

11 ‘‘(4) an allowance for living expenses, including 

12 food and housing costs, to be incurred by the stu13 dent attending the institution on at least a half-time 

14 basis, as determined by the institution, which in15 cludes— 

16 ‘‘(A) for students electing institutionally 

17 owned or operated food services, such as board 

18 or meal plans, shall be a standard allowance for 

19 such services that provides the equivalent of 

20 three meals each day; 

21 ‘‘(B) for students not electing institution22 ally owned or operated food services, such as 

23 board or meal plans, shall be a standard allow24 ance for purchasing food off campus that pro25 vides the equivalent of three meals each day, 


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1 which shall not exceed the standard allowance 

2 provided in paragraph (A); 

3 ‘‘(C) for students without dependents re4 siding in institutionally owned or operated 

5 housing, shall be a standard allowance deter6 mined by the institution based on average or 

7 median amount assessed to such residents for 

8 housing charges, whichever is greater; 

9 ‘‘(D) for students with dependents residing 

10 in institutionally owned or operated housing, 

11 shall be a standard allowance determined by the 

12 institution based on the average or median 

13 amount assessed to such residents for housing 

14 charges, whichever is greater; 

15 ‘‘(E) for students living off campus, and 

16 not in institutionally owned or operated hous17 ing, shall be a standard allowance for rent or 

18 other housing costs, which, if applicable, shall 

19 not exceed the standard allowance provided in 

20 paragraph (C) or (D) with respect to whether 

21 the student has dependents; 

22 ‘‘(F) for dependent students residing at 

23 home with parents shall be a standard allow24 ance determined by the institution; 


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1 ‘‘(G) for students who live in housing lo2 cated on a military base or for which a basic al3 lowance is provided under section 403(b) of title 

4 37, United States Code, shall be a standard al5 lowance for food based upon a student’s choice 

6 of purchasing food on-campus or off-campus 

7 (determined respectively in accordance with 

8 subparagraph (A) or (B)), but not for housing 

9 costs; and 

10 ‘‘(H) for all other students shall be an al11 lowance based on the expenses reasonably in12 curred by such students for housing and food; 

13 ‘‘(5) for a student engaged in a program of 

14 study by correspondence, only tuition and fees and, 

15 if required, books and supplies, travel, and housing 

16 and food costs incurred specifically in fulfilling a re17 quired period of residential training; 

18 ‘‘(6) for incarcerated students, only tuition, 

19 fees, books, supplies, and the cost of obtaining a li20 cense, certification, or a first professional credential 

21 in accordance with paragraph (13); 

22 ‘‘(7) for a student enrolled in an academic pro23 gram in a program of study abroad approved for 

24 credit by the student’s home institution, reasonable 


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1 costs associated with such study (as determined by 

2 the institution at which such student is enrolled); 

3 ‘‘(8) for a student with one or more dependents, 

4 an allowance based on the estimated actual expenses 

5 incurred for such dependent care, based on the num6 ber and age of such dependents, except that— 

7 ‘‘(A) such allowance shall not exceed the 

8 reasonable cost in the community in which such 

9 student resides for the kind of care provided; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(B) the period for which dependent care 

12 is required includes, but is not limited to, class13 time, study-time, field work, internships, and 

14 commuting time; 

15 ‘‘(9) for a student with a disability, an allow16 ance (as determined by the institution) for those ex17 penses related to the student’s disability, including 

18 special services, personal assistance, transportation, 

19 equipment, and supplies that are reasonably in20 curred and not provided for by other assisting agen21 cies; 

22 ‘‘(10) for a student receiving all or part of the 

23 student’s instruction by means of telecommuni24 cations technology, no distinction shall be made with 


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1 respect to the mode of instruction in determining 

2 costs; 

3 ‘‘(11) for a student engaged in a work experi4 ence under a cooperative education program, an al5 lowance for reasonable costs associated with such 

6 employment (as determined by the institution); 

7 ‘‘(12) for a student who receives a Federal stu8 dent loan made under this title or any other Federal 

9 law, to cover a student’s cost of attendance at the 

10 institution, an allowance for the actual cost of any 

11 loan fee, origination fee, or insurance premium 

12 charged to such student or such parent on such 

13 loan; and 

14 ‘‘(13) for a student in a program requiring pro15 fessional licensure, certification, or a first profes16 sional credential the cost of obtaining the license, 

17 certification, or a first professional credential. 

18 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULE FOR LIVING EXPENSES FOR

19 LESS-THAN-HALF-TIME STUDENTS.—An institution of 

20 higher education may include an allowance for living ex21 penses, including food and housing costs in accordance 

22 with subsection (a)(4) for up to three semesters, or the 

23 equivalent, with no more than two semesters being con24 secutive. 


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1 ‘‘(c) DISCLOSURE OF COST OF ATTENDANCE ELE2 MENTS.—Each institution shall make publicly available on 

3 the institution’s website a list of all the elements of cost 

4 of attendance described in subsection (a), including, for 

5 a student with one or more dependents, an allowance 

6 based on the estimated actual expenses incurred for de7 pendent care, as described in subsection (a)(8). 

8 ‘‘SEC. 473. SPECIAL RULES FOR STUDENT AID INDEX. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of this title, 

10 other than subpart 1 or 2 of part A, the term ‘student 

11 aid index’ means, with respect to a student, an index that 

12 reflects an evaluation of a student’s approximate financial 

13 resources to contribute toward the student’s postsecondary 

14 education for the academic year, as determined in accord15 ance with this part. 

16 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULE FOR STUDENTS ELIGIBLE FOR

17 THE TOTAL MAXIMUM PELL GRANT.—The Secretary 

18 shall consider an applicant to automatically have a student 

19 aid index equal to zero if the applicant is eligible for the 

20 total maximum Federal Pell Grant under subpart 1 of 

21 part A, except that, if the applicant has a calculated stu22 dent aid index of less than zero the Secretary shall con23 sider the negative number as the student aid index for 

24 the applicant. 


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1 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE FOR NONFILERS.—For an appli2 cant (or, as applicable, an applicant and spouse, or an ap3 plicant’s parents) who is not required to file a Federal tax 

4 return for the second preceding tax year, the Secretary 

5 shall for the purposes of this title consider the student 

6 aid index as equal to ¥$1,500 for the applicant. 

7 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULE FOR RECIPIENTS OF MEANS8 TESTED BENEFITS.—For an applicant (including the stu9 dent, the student’s parent, or the student’s spouse, as ap10 plicable) who at any time during the previous 24-month 

11 period, received a benefit under a means-tested Federal 

12 benefit program, the Secretary shall consider an applicant 

13 to automatically have a student aid index equal to zero, 

14 except if the applicant has a calculated student aid index 

15 of less than zero the Secretary shall consider the negative 

16 number as the student aid index for the applicant. 

17 ‘‘(e) MEANS-TESTED FEDERAL BENEFIT PRO18 GRAM.—In this section, the term ‘means-tested Federal 

19 benefit program’ means any of the following: 

20 ‘‘(1) The supplemental security income program 

21 under title XVI of the Social Security Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.). 

23 ‘‘(2) The supplemental nutrition assistance pro24 gram under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 

25 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.). 


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1 ‘‘(3) The program of block grants for States for 

2 temporary assistance for needy families established 

3 under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act 

4 (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). 

5 ‘‘(4) The special supplemental nutrition pro6 gram for women, infants, and children established 

7 by section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 

8 U.S.C. 1786). 

9 ‘‘(5) The Medicaid program under title XIX of 

10 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.). 

11 ‘‘(6) Federal housing assistance programs, in12 cluding tenant-based assistance under section 8(o) of 

13 the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

14 1437f(o)), and public housing, as defined in section 

15 3(b)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(1)). 

16 ‘‘(7) Other means-tested programs determined 

17 by the Secretary to be approximately consistent with 

18 the income eligibility requirements of the means19 tested programs under paragraphs (1) through (6). 

20 ‘‘(f) SPECIAL RULE FOR NONFILERS WHO ARE ALSO

21 RECIPIENTS OF MEANS-TESTED BENEFITS.—For an ap22 plicant (or, as applicable, and applicant and spouse, or an 

23 applicant’s parents) who is not required to file a Federal 

24 tax return for the second preceding tax year and who at 

25 any time during the previous 24-month period received a 


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1 benefit under a means-tested Federal benefit program, the 

2 Secretary shall, for the purposes of this title, consider the 

3 student aid index as equal to ¥$1,500 for the applicant.’’. 

4 (c) DETERMINATION OF STUDENT AID INDEX.—Sec5 tion 474 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

6 1087nn) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 474. DETERMINATION OF STUDENT AID INDEX. 

8 ‘‘The student aid index— 

9 ‘‘(1) for a dependent student shall be deter10 mined in accordance with section 475; 

11 ‘‘(2) for a single independent student or a mar12 ried independent student without dependents (other 

13 than a spouse) shall be determined in accordance 

14 with section 476; and 

15 ‘‘(3) for an independent student with depend16 ents other than a spouse shall be determined in ac17 cordance with section 477.’’. 

18 (d) STUDENT AID INDEX FOR DEPENDENT STU19 DENTS.—Section 475 of the Higher Education Act of 

20 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087oo) is amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 475. STUDENT AID INDEX FOR DEPENDENT STU22 DENTS. 

23 ‘‘(a) COMPUTATION OF STUDENT AID INDEX.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each dependent stu2 dent, the student aid index is equal to (except as 

3 provided in paragraph (2)) the sum of— 

4 ‘‘(A) the assessment of the parents’ ad5 justed available income (determined in accord6 ance with subsection (b)); 

7 ‘‘(B) the assessment of the student’s avail8 able income (determined in accordance with 

9 subsection (g)); and 

10 ‘‘(C) the student’s available assets (deter11 mined in accordance with subsection (h)). 

12 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—If the sum determined 

13 under paragraphs (1), with respect to a dependent 

14 student, is less than ¥$1,500, the student aid index 

15 for the dependent student shall be ¥$1,500. 

16 ‘‘(b) ASSESSMENT OF PARENTS’ ADJUSTED AVAIL17 ABLE INCOME.—The assessment of parents’ adjusted 

18 available income is equal to the amount determined by— 

19 ‘‘(1) computing adjusted available income by 

20 adding— 

21 ‘‘(A) the parents’ available income (deter22 mined in accordance with subsection (c)); and 

23 ‘‘(B) the parents’ available assets (deter24 mined in accordance with subsection (d)); 


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1 ‘‘(2) assessing such adjusted available income in 

2 accordance with the assessment schedule set forth in 

3 subsection (e); and 

4 ‘‘(3) considering such assessment resulting 

5 under paragraph (2) as the amount determined 

6 under this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(c) PARENTS’ AVAILABLE INCOME.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The parents’ available in9 come is determined by subtracting from total income 

10 (as defined in section 480)— 

11 ‘‘(A) Federal income taxes; 

12 ‘‘(B) an allowance for payroll taxes, deter13 mined in accordance with paragraph (2); 

14 ‘‘(C) an income protection allowance, de15 termined in accordance with paragraph (3); and 

16 ‘‘(D) an employment expense allowance, 

17 determined in accordance with paragraph (4). 

18 ‘‘(2) ALLOWANCE FOR PAYROLL TAXES.—The 

19 allowance for payroll taxes is equal to the sum of— 

20 ‘‘(A) the total amount earned by the par21 ents, multiplied by the rate of tax under section 

22 3101(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(B) the amount earned by the parents 

25 that does not exceed such contribution and benVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:56 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4247.IS S4247

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1 efit base (twice such contribution and benefit 

2 base, in the case of a joint return) for the year 

3 of the earnings, multiplied by the rate of tax 

4 applicable to such earnings under section 

5 3101(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

6 ‘‘(3) INCOME PROTECTION ALLOWANCE.—The 

7 income protection allowance for award year 2021– 

8 2022 and each succeeding award year shall equal 

9 the amount determined in the following table, as ad10 justed by the Secretary pursuant to section 478(b): 

‘‘Income Protection Allowance 2021–2022 (to be adjusted for 

2022–2023 and succeeding years) 

Family Size (including student) Amount 

2 ...................................................................................................... $19,080

3 ...................................................................................................... $23,760

4 ...................................................................................................... $29,340

5 ...................................................................................................... $34,620

6 ...................................................................................................... $40,490

For each additional add .................................................................. $4,750. 

11 ‘‘(4) EMPLOYMENT EXPENSE ALLOWANCE.— 

12 The employment expense allowance is equal to the 

13 lesser of $4,000 or 35 percent of the single parent’s 

14 earned income or married parents’ combined earned 

15 income (or is equal to a successor amount as ad16 justed by the Secretary pursuant to section 478(g)). 

17 ‘‘(d) PARENTS’ AVAILABLE ASSETS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATION.—Except as pro2 vided in subparagraph (B), the parents’ avail3 able assets are equal to— 

4 ‘‘(i) the difference between the par5 ents’ net assets and the education savings 

6 and asset protection allowance (determined 

7 in accordance with paragraph (2)); multi8 plied by 

9 ‘‘(ii) 12 percent. 

10 ‘‘(B) NOT LESS THAN ZERO.—Parents’ 

11 available assets under this subsection shall not 

12 be less than zero. 

13 ‘‘(2) EDUCATION SAVINGS AND ASSET PROTEC14 TION ALLOWANCE.—The education savings and asset 

15 protection allowance is calculated according to the 

16 following table (or a successor table prescribed by 

17 the Secretary under section 478(d)): 

‘‘Education Savings and Asset Protection Allowances for Parents 

of Dependent Students 

If the age of the oldest 

parent is— 

And there are 

two parents one parent 

then the allowance is— 

25 or less ........................ $0 $0

26 .................................... $300 $100

27 .................................... $700 $200

28 .................................... $1,000 $300

29 .................................... $1,300 $500

30 .................................... $1,600 $600

31 .................................... $2,000 $700

32 .................................... $2,300 $800

33 .................................... $2,600 $900

34 .................................... $2,900 $1,000


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‘‘Education Savings and Asset Protection Allowances for Parents 

of Dependent Students—Continued 

If the age of the oldest 

parent is— 

And there are 

two parents one parent 

then the allowance is— 

35 .................................... $3,300 $1,100

36 .................................... $3,600 $1,200

37 .................................... $3,900 $1,300

38 .................................... $4,200 $1,500

39 .................................... $4,600 $1,600

40 .................................... $4,900 $1,700

41 .................................... $5,100 $1,700

42 .................................... $5,200 $1,700

43 .................................... $5,300 $1,800

44 .................................... $5,400 $1,800

45 .................................... $5,500 $1,900

46 .................................... $5,700 $1,900

47 .................................... $5,800 $1,900

48 .................................... $6,000 $2,000

49 .................................... $6,100 $2,000

50 .................................... $6,300 $2,100

51 .................................... $6,400 $2,100

52 .................................... $6,600 $2,200

53 .................................... $6,800 $2,200

54 .................................... $6,900 $2,300

55 .................................... $7,100 $2,300

56 .................................... $7,300 $2,400

57 .................................... $7,500 $2,500

58 .................................... $7,700 $2,500

59 .................................... $7,900 $2,600

60 .................................... $8,200 $2,700

61 .................................... $8,400 $2,700

62 .................................... $8,600 $2,800

63 .................................... $8,900 $2,900

64 .................................... $9,200 $2,900

65 or more ...................... $9,400 $3,000. 

1 ‘‘(e) ASSESSMENT SCHEDULE.—The assessment of 

2 the parents’ adjusted available income (as determined 

3 under subsection (b)(1) and hereafter in this subsection 

4 referred to as ‘AAI’) is calculated according to the fol5 lowing table (or a successor table prescribed by the Sec6 retary under section 478(e)): 


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•S 4247 IS

‘‘Parents’ Contribution From AAI 

If the parents’ AAI is— Then the parents’ contribution from AAI is— 

Less than –$6,820 ................................................ –$1,500 

–$6,820 to $17,000 .............................................. 22% of AAI 

$17,001 to $21,400 .............................................. $3,740 + 25% of AAI over $17,000 

$21,401 to $25,700 .............................................. $4,840 + 29% of AAI over $21,400 

$25,701 to $30,100 .............................................. $6,087 + 34% of AAI over $25,700 

$30,101 to $34,500 .............................................. $7,583 + 40% of AAI over $30,100 

$34,501 or more ................................................... $9,343 + 47% of AAI over $34,500. 

1 ‘‘(f) CONSIDERATION OF PARENTAL INCOME.— 

2 ‘‘(1) PARENTS WHO LIVE TOGETHER.—Paren3 tal income and assets in the case of student whose 

4 parents are married and not separated, or who are 

5 unmarried but live together, shall include the income 

6 and assets of both parents. 

7 ‘‘(2) DIVORCED OR SEPARATED PARENTS.—Pa8 rental income and assets for a student whose par9 ents are divorced or separated, but not remarried, is 

10 determined by including only the income and assets 

11 of the parent who provides the greater portion of the 

12 student’s financial support. 

13 ‘‘(3) DEATH OF A PARENT.—Parental income 

14 and assets in the case of the death of any parent is 

15 determined as follows: 

16 ‘‘(A) If either of the parents has died, the 

17 surviving parent shall be considered a single 

18 parent, until that parent has remarried. 

19 ‘‘(B) If both parents have died, the student 

20 shall not report any parental income or assets. 


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1 ‘‘(4) REMARRIED PARENTS.—If a parent whose 

2 income and assets are taken into account under 

3 paragraph (2), or if a parent who is a widow or wid4 ower and whose income is taken into account under 

5 paragraph (3), has remarried, the income of that 

6 parent’s spouse shall be included in determining the 

7 parent’s assessment of adjusted available income if 

8 the student’s parent and the stepparent are married 

9 as of the date of application for the award year con10 cerned. 

11 ‘‘(5) SINGLE PARENT WHO IS NOT DIVORCED

12 OR SEPARATED.—Parental income and assets in the 

13 case of a student whose parent is a single parent but 

14 who is not divorced, separated, or remarried, shall 

15 include the income and assets of such single parent. 

16 ‘‘(g) STUDENT’S AVAILABLE INCOME.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The student’s available in18 come is equal to— 

19 ‘‘(A) the difference between the student’s 

20 total income (determined in accordance with 

21 section 480) and the adjustment to student in22 come (determined in accordance with paragraph 

23 (2)); multiplied by 

24 ‘‘(B) 50 percent. 


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•S 4247 IS

1 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENT TO STUDENT INCOME.—The 

2 adjustment to student income is equal to the sum 

3 of— 

4 ‘‘(A) Federal income taxes; 

5 ‘‘(B) an allowance for payroll taxes deter6 mined in accordance with paragraph (3); 

7 ‘‘(C) an income protection allowance that 

8 is equal to— 

9 ‘‘(i) $9,110 for award year 2021– 

10 2022; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) for each succeeding award year, 

12 the amount adjusted pursuant to section 

13 478(b); and 

14 ‘‘(D) an allowance for parents’ negative 

15 available income, determined in accordance with 

16 paragraph (4). 

17 ‘‘(3) ALLOWANCE FOR PAYROLL TAXES.—The 

18 allowance for payroll taxes is equal to the sum of— 

19 ‘‘(A) the total amount earned by the stu20 dent, multiplied by the rate of tax under section 

21 3101(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B) the amount earned by the student 

24 that does not exceed such contribution and ben25 efit base for the year of the earnings, multiplied 


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•S 4247 IS

1 by the rate of tax applicable to such earnings 

2 under section 3101(a) of the Internal Revenue 

3 Code of 1986. 

4 ‘‘(4) ALLOWANCE FOR PARENTS’ NEGATIVE

5 AVAILABLE INCOME.—The allowance for parents’ 

6 negative available income is the amount, if any, by 

7 which the sum of the amounts deducted under sub8 section (c)(1) exceeds the sum of the parents’ total 

9 income (as defined in section 480) and the parents’ 

10 available assets (as determined in accordance with 

11 subsection (d)). 

12 ‘‘(h) STUDENT’S ASSETS.—The student’s assets are 

13 determined by calculating the net assets of the student 

14 and multiplying such amount by 20 percent, except that 

15 the result shall not be less than zero.’’. 

16 (e) STUDENT AID INDEX FOR INDEPENDENT STU17 DENTS WITHOUT DEPENDENTS OTHER THAN A

18 SPOUSE.—Section 476 of the Higher Education Act of 

19 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087pp) is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 476. STUDENT AID INDEX FOR INDEPENDENT STU21 DENTS WITHOUT DEPENDENTS OTHER THAN 

22 A SPOUSE. 

23 ‘‘(a) COMPUTATION OF STUDENT AID INDEX.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each independent stu25 dent without dependents other than a spouse, the 


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•S 4247 IS

1 student aid index is equal to (except as provided in 

2 paragraph (2)) the sum of— 

3 ‘‘(A) the family’s available income (deter4 mined in accordance with subsection (b)); and 

5 ‘‘(B) the family’s available assets (deter6 mined in accordance with subsection (c)). 

7 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—If the sum of paragraphs 

8 (1) with respect to a independent student without 

9 dependents other than a spouse is less than 

10 ¥$1,500, the student aid index for the independent 

11 student shall be ¥$1,500. 

12 ‘‘(b) FAMILY’S AVAILABLE INCOME.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The family’s available in14 come is determined by— 

15 ‘‘(A) deducting from total income (as de16 fined in section 480)— 

17 ‘‘(i) Federal income taxes; 

18 ‘‘(ii) an allowance for payroll taxes, 

19 determined in accordance with paragraph 

20 (2); 

21 ‘‘(iii) an income protection allowance 

22 that is equal to— 

23 ‘‘(I) in the case of a single inde24 pendent student without dependents— 


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•S 4247 IS

1 ‘‘(aa) $14,190 for award 

2 year 2021–2022; and 

3 ‘‘(bb) for each succeeding 

4 award year, the amount adjusted 

5 pursuant to section 478(b); and 

6 ‘‘(II) in the case of a married 

7 independent student without depend8 ents— 

9 ‘‘(aa) $22,750 for award 

10 year 2021–2022; and 

11 ‘‘(bb) for each succeeding 

12 award year, the amount adjusted 

13 pursuant to section 478(b); and 

14 ‘‘(iv) in the case of a married inde15 pendent student, an employment expense 

16 allowance, as determined in accordance 

17 with paragraph (3); and 

18 ‘‘(B) multiplying the amount determined 

19 under subparagraph (A) by 50 percent. 

20 ‘‘(2) ALLOWANCE FOR PAYROLL TAXES.—The 

21 allowance for payroll taxes is equal to the sum of— 

22 ‘‘(A) the total amount earned by the stu23 dent (and spouse, if appropriate), multiplied by 

24 the rate of tax under section 3101(b) of the In25 ternal Revenue Code of 1986; and 


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•S 4247 IS

1 ‘‘(B) the amount earned by the student 

2 (and spouse, if appropriate) that does not ex3 ceed such contribution and benefit base (twice 

4 such contribution and benefit base, in the case 

5 of a joint return) for the year of the earnings, 

6 multiplied by the rate of tax applicable to such 

7 earnings under section 3101(a) of the Internal 

8 Revenue Code of 1986. 

9 ‘‘(3) EMPLOYMENT EXPENSES ALLOWANCE.— 

10 The employment expense allowance is equal to the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(A) If the student is married, such allow13 ance is equal to the lesser of $4,000 or 35 per14 cent of the couple’s combined earned income (or 

15 is equal to a successor amount as adjusted by 

16 the Secretary pursuant to section 478(g)). 

17 ‘‘(B) If the student is not married, the em18 ployment expense allowance is zero. 

19 ‘‘(c) FAMILY’S AVAILABLE ASSETS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

21 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATION.—Except as pro22 vided in subparagraph (B), the family’s avail23 able assets are equal to— 

24 ‘‘(i) the difference between the fam25 ily’s assets (as defined in section 480(f)) 


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•S 4247 IS

1 and the asset protection allowance (deter2 mined in accordance with paragraph (2)); 

3 multiplied by 

4 ‘‘(ii) 20 percent. 

5 ‘‘(B) NOT LESS THAN ZERO.—The family’s 

6 available assets under this subsection shall not 

7 be less than zero. 

8 ‘‘(2) ASSET PROTECTION ALLOWANCE.—The 

9 asset protection allowance is calculated according to 

10 the following table (or a successor table prescribed 

11 by the Secretary under section 478(d)): 

‘‘Asset Protection Allowances for Families and Students 

If the age of the student 

is— 

And the student is 

married single 

then the allowance is— 

25 or less ........................ $0 $0

26 .................................... $300 $100

27 .................................... $700 $200

28 .................................... $1,000 $300

29 .................................... $1,300 $500

30 .................................... $1,600 $600

31 .................................... $2,000 $700

32 .................................... $2,300 $800

33 .................................... $2,600 $900

34 .................................... $2,900 $1,000

35 .................................... $3,300 $1,100

36 .................................... $3,600 $1,200

37 .................................... $3,900 $1,400

38 .................................... $4,200 $1,500

39 .................................... $4,600 $1,600

40 .................................... $4,900 $1,700

41 .................................... $5,100 $1,700

42 .................................... $5,200 $1,700

43 .................................... $5,300 $1,800

44 .................................... $5,400 $1,800

45 .................................... $5,500 $1,900

46 .................................... $5,700 $1,900

47 .................................... $5,800 $1,900

48 .................................... $6,000 $2,000


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•S 4247 IS

‘‘Asset Protection Allowances for Families and Students— 

Continued 

If the age of the student 

is— 

And the student is 

married single 

then the allowance is— 

49 .................................... $6,100 $2,000

50 .................................... $6,300 $2,100

51 .................................... $6,400 $2,100

52 .................................... $6,600 $2,200

53 .................................... $6,800 $2,200

54 .................................... $6,900 $2,300

55 .................................... $7,100 $2,300

56 .................................... $7,300 $2,400

57 .................................... $7,500 $2,500

58 .................................... $7,700 $2,500

59 .................................... $7,900 $2,600

60 .................................... $8,200 $2,700

61 .................................... $8,400 $2,700

62 .................................... $8,600 $2,800

63 .................................... $8,900 $2,900

64 .................................... $9,200 $2,900

65 or more ...................... $9,400 $3,000. 

1 ‘‘(d) COMPUTATIONS IN CASE OF SEPARATION, DI2 VORCE, OR DEATH.—In the case of a student who is di3 vorced or separated, or whose spouse has died, the 

4 spouse’s income and assets shall not be considered in de5 termining the family’s available income or assets.’’. 

6 (f) STUDENT AID INDEX FOR INDEPENDENT STU7 DENTS WITH DEPENDENTS OTHER THAN A SPOUSE.— 

8 Section 477 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

9 U.S.C. 1087qq) is amended to read as follows: 


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•S 4247 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 477. STUDENT AID INDEX FOR INDEPENDENT STU2 DENTS WITH DEPENDENTS OTHER THAN A 

3 SPOUSE. 

4 ‘‘(a) COMPUTATION OF STUDENT AID INDEX.—For 

5 each independent student with dependents other than a 

6 spouse, the student aid index is equal to the amount deter7 mined by— 

8 ‘‘(1) computing adjusted available income by 

9 adding— 

10 ‘‘(A) the family’s available income (deter11 mined in accordance with subsection (b)); and 

12 ‘‘(B) the family’s available assets (deter13 mined in accordance with subsection (c)); 

14 ‘‘(2) assessing such adjusted available income in 

15 accordance with an assessment schedule set forth in 

16 subsection (d); and 

17 ‘‘(3) considering such assessment resulting 

18 under paragraph (2) as the amount determined 

19 under this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(b) FAMILY’S AVAILABLE INCOME.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The family’s available in22 come is determined by deducting from total income 

23 (as defined in section 480)— 

24 ‘‘(A) Federal income taxes; 

25 ‘‘(B) an allowance for payroll taxes, deter26 mined in accordance with paragraph (2); 


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•S 4247 IS

1 ‘‘(C) an income protection allowance, de2 termined in accordance with paragraph (3); and 

3 ‘‘(D) an employment expense allowance, 

4 determined in accordance with paragraph (4). 

5 ‘‘(2) ALLOWANCE FOR PAYROLL TAXES.—The 

6 allowance for payroll taxes is equal to the sum of— 

7 ‘‘(A) the total amount earned by the stu8 dent (and spouse, if appropriate), multiplied by 

9 the rate of tax under section 3101(b) of the In10 ternal Revenue Code of 1986; and 

11 ‘‘(B) the amount earned by the student 

12 (and spouse, if appropriate) that does not ex13 ceed such contribution and benefit base (twice 

14 such contribution and benefit base, in the case 

15 of a joint return) for the year of the earnings, 

16 multiplied by the rate of tax applicable to such 

17 earnings under section 3101(a) of the Internal 

18 Revenue Code of 1986. 

19 ‘‘(3) INCOME PROTECTION ALLOWANCE.—The 

20 income protection allowance for award year 2021– 

21 2022 and each succeeding award year shall equal 

22 the amount determined in the following table, as ad23 justed by the Secretary pursuant to section 478(b): 

24 ‘‘(A) In the case of a married independent 

25 student with dependents: 


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•S 4247 IS

‘‘Income Protection Allowance 2021–2022 (to be adjusted for 

2022–2023 and succeeding years) 

Family Size (including student) Amount 

3 ...................................................................................................... $44,470

4 ...................................................................................................... $55,260

5 ...................................................................................................... $65,190

6 ...................................................................................................... $76,230

For each additional add .................................................................. $8,610. 

1 ‘‘(B) In the case of a single independent 

2 student with dependents: 

‘‘Income Protection Allowance 2021–2022 (to be adjusted for 

2022–2023 and succeeding years) 

Family Size (including student) Amount 

2 ...................................................................................................... $43,128

3 ...................................................................................................... $54,364

4 ...................................................................................................... $66,312

5 ...................................................................................................... $78,228

6 ...................................................................................................... $91,476

For each additional add .................................................................. $10,332. 

3 ‘‘(4) EMPLOYMENT EXPENSE ALLOWANCE.— 

4 The employment expense allowance is equal to the 

5 lesser of $4,000 or 35 percent of the student’s 

6 earned income or the combined earned income of the 

7 student and the student’s spouse (or is equal to a 

8 successor amount as adjusted by the Secretary 

9 under section 478(g)). 

10 ‘‘(c) FAMILY’S AVAILABLE ASSETS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

12 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATION.—Except as pro13 vided in subparagraph (B), the family’s avail14 able assets are equal to— 


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•S 4247 IS

1 ‘‘(i) the difference between the fam2 ily’s assets (as defined in 480(f)) and the 

3 asset protection allowance (determined in 

4 accordance with paragraph (2)); multiplied 

5 by 

6 ‘‘(ii) 7 percent. 

7 ‘‘(B) NOT LESS THAN ZERO.—Family’s 

8 available assets under this subsection shall not 

9 be less than zero. 

10 ‘‘(2) ASSET PROTECTION ALLOWANCE.—The 

11 asset protection allowance is calculated according to 

12 the following table (or a successor table prescribed 

13 by the Secretary under section 478(d)): 

‘‘Asset Protection Allowances for Families and Students 

If the age of the student 

is— 

And the student is 

married single 

then the allowance is— 

25 or less ........................ $0 $0

26 .................................... $300 $100

27 .................................... $700 $200

28 .................................... $1,000 $300

29 .................................... $1,300 $500

30 .................................... $1,600 $600

31 .................................... $2,000 $700

32 .................................... $2,300 $800

33 .................................... $2,600 $900

34 .................................... $2,900 $1,000

35 .................................... $3,300 $1,100

36 .................................... $3,600 $1,200

37 .................................... $3,900 $1,400

38 .................................... $4,200 $1,500

39 .................................... $4,600 $1,600

40 .................................... $4,900 $1,700

41 .................................... $5,100 $1,700

42 .................................... $5,200 $1,700

43 .................................... $5,300 $1,800

44 .................................... $5,400 $1,800


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•S 4247 IS

‘‘Asset Protection Allowances for Families and Students— 

Continued 

If the age of the student 

is— 

And the student is 

married single 

then the allowance is— 

45 .................................... $5,500 $1,900

46 .................................... $5,700 $1,900

47 .................................... $5,800 $1,900

48 .................................... $6,000 $2,000

49 .................................... $6,100 $2,000

50 .................................... $6,300 $2,100

51 .................................... $6,400 $2,100

52 .................................... $6,600 $2,200

53 .................................... $6,800 $2,200

54 .................................... $6,900 $2,300

55 .................................... $7,100 $2,300

56 .................................... $7,300 $2,400

57 .................................... $7,500 $2,500

58 .................................... $7,700 $2,500

59 .................................... $7,900 $2,600

60 .................................... $8,200 $2,700

61 .................................... $8,400 $2,700

62 .................................... $8,600 $2,800

63 .................................... $8,900 $2,900

64 .................................... $9,200 $2,900

65 or more ...................... $9,400 $3,000. 

1 ‘‘(d) ASSESSMENT SCHEDULE.—The assessment of 

2 adjusted available income (as determined under subsection 

3 (a)(1) and hereafter in this subsection referred to as 

4 ‘AAI’) is calculated according to the following table (or 

5 a successor table prescribed by the Secretary pursuant to 

6 section 478(e)): 

‘‘Assessment From Adjusted Available Income 

If AAI is— Then the assessment is— 

Less than –$6,820 ................................................ –$1,500 

–$6,820 to $17,000 .............................................. 22% of AAI 

$17,001 to $21,400 .............................................. $3,740 + 25% of AAI over $17,000 

$21,401 to $25,700 .............................................. $4,840 + 29% of AAI over $21,400 

$25,701 to $30,100 .............................................. $6,087 + 34% of AAI over $25,700 

$30,101 to $34,500 .............................................. $7,583 + 40% of AAI over $30,100 

$34,501 or more ................................................... $9,343 + 47% of AAI over $34,500. 


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•S 4247 IS

1 ‘‘(e) COMPUTATIONS IN CASE OF SEPARATION, DI2 VORCE, OR DEATH.—In the case of a student who is di3 vorced or separated, or whose spouse has died, the 

4 spouse’s income and assets shall not be considered in de5 termining the family’s available income or assets.’’. 

6 (g) REGULATIONS; UPDATED TABLES.—Section 478 

7 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087rr) 

8 is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 478. REGULATIONS; UPDATED TABLES. 

10 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO PRESCRIBE REGULATIONS RE11 STRICTED.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

12 the Secretary shall not have the authority to prescribe reg13 ulations to carry out this part except— 

14 ‘‘(1) to prescribe updated tables in accordance 

15 with subsections (b) through (g); or 

16 ‘‘(2) with respect to the definition of cost of at17 tendance under section 472, excluding section 

18 472(a)(1). 

19 ‘‘(b) INCOME PROTECTION ALLOWANCE ADJUST20 MENTS.—For award year 2022–2023 and each succeeding 

21 award year, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal 

22 Register revised income protection allowances for the pur23 poses of subsections (c)(3) and (g)(2)(C) of section 475, 

24 subclauses (I) and (II) of section 476(b)(1)(A)(iii), and 

25 section 477(b)(3), by increasing the income protection alVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:56 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4247.IS S4247

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•S 4247 IS

1 lowances in each of such provisions, by a percentage equal 

2 to the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index, 

3 as defined in subsection (f), between April 2019 and the 

4 April prior to the beginning of the award year and round5 ing the result to the nearest $10. 

6 ‘‘(c) ADJUSTED NET WORTH OF A FARM OR BUSI7 NESS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) TABLE.—The table of the net worth of a 

9 business or farm for purposes of making determina10 tions of assets as defined under section 480(f) for 

11 award year 2021–2022 is the following: 

‘‘Business/Farm Net Worth Adjustment 

If the net worth of a business or farm is— Then the adjusted net worth is— 

Less than $1 ......................................................... $0 

$1 to $135,000 ..................................................... 40% of net worth of business/farm 

$135,001 to $410,000 .......................................... $54,000 + 50% of net worth over $135,000 

$410,001 to $680,000 .......................................... $191,500 + 60% of net worth over $410,000 

$680,001 or more ................................................. $353,500 + 100% of net worth over $680,000. 

12 ‘‘(2) REVISED TABLES.—For award year 2022– 

13 2023 and each succeeding award year, the Secretary 

14 shall publish in the Federal Register a revised table 

15 of adjusted net worth of a farm or business for pur16 poses of section 480(f). Such revised table shall be 

17 developed— 

18 ‘‘(A) by increasing each dollar amount that 

19 refers to net worth of a farm or business by a 

20 percentage equal to the percentage increase in 

21 the Consumer Price Index between April 2019 

22 and the April prior to the beginning of such 


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•S 4247 IS

1 award year, and rounding the result to the 

2 nearest $5,000; and 

3 ‘‘(B) by adjusting the dollar amounts in 

4 the column referring the adjusted net worth to 

5 reflect the changes made pursuant to subpara6 graph (A). 

7 ‘‘(d) EDUCATION SAVINGS AND ASSET PROTECTION

8 ALLOWANCE.—For award year 2022–2023 and each suc9 ceeding award year, the Secretary shall publish in the 

10 Federal Register a revised table of allowances for the pur11 pose of sections 475(d)(2), 476(c)(2), and 477(c)(2). Such 

12 revised table shall be developed by determining the present 

13 value cost, rounded to the nearest $100, of an annuity 

14 that would provide, for each age cohort of 40 and above, 

15 a supplemental income at age 65 (adjusted for inflation) 

16 equal to the difference between the moderate family in17 come (as most recently determined by the Bureau of 

18 Labor Statistics), and the current average social security 

19 retirement benefits. For each age cohort below 40, the al20 lowance shall be computed by decreasing the allowance for 

21 age 40, as updated, by one-fifteenth for each year of age 

22 below age 40 and rounding the result to the nearest $100. 

23 In making such determinations— 

24 ‘‘(1) inflation shall be presumed to be 6 percent 

25 per year; 


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•S 4247 IS

1 ‘‘(2) the rate of return of an annuity shall be 

2 presumed to be 8 percent; and 

3 ‘‘(3) the sales commission on an annuity shall 

4 be presumed to be 6 percent. 

5 ‘‘(e) ASSESSMENT SCHEDULES AND RATES.—For 

6 award year 2022–2023 and each succeeding award year, 

7 the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a re8 vised table of assessments from adjusted available income 

9 for the purpose of sections 475(e) and 477(d). Such re10 vised table shall be developed— 

11 ‘‘(1) by increasing each dollar amount that re12 fers to adjusted available income by a percentage 

13 equal to the percentage increase in the Consumer 

14 Price Index between April 2019 and the April prior 

15 to the beginning of such academic year, rounded to 

16 the nearest $100; and 

17 ‘‘(2) by adjusting the other dollar amounts to 

18 reflect the changes made pursuant to paragraph (1). 

19 ‘‘(f) CONSUMER PRICE INDEX DEFINED.—In this 

20 section, the term ‘Consumer Price Index’ means the Con21 sumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by 

22 the Department of Labor. Each annual update of tables 

23 to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index shall be 

24 corrected for misestimation of actual changes in such 

25 Index in previous years. 


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•S 4247 IS

1 ‘‘(g) EMPLOYMENT EXPENSE ALLOWANCE.—For 

2 award year 2022–2023 and each succeeding award year, 

3 the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a re4 vised table of employment expense allowances for the pur5 pose of sections 475(c)(4), 476(b)(3), and 477(b)(4). Such 

6 revised table shall be developed by increasing the dollar 

7 amount specified in sections 475(c)(4), 476(b)(3), and 

8 477(b)(4) to reflect the inflationary adjustment that is 

9 used for the income protection allowances in subsection 

10 (b).’’. 

11 (h) APPLICANTS EXEMPT FROM ASSET REPORT12 ING.—Section 479 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

13 (20 U.S.C. 1087ss) is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 479. APPLICANTS EXEMPT FROM ASSET REPORTING. 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro16 vision of law, this section shall be effective for each indi17 vidual seeking to apply for Federal financial aid under this 

18 title, as part of the simplified application for Federal stu19 dent financial aid under section 483. 

20 ‘‘(b) APPLICANTS EXEMPT FROM ASSET REPORT21 ING.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para23 graph (3), in carrying out section 483, the Secretary 

24 shall not use asset information from an eligible apVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:56 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4247.IS S4247

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•S 4247 IS

1 plicant or, as applicable, the parent or spouse of an 

2 eligible applicant. 

3 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—In this sub4 section, the term ‘eligible applicant’ means an appli5 cant who meets at least one of the following criteria: 

6 ‘‘(A) Is an applicant who qualifies for an 

7 automatic zero student aid index or automatic 

8 negative student aid index under subsection (b), 

9 (c), or (d) of section 473. 

10 ‘‘(B) Is an applicant who is a dependent 

11 student and the student’s parents have a total 

12 adjusted gross income (excluding any income of 

13 the dependent student) that is less than 

14 $75,000 and do not file a Schedule A, B, D, E, 

15 F, or H (or equivalent successor schedules), 

16 with the Federal income tax return for the sec17 ond preceding tax year, and— 

18 ‘‘(i) do not file a Schedule C (or the 

19 equivalent successor schedule) with the 

20 Federal income tax return for the second 

21 preceding tax year; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) file a Schedule C (or the equiva23 lent successor schedule) with net business 

24 income of not more than a $10,000 loss or 


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1 gain with the Federal income tax return 

2 for the second preceding tax year. 

3 ‘‘(C) Is an applicant who is an independent 

4 student and the student (and including the stu5 dent’s spouse, if any) has a total adjusted gross 

6 income that is less than $75,000 and does not 

7 file a Schedule A, B, C, D, E, F, or H (or 

8 equivalent successor schedules), with the Fed9 eral income tax return for the second preceding 

10 tax year, and— 

11 ‘‘(i) does not file a Schedule C (or the 

12 equivalent successor schedule) with the 

13 Federal income tax return for the second 

14 preceding tax year; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) files a Schedule C (or the equiva16 lent successor schedule) with net business 

17 income of not more than a $10,000 loss or 

18 gain with the Federal income tax return 

19 for the second preceding tax year. 

20 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE.—An eligible applicant 

21 shall not be exempt from asset reporting under this 

22 section if the applicant is a dependent student and 

23 the students’ parents do not— 

24 ‘‘(A) reside in the United States or a 

25 United States territory; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) file taxes in the United States or a 

2 United States territory, except if such nonfiling 

3 is due to not being required to file a Federal 

4 tax return for the applicable tax year due to a 

5 low income. 

6 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 ‘‘(A) SCHEDULE A.—The term Schedule A 

8 means a form or information by a taxpayer to 

9 report itemized deductions. 

10 ‘‘(B) SCHEDULE B.—The term Schedule B 

11 means a form or information filed by a tax12 payer to report interest and ordinary dividend 

13 income. 

14 ‘‘(C) SCHEDULE C.—The term Schedule C 

15 means a form or information filed by a tax16 payer to report income or loss from a business 

17 operated or a profession practiced as a sole pro18 prietor. 

19 ‘‘(D) SCHEDULE D.—The term Schedule D 

20 means a form or information filed by a tax21 payer to report sales, exchanges or some invol22 untary conversions of capital assets, certain 

23 capital gain distributions, and nonbusiness bad 

24 debts. 


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•S 4247 IS

1 ‘‘(E) SCHEDULE E.—The term Schedule E 

2 means a form or information filed by a tax3 payer to report income from rental properties, 

4 royalties, partnerships, S corporations, estates, 

5 trusts, and residual interests in real estate 

6 mortgage investment conduits. 

7 ‘‘(F) SCHEDULE F.—The term Schedule F 

8 means a form or information filed by a tax9 payer to report farm income and expenses. 

10 ‘‘(G) SCHEDULE H.—The term Schedule H 

11 means a form or information filed by a tax12 payer to report household employment taxes.’’. 

13 (i) DISCRETION OF STUDENT FINANCIAL AID AD14 MINISTRATORS.—Section 479A of the Higher Education 

15 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087tt) is amended to read as 

16 follows: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 479A. DISCRETION OF STUDENT FINANCIAL AID AD18 MINISTRATORS. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

20 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY OF FINANCIAL AID ADMINIS21 TRATORS.—A financial aid administrator shall have 

22 the authority to, on the basis of adequate docu23 mentation, make adjustments to any or all of the 

24 following on a case-by-case basis— 


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1 ‘‘(A) for an individual eligible applicant 

2 with special circumstances under subsection (b) 

3 to— 

4 ‘‘(i) the cost of attendance; 

5 ‘‘(ii) the values of the data used to 

6 calculate the student aid index; or 

7 ‘‘(iii) the values of the data used to 

8 calculate the Federal Pell Grant award; or 

9 ‘‘(B) for an individual eligible applicant 

10 with unusual circumstances, as defined in sec11 tion 480(d)(9), under subsection (c) to the de12 pendency status. 

13 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORITY.— 

14 ‘‘(A) USE OF AUTHORITY.—No institution 

15 of higher education or financial aid adminis16 trator shall maintain a policy of denying all re17 quests for adjustments under this section. 

18 ‘‘(B) NO ADDITIONAL FEE.—No student or 

19 parent shall be charged a fee for a documented 

20 interview of the student by the financial aid ad21 ministrator or for the review of a student or 

22 parent’s request for adjustments under this sec23 tion including the review of any supplementary 

24 information or documentation of a student or 


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1 parent’s special circumstances or a student’s 

2 unusual circumstances. 

3 ‘‘(C) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The au4 thority to make adjustments under paragraph 

5 (1)(A) shall not be construed to permit finan6 cial aid administrators to deviate from the cost 

7 of attendance, the values of data used to cal8 culate the student aid index or the values of 

9 data used to calculate the Federal Pell Grant 

10 award (or both) for awarding aid under this 

11 title in the absence of special circumstances. 

12 ‘‘(3) ADEQUATE DOCUMENTATION.—Adequate 

13 documentation for adjustments under this section 

14 shall substantiate the special circumstances or un15 usual circumstances of individual students, and may 

16 include, to the extent relevant and appropriate— 

17 ‘‘(A) a documented interview between the 

18 student and the financial aid administrator; 

19 ‘‘(B) for the purposes of determining that 

20 a student qualifies for an adjustment under 

21 paragraph (1)(B)— 

22 ‘‘(i) submission of a court order or of23 ficial Federal or State documentation that 

24 the parents or legal guardians are incarVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:56 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4247.IS S4247

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1 cerated in any Federal or State penal insti2 tution; 

3 ‘‘(ii) a documented phone call or a 

4 written statement, which confirms the spe5 cific unusual circumstances with— 

6 ‘‘(I) a child welfare agency au7 thorized by a State or county; 

8 ‘‘(II) a Tribal welfare authority; 

9 ‘‘(III) an independent living case 

10 worker; or 

11 ‘‘(IV) a public or private agency, 

12 facility, or program servicing the vic13 tims of abuse, neglect, assault, or vio14 lence; 

15 ‘‘(iii) a documented phone call or a 

16 written statement from an attorney, a 

17 guardian ad litem, or a court-appointed 

18 special advocate, which confirms the spe19 cific unusual circumstances and documents 

20 the person’s relationship to the student; 

21 ‘‘(iv) a documented phone call or writ22 ten statement from a representative under 

23 chapter 1 or 2 of subpart 2 of part A, 

24 which confirms the specific unusual cirVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:56 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4247.IS S4247

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1 cumstances and documents the person’s re2 lationship to the student; or 

3 ‘‘(v) documents, such as utility bills or 

4 health insurance documentation, that dem5 onstrate a separation from parents or legal 

6 guardians; and 

7 ‘‘(vi) in the absence of documentation 

8 described in this subparagraph, other doc9 umentation the financial aid administrator 

10 determines is adequate to confirm the un11 usual circumstances, as defined in section 

12 480(d)(9); and 

13 ‘‘(C) supplementary information, as nec14 essary, about the financial status or personal 

15 circumstances of eligible applicants as it relates 

16 to the special circumstances or unusual cir17 cumstances based on which the applicant is re18 questing an adjustment. 

19 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE.—In making adjustments 

20 under paragraph (1), a financial aid administrator 

21 may offer a dependent student financial assistance 

22 under a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan 

23 without requiring the parents of such student to pro24 vide their parent information on the Free Applica25 tion for Federal Student Aid if the student does not 


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•S 4247 IS

1 qualify for, or does not choose to uses, the unusual 

2 circumstance option specified in accordance with sec3 tion 480(d)(9), and the financial aid administrator 

4 determines that the parents of such student ended 

5 financial support of such student and refuse to file 

6 such form. 

7 ‘‘(5) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.—Each institution of 

8 higher education shall make publicly available infor9 mation that students applying for aid under this 

10 title have the opportunity to pursue adjustments 

11 under this section. 

12 ‘‘(b) ADJUSTMENTS FOR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL

13 CIRCUMSTANCES.— 

14 ‘‘(1) SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES FOR ADJUST15 MENTS RELATED TO PELL GRANTS.—Special cir16 cumstances for adjustments to calculate a Federal 

17 Pell Grant award— 

18 ‘‘(A) shall be conditions that differentiate 

19 an individual student from a group of students 

20 rather than conditions that exist across a group 

21 of students; and 

22 ‘‘(B) may include— 

23 ‘‘(i) recent unemployment of a family 

24 member or an independent student; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a student or family member who 

2 is a dislocated worker (as defined in sec3 tion 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 

4 Opportunity Act); 

5 ‘‘(iii) a change in housing status that 

6 results in an individual being a homeless 

7 child or youth (as defined in section 725 of 

8 the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

9 Act); 

10 ‘‘(iv) an unusual amount of claimed 

11 losses against income on the Federal tax 

12 return that substantially lower adjusted 

13 gross income, such as business, investment, 

14 or real estate losses; 

15 ‘‘(v) receipt of substantial foreign in16 come of permanent residents or United 

17 States citizens exempt from Federal tax18 ation, or the foreign income for which a 

19 permanent resident or citizen received a 

20 foreign tax credit; or 

21 ‘‘(vi) other changes or adjustments in 

22 the income, assets, or size of a family, or 

23 a student’s dependency status. 

24 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES FOR ADJUST25 MENTS RELATED TO COST OF ATTENDANCE AND


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1 STUDENT AID INDEX.—Special circumstances for ad2 justments to the cost of attendance or the values of 

3 the data used to calculate the student aid index— 

4 ‘‘(A) shall be conditions that differentiate 

5 an individual student from a group of students 

6 rather than conditions that exist across a group 

7 of students; and 

8 ‘‘(B) may include— 

9 ‘‘(i) tuition expenses at an elementary 

10 school or secondary school; 

11 ‘‘(ii) medical, dental, or nursing home 

12 expenses not covered by insurance; 

13 ‘‘(iii) unusually high child care or de14 pendent care costs not covered by the de15 pendent care cost allowance calculated in 

16 accordance with section 472; 

17 ‘‘(iv) recent unemployment of a family 

18 member or an independent student; 

19 ‘‘(v) a student or family member who 

20 is a dislocated worker (as defined in sec21 tion 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 

22 Opportunity Act); 

23 ‘‘(vi) the number of family members 

24 enrolled in a degree, certificate, or other 

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1 cational credential at an institution with a 

2 program participation agreement under 

3 section 487; 

4 ‘‘(vii) a change in housing status that 

5 results in an individual being a homeless 

6 child or youth (as defined in section 725 of 

7 the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

8 Act); 

9 ‘‘(viii) in the case of a dependent stu10 dent, a recent condition of severe disability 

11 of the student, the dependent student’s 

12 parent or guardian, or an independent stu13 dent’s dependent or spouse; 

14 ‘‘(ix) unusual amount of claimed 

15 losses against income on the Federal tax 

16 return that substantially lower adjusted 

17 gross income, such as business, investment, 

18 or real estate losses; and 

19 ‘‘(x) receipt of substantial foreign in20 come of permanent residents or United 

21 States citizens exempt from Federal tax22 ation, or the foreign income for which a 

23 permanent resident or citizen receives a 

24 foreign tax credit; or 


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•S 4247 IS

1 ‘‘(C) other changes or adjustments in the 

2 income, assets, or size of a family, or a stu3 dent’s dependency status. 

4 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE.—The Secretary shall not 

5 consider conditions that are widespread to a group 

6 of students due to a major disaster or an emergency 

7 declared by the President under section 401 or 501, 

8 respectively, of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Re9 lief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170 

10 and 5191) as special circumstances for adjustment 

11 for purposes of paragraphs (1)(A) and (2)(A) for a 

12 time period determined by such Secretary. 

13 ‘‘(c) UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES ADJUSTMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Unusual circumstances for 

15 adjustments to the dependency status of an indi16 vidual eligible applicant shall be— 

17 ‘‘(A) conditions that differentiate an indi18 vidual student from a group of students; and 

19 ‘‘(B) based on unusual circumstances, as 

20 defined by section 480(d)(9). 

21 ‘‘(2) PROVISIONAL INDEPENDENT STUDENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SEC23 RETARY.—The Secretary shall— 

24 ‘‘(i) enable each student who, based 

25 on an unusual circumstance specified in 


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•S 4247 IS

1 section 480(d)(9), may qualify for an ad2 justment under subsection (a)(1)(B) that 

3 will result in a determination of independ4 ence under this section and section 479D 

5 to complete the Free Application for Fed6 eral Student Aid as an independent stu7 dent for the purpose of a provisional deter8 mination of the student’s Federal financial 

9 aid award, but subject to the authority 

10 under subsection (a)(3), for the purpose of 

11 the final determination of the award; 

12 ‘‘(ii) upon completion of the Free Ap13 plication for Federal Student Aid provide 

14 an estimate of the student’s Federal Pell 

15 Grant award, and other information as 

16 specified in section 483(a)(3)(A), based on 

17 the assumption that the student is deter18 mined to be an independent student; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) specify, on the Free Application 

20 for Federal Student Aid, the consequences 

21 under section 490(a) of knowingly and 

22 willfully completing the Free Application 

23 for Federal Student Aid as an independent 

24 student under clause (i) without meeting 


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•S 4247 IS

1 the unusual circumstances to qualify for 

2 such a determination. 

3 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS FOR FINANCIAL AID

4 ADMINISTRATORS.—With respect to a student 

5 accepted for admission who completes the Free 

6 Application for Federal Student Aid as an inde7 pendent student under subparagraph (A), a fi8 nancial aid administrator shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) notify the student of the institu10 tional process, requirements, and timeline 

11 for an adjustment under this section and 

12 section 480(d)(9) that will result in a re13 view of the student’s request for an adjust14 ment and a determination of the student’s 

15 dependency status under such sections 

16 within a reasonable time after the student 

17 completes the Free Application for Federal 

18 Student Aid; 

19 ‘‘(ii) provide the student a final deter20 mination of the student’s dependency sta21 tus and Federal financial aid award as 

22 soon as practicable after all requested doc23 umentation is provided; 

24 ‘‘(iii) retain all documents related to 

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1 tion 480(d)(9), including documented 

2 interviews, for at least the duration of the 

3 student’s enrollment, and shall abide by all 

4 other recordkeeping requirements of this 

5 Act; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) presume that any student who 

7 has obtained an adjustment under this sec8 tion and section 480(d)(9) and a final de9 termination of independence for a pre10 ceding award year at an institution to be 

11 independent for a subsequent award year 

12 at the same institution unless— 

13 ‘‘(I) the student informs the in14 stitution that circumstances have 

15 changed; or 

16 ‘‘(II) the institution has specific 

17 conflicting information about the stu18 dent’s independence. 

19 ‘‘(d) ADJUSTMENTS TO ASSETS OR INCOME TAKEN

20 INTO ACCOUNT.—A financial aid administrator shall be 

21 considered to be making a necessary adjustment in accord22 ance with this section if— 

23 ‘‘(1) the administrator makes adjustments ex24 cluding from family income or assets any proceeds 

25 or losses from a sale of farm or business assets of 


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1 a family if such sale results from a voluntary or in2 voluntary foreclosure, forfeiture, or bankruptcy or a 

3 voluntary or involuntary liquidation; or 

4 ‘‘(2) the administrator makes adjustments for a 

5 student with a disability so as to take into consider6 ation the additional costs such student incurs as a 

7 result of such student’s disability. 

8 ‘‘(e) REFUSAL OR ADJUSTMENT OF LOAN CERTIFI9 CATIONS.—On a case-by-case basis, an eligible institution 

10 may refuse to use the authority provided under this sec11 tion, certify a statement that permits a student to receive 

12 a loan under part D, certify a loan amount, or make a 

13 loan that is less than the student’s determination of need 

14 (as determined under this part), if the reason for the ac15 tion is documented and provided in written form to the 

16 student. No eligible institution shall discriminate against 

17 any borrower or applicant in obtaining a loan on the basis 

18 of race, national origin, religion, sex, marital status, age, 

19 or disability status.’’. 

20 (j) DISREGARD OF STUDENT AID IN OTHER PRO21 GRAMS.—Section 479B of the Higher Education Act of 

22 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087uu) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 479B. DISREGARD OF STUDENT AID IN OTHER PRO2 GRAMS. 

3 ‘‘Notwithstanding any other provision of law, student 

4 financial assistance received under this title, Bureau of In5 dian Affairs student assistance programs, and employ6 ment and training programs under section 134 of the 

7 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

8 3174 et seq.) shall not be taken into account in deter9 mining the need or eligibility of any person for benefits 

10 or assistance, or the amount of such benefits or assistance, 

11 under any Federal, State, or local program financed in 

12 whole or in part with Federal funds.’’. 

13 (k) NATIVE AMERICAN STUDENTS.—Section 479C of 

14 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087uu– 

15 1) is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 479C. NATIVE AMERICAN STUDENTS. 

17 ‘‘In determining the student aid index for Native 

18 American students, computations performed pursuant to 

19 this part shall exclude— 

20 ‘‘(1) any income and assets of $2,000 or less 

21 per individual payment received by the student (and 

22 spouse) and student’s parents under Public Law 98– 

23 64 (25 U.S.C. 117a et seq.; 97 Stat. 365) (com24 monly known as the ‘Per Capita Act’) or the Indian 

25 Tribal Judgment Funds Use or Distribution Act (25 

26 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.); and 


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1 ‘‘(2) any income received by the student (and 

2 spouse) and student’s parents under the Alaska Na3 tive Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) 

4 or the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980 

5 (25 U.S.C. 1721 et seq.).’’. 

6 (l) DEFINITIONS.—The Higher Education Act of 

7 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is amended— 

8 (1) by inserting after section 479C the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 479D. SPECIAL RULES FOR INDEPENDENT STUDENTS. 

11 ‘‘(a) DETERMINATION PROCESS FOR UNACCOM12 PANIED YOUTH.—In making a determination of independ13 ence under section 480(d)(8), a financial aid adminis14 trator shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) consider documentation of the student’s 

16 circumstance provided by an individual described by 

17 this subparagraph to be acceptable in the absence of 

18 documented conflicting information, such individuals 

19 include— 

20 ‘‘(A) a local education agency homeless li21 aison, designated pursuant to section 

22 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the McKinney-Vento Home23 less Assistance Act or a designee of the liaison; 

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1 reach program, or other program serving indi2 viduals who are homeless or a designee of the 

3 director; 

4 ‘‘(C) the director of a Federal TRIO pro5 gram or a Gaining Early Awareness and Readi6 ness for Undergraduate program under chapter 

7 1 or 2 of subpart 2 of part A or a designee of 

8 the director; or 

9 ‘‘(D) by a financial aid administrator at 

10 another institution who documented the stu11 dent’s circumstance in a prior award year; 

12 ‘‘(2) if a student is unable to provide docu13 mentation from any individual under paragraph (1), 

14 make a case-by-case determination, which shall be— 

15 ‘‘(A) based on a written statement from or 

16 a documented interview with the student which 

17 confirms that the student is homeless (as such 

18 term is defined in section 725 of the McKinney19 Vento Homeless Assistance Act), or unaccom20 panied, at risk of homelessness, and self-sup21 porting; and 

22 ‘‘(B) made independent from the reasons 

23 that the student is homeless (as such term is 

24 defined in section 725 of the McKinney-Vento 

25 Homeless Assistance Act), or unaccompanied, 


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1 at risk of homelessness, and self-supporting; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(3) consider a determination made under this 

4 paragraph as distinct from a determination of inde5 pendence under section 480(d)(9). 

6 ‘‘(b) DOCUMENTATION PROCESS FOR FOSTER CARE

7 YOUTH.—If an institution requires that a student provide 

8 documentation that they were in foster care when the stu9 dent was age 13 or older, a financial aid administrator 

10 shall consider any of the following as adequate documenta11 tion, in the absence of documented conflicting information: 

12 ‘‘(1) Submission of a court order or official 

13 State documentation that the student received Fed14 eral or State support in foster care. 

15 ‘‘(2) A documented phone call, written state16 ment, or verifiable electronic data match, which con17 firms the student was in foster care at an applicable 

18 age, from— 

19 ‘‘(A) a State or tribal agency administering 

20 a program under part B or E of title IV of the 

21 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq. and 

22 670 et seq.); 

23 ‘‘(B) a State Medicaid agency; or 

24 ‘‘(C) a public or private foster care placing 

25 agency or foster care facility or placement. 


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1 ‘‘(3) A documented phone call or a written 

2 statement from an attorney, a guardian ad litem, or 

3 a Court Appointed Special Advocate that confirms 

4 that the student was in foster care at an applicable 

5 age, and documents the person’s relationship to the 

6 student. 

7 ‘‘(4) Verification of the student’s eligibility for 

8 an education and training voucher under the John 

9 H. Chafee Foster Care Program under section 477 

10 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 677). 

11 ‘‘(c) TIMING.—A determination of independence 

12 under paragraphs (2), (8) or (9) of section 480(d) for a 

13 student— 

14 ‘‘(1) shall be made as quickly as practicable; 

15 ‘‘(2) may be made as early as the year before 

16 the award year for which the student initially sub17 mits an application; and 

18 ‘‘(3) shall be made not later than during the 

19 award year for which the student initially submits 

20 an application. 

21 ‘‘(d) USE OF EARLIER DETERMINATIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) EARLIER DETERMINATION BY THE INSTI23 TUTION.—Any student who is determined to be inde24 pendent under paragraph (2), (8) or (9) of section 

25 480(d) for a preceding award year at an institution 


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•S 4247 IS

1 shall be presumed to be independent for each subse2 quent award year at the same institution unless— 

3 ‘‘(A) the student informs the institution 

4 that circumstances have changed; or 

5 ‘‘(B) the institution has specific conflicting 

6 information about the student’s independence, 

7 and has informed the student of this informa8 tion. 

9 ‘‘(2) EARLIER DETERMINATION BY ANOTHER

10 INSTITUTION.— 

11 ‘‘(A) SIMPLIFYING THE DEPENDENCY

12 OVERRIDE PROCESS.—A financial aid adminis13 trator may make a determination of independ14 ence under section 480(d)(9), based upon a 

15 documented determination of independence that 

16 was previously made by another financial aid 

17 administrator under such paragraph in the 

18 same award year. 

19 ‘‘(e) RETENTION OF DOCUMENTS.—A financial aid 

20 administrator shall retain all documents related to the de21 termination of independence under paragraphs (2) or (8) 

22 of section 480(d), including documented interviews.’’; and 

23 (2) by striking section 480 and inserting the 

24 following: 


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•S 4247 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 480. DEFINITIONS. 

2 ‘‘In this part: 

3 ‘‘(a) TOTAL INCOME.—The term ‘total income’ 

4 means the amount equal to adjusted gross income for the 

5 second preceding tax year plus untaxed income and bene6 fits for the second preceding tax year minus excludable 

7 income for the second preceding tax year. The factors used 

8 to determine total income shall be derived from the Fed9 eral income tax return, if available, except for the appli10 cant’s ability to indicate a qualified rollover in the second 

11 preceding tax year as outlined in section 483. 

12 ‘‘(b) UNTAXED INCOME AND BENEFITS.—The term 

13 ‘untaxed income and benefits’ means— 

14 ‘‘(1) deductions and payments to self-employed 

15 SEP, SIMPLE, Keogh, and other qualified indi16 vidual retirement accounts excluded from income for 

17 Federal tax purposes, except such term shall not in18 clude payments made to tax-deferred pension and 

19 retirement plans, paid directly or withheld from 

20 earnings, that are not delineated on the Federal tax 

21 return; 

22 ‘‘(2) tax-exempt interest income; 

23 ‘‘(3) untaxed portion of individual retirement 

24 account distributions; and 

25 ‘‘(4) untaxed portion of pensions. 


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1 ‘‘(c) VETERAN.—The term ‘veteran’ has the meaning 

2 given the term in section 101(2) of title 38, United States 

3 Code. 

4 ‘‘(d) INDEPENDENT STUDENTS AND DETERMINA5 TIONS.— The term ‘independent’, when used with respect 

6 to a student, means any individual who— 

7 ‘‘(1) is 24 years of age or older by December 

8 31 of the award year; 

9 ‘‘(2) is, or was at any time when the individual 

10 was 13 years of age or older; 

11 ‘‘(A) an orphan; 

12 ‘‘(B) ward of the court; or 

13 ‘‘(C) in foster care; 

14 ‘‘(3) is, or was immediately prior to attaining 

15 the age of majority, an emancipated minor or in 

16 legal guardianship as determined by a court of com17 petent jurisdiction in the individual’s State of legal 

18 residence; 

19 ‘‘(4) is a veteran of the Armed Forces of the 

20 United States (as defined in subsection (c)) or is 

21 currently serving on active duty in the Armed Forces 

22 for other than training purposes; 

23 ‘‘(5) is a graduate or professional student; 

24 ‘‘(6) is married and not separated; 

25 ‘‘(7) has legal dependents other than a spouse; 


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1 ‘‘(8) an unaccompanied youth 23 years of age 

2 or younger who is homeless (as such term is defined 

3 in section 725 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless As4 sistance Act), or unaccompanied, at risk of home5 lessness, and self-supporting, or— 

6 ‘‘(9) is a student for whom a financial aid ad7 ministrator makes a documented determination of 

8 independence by reason of other unusual cir9 cumstances as described under section 479A(c) in 

10 which the student is unable to contact a parent or 

11 where contact with parents poses a risk to such stu12 dent, which includes circumstances of— 

13 ‘‘(A) human trafficking, as described in 

14 the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 

15 (22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.); 

16 ‘‘(B) legally granted refugee or asylum sta17 tus; 

18 ‘‘(C) parental abandonment or estrange19 ment; or 

20 ‘‘(D) parental incarceration. 

21 ‘‘(e) EXCLUDABLE INCOME.—The term ‘excludable 

22 income’ means an amount equal to the education credits 

23 described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 25A(a) of 

24 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

25 ‘‘(f) ASSETS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘assets’ means 

2 cash on hand, including the amount in checking and 

3 savings accounts, time deposits, money market 

4 funds, trusts, stocks, bonds, derivatives, other secu5 rities, mutual funds, tax shelters, qualified education 

6 benefits (except as provided in paragraph (3)), the 

7 annual amount of child support received and the net 

8 value of real estate, income producing property, and 

9 business and farm assets, determined in accordance 

10 with section 478(c). 

11 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSIONS.—With respect to determina12 tions of need under this title, the term ‘assets’ shall 

13 not include the net value of the family’s principal 

14 place of residence. 

15 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED EDUCATION BENEFIT.—A 

16 qualified education benefit shall be considered an 

17 asset of— 

18 ‘‘(A) the student if the student is an inde19 pendent student; or 

20 ‘‘(B) the parent if the student is a depend21 ent student and the account is designated for 

22 the student, regardless of whether the owner of 

23 the account is the student or the parent. 

24 ‘‘(g) NET ASSETS.—The term ‘net assets’ means the 

25 market value at the time of application of the assets (as 


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1 defined in subsection (f)), minus the outstanding liabilities 

2 or indebtedness against the assets. 

3 ‘‘(h) TREATMENT OF INCOME TAXES PAID TO

4 OTHER JURISDICTIONS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) The tax on income paid to the Govern6 ments of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, 

7 American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, or the Com8 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Re9 public of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States 

10 of Micronesia, or Palau under the laws applicable to 

11 those jurisdictions, or the comparable tax paid to the 

12 central government of a foreign country, shall be 

13 treated as Federal income taxes. 

14 ‘‘(2) References in this part to the Internal 

15 Revenue Code of 1986, Federal income tax forms, 

16 and the Internal Revenue Service shall, for purposes 

17 of the tax described in paragraph (1), be treated as 

18 references to the corresponding laws, tax forms, and 

19 tax collection agencies of those jurisdictions, respec20 tively, subject to such adjustments as the Secretary 

21 may provide by regulation. 

22 ‘‘(i) OTHER FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

23 ‘‘(1) For purposes of determining a student’s 

24 eligibility for funds under this title, other financial 

25 assistance not received under this title shall include 


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1 all scholarships, grants, loans, or other assistance 

2 known to the institution at the time the determina3 tion of the student’s need is made, including na4 tional service educational awards or post-service ben5 efits under title I of the National and Community 

6 Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12511 et seq.). 

7 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a tax 

8 credit taken under section 25A of the Internal Rev9 enue Code of 1986, or a distribution that is not in10 cludable in gross income under section 529 of such 

11 Code, under another prepaid tuition plan offered by 

12 a State, or under a Coverdell education savings ac13 count under section 530 of such Code, shall not be 

14 treated as other financial assistance for purposes of 

15 section 471(a)(3). 

16 ‘‘(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) and sec17 tion 472, assistance not received under this title may 

18 be excluded from both other financial assistance and 

19 cost of attendance, if that assistance is provided by 

20 a State and is designated by such State to offset a 

21 specific component of the cost of attendance. If that 

22 assistance is excluded from either other financial as23 sistance or cost of attendance, it shall be excluded 

24 from both. 


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1 ‘‘(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), payments 

2 made and services provided under part E of title IV 

3 of the Social Security Act to or on behalf of any 

4 child or youth over whom the State agency has re5 sponsibility for placement, care, or supervision, in6 cluding the value of vouchers for education and 

7 training and amounts expended for room and board 

8 for youth who are not in foster care but are receiv9 ing services under section 477 of such Act, shall not 

10 be treated as other financial assistance for purposes 

11 of section 471(a)(3). 

12 ‘‘(5) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), emergency 

13 financial assistance in an amount less than $1,500 

14 provided to the student for unexpected expenses that 

15 are a component of the student’s cost of attendance, 

16 and not otherwise considered when the determina17 tion of the student’s need is made, shall not be 

18 treated as other financial assistance for purposes of 

19 section 471(a)(3). 

20 ‘‘(j) DEPENDENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) Except as otherwise provided, the term 

22 ‘dependent of the parent’ means the student who is 

23 deemed to be a dependent students when applying 

24 for aid under this title, and any other person who 

25 lives with and receives more than one-half of their 


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1 support from the parent (or parents) and will con2 tinue to receive more than half of their support from 

3 the parent (or parents) during the award year. 

4 ‘‘(2) Except as otherwise provided, the term 

5 ‘dependent of the student’ means the student’s de6 pendent children and other persons (except the stu7 dent’s spouse) who live with and receive more than 

8 one-half of their support from the student and will 

9 continue to receive more than half of their support 

10 from the student during the award year. 

11 ‘‘(k) FAMILY SIZE.— 

12 ‘‘(1) DEPENDENT STUDENT.—Except as pro13 vided in paragraph (3), in determining family size in 

14 the case of a dependent student— 

15 ‘‘(A) if the parents are not divorced or sep16 arated, family members include the student’s 

17 parents, and any dependent (within the mean18 ing of section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code 

19 of 1986 or an eligible individual for purposes of 

20 the credit under section 32 of the Internal Rev21 enue Code of 1986) of the student’s parents for 

22 the taxable year used in determining the 

23 amount of need of the student for financial as24 sistance under this title; 


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1 ‘‘(B) if the parents are divorced or sepa2 rated, family members include the parent whose 

3 income is included in computing available in4 come and any dependent (within the meaning of 

5 section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

6 1986 or an eligible individual for purposes of 

7 the credit under section 32 of the Internal Rev8 enue Code of 1986) of that parent for the tax9 able year used in determining the amount of 

10 need of the student for financial assistance 

11 under this title; 

12 ‘‘(C) if the parents are divorced and the 

13 parents whose income is so included is remar14 ried, or if the parent was a widow or widower 

15 who has remarried, family members also in16 clude, in addition to those individuals referred 

17 to in paragraph (B), and any dependent (within 

18 the meaning of section 152 of the Internal Rev19 enue Code of 1986 or an eligible individual for 

20 purposes of the credit under section 32 of the 

21 Internal Revenue Code of 1986) of the new 

22 spouse for the taxable year used in determining 

23 the amount of need of the student for financial 

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1 come is included in determining the parent’s 

2 adjusted available income; and 

3 ‘‘(D) if the student is not considered as a 

4 dependent (within the meaning of section 152 

5 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or an eli6 gible individual for purposes of the credit under 

7 section 32 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

8 1986) of any parent, the parents’ family size 

9 shall include the student and the family mem10 bers applicable to the parents’ situation under 

11 subparagraph (A), (B), or (C). 

12 ‘‘(2) INDEPENDENT STUDENT.—Except as pro13 vided in paragraph (3), in determining family size in 

14 the case of an independent student— 

15 ‘‘(A) family members include the student, 

16 the student’s spouse, and any dependent (within 

17 the meaning of section 152 of the Internal Rev18 enue Code of 1986 or an eligible individual for 

19 purposes of the credit under section 32 of the 

20 Internal Revenue Code of 1986) of that student 

21 for the taxable year used in determining the 

22 amount of need of the student for financial as23 sistance under this title; and 

24 ‘‘(B) if the student is divorced or sepa25 rated, family members do not include the 


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•S 4247 IS

1 spouse (or ex-spouse), but do include the stu2 dent and any dependent (within the meaning of 

3 section 152 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

4 1986 or an eligible individual for purposes of 

5 the credit under section 32 of the Internal Rev6 enue Code of 1986) of that student for the tax7 able year used in determining the amount of 

8 need of the student for financial assistance 

9 under this title. 

10 ‘‘(3) PROCEDURES AND MODIFICATION.—The 

11 Secretary shall provide procedures for determining 

12 family size in cases in which information for the tax13 able year used in determining the amount of need of 

14 the student for financial assistance under this title 

15 has changed or does not accurately reflect the appli16 cant’s current household size. 

17 ‘‘(l) BUSINESS ASSETS.—The term ‘business assets’ 

18 means property that is used in the operation of a trade 

19 or business, including real estate, inventories, buildings, 

20 machinery, and other equipment, patents, franchise rights, 

21 and copyrights.’’. 

22 (m) FAFSA.—Section 483 of the Higher Education 

23 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1090) is amended to read as fol24 lows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 483. FREE APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID. 

2 ‘‘(a) SIMPLIFIED APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL STU3 DENT FINANCIAL AID.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each individual seeking to 

5 apply for Federal financial aid under this title for 

6 any award year shall file a free application with the 

7 Secretary, known as the ‘Free Application for Fed8 eral Student Aid’, to determine eligibility for such 

9 aid, as described in paragraph (2), and in accord10 ance with section 479. 

11 ‘‘(2) FREE APPLICATION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

13 make available, for the purposes of paragraph 

14 (1), a free application to determine the eligi15 bility of a student for Federal financial aid 

16 under this title. 

17 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION REQUIRED BY THE AP18 PLICANT.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The applicant, 

20 and, if necessary, the parents or spouse of 

21 the applicant, shall provide the Secretary 

22 with the applicable information described 

23 in clause (ii) in order to be eligible for 

24 Federal financial aid under this title. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) INFORMATION TO BE PRO2 VIDED.—The information described in this 

3 clause is the following: 

4 ‘‘(I) Name. 

5 ‘‘(II) Contact information, in6 cluding address, phone number, email 

7 address, or other electronic address. 

8 ‘‘(III) Social security number. 

9 ‘‘(IV) Date of birth. 

10 ‘‘(V) Marital status. 

11 ‘‘(VI) Citizenship status, includ12 ing alien registration number, if appli13 cable. 

14 ‘‘(VII) Sex. 

15 ‘‘(VIII) State of legal residence 

16 and date of residency. 

17 ‘‘(IX) The following information 

18 on secondary school completion— 

19 ‘‘(aa) Name and location of 

20 the high school from which the 

21 applicant received, or will receive 

22 prior to the period of enrollment 

23 for which aid is sought, a regular 

24 high school diploma; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) name and location of 

2 the entity from which the appli3 cant received, or will receive prior 

4 to the period of enrollment for 

5 which aid is sought, a recognized 

6 equivalent of a regular high 

7 school diploma; or 

8 ‘‘(cc) if the applicant com9 pleted or will complete prior to 

10 the period of enrollment for 

11 which aid is sought, a secondary 

12 school education in a home school 

13 setting that is treated as a home 

14 school or private school under 

15 State law. 

16 ‘‘(X) Name of each institution 

17 where the applicant intends to apply 

18 for enrollment or continue enrollment. 

19 ‘‘(XI) Year in school for period 

20 of enrollment for which aid is sought, 

21 including whether applicant will have 

22 finished first bachelor’s degree prior 

23 to the period of enrollment for which 

24 aid is sought. 


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1 ‘‘(XII) Whether one or both of 

2 the applicant’s parents attended col3 lege. 

4 ‘‘(XIII) Any required asset infor5 mation, unless exempt under section 

6 479, in which the applicant shall indi7 cate— 

8 ‘‘(aa) the annual amount of 

9 child support received, if applica10 ble; and 

11 ‘‘(bb) all required asset in12 formation not described in item 

13 (aa). 

14 ‘‘(XIV) The number of members 

15 of the applicant’s family who will also 

16 be enrolled in an eligible institution of 

17 higher education on at least a half18 time basis during the same enrollment 

19 period as the applicant. 

20 ‘‘(XV) If the applicant meets any 

21 of the following designations: 

22 ‘‘(aa) Homeless, at risk of 

23 being homeless, or an unaccom24 panied youth. 

25 ‘‘(bb) Emancipated minor. 


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1 ‘‘(cc) In legal guardianship. 

2 ‘‘(dd) Dependent ward of 

3 the court at any time since the 

4 applicant turned 13. 

5 ‘‘(ee) In foster care at any 

6 time since the applicant turned 

7 13. 

8 ‘‘(ff) If both parents have 

9 died since the applicant turned 

10 13. 

11 ‘‘(gg) Is a veteran of the 

12 Armed Forces of the United 

13 States or is serving (on the date 

14 of the application) on active duty 

15 in the Armed Forces for other 

16 than training purposes. 

17 ‘‘(hh) Has a dependent child 

18 or relative and is under the age 

19 of 24. 

20 ‘‘(ii) Does not have access to 

21 parental income due to an un22 usual circumstance in accordance 

23 with section 480(d)(9). 

24 ‘‘(XVI) If the applicant receives 

25 or has received any of the following 


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1 means-tested Federal benefits within 

2 the last two years: 

3 ‘‘(aa) The supplemental se4 curity income program under 

5 title XVI of the Social Security 

6 Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.). 

7 ‘‘(bb) The supplemental nu8 trition assistance program under 

9 the Food and Nutrition Act of 

10 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.). 

11 ‘‘(cc) The free and reduced 

12 price school lunch program estab13 lished under the Richard B. Rus14 sell National School Lunch Act 

15 (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.). 

16 ‘‘(dd) The program of block 

17 grants for States for temporary 

18 assistance for needy families es19 tablished under part A of title IV 

20 of the Social Security Act (42 

21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). 

22 ‘‘(ee) The special supple23 mental nutrition program for 

24 women, infants, and children es25 tablished by section 17 of the 


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•S 4247 IS

1 Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 

2 U.S.C. 1786). 

3 ‘‘(ff) The Medicaid program 

4 under title XIX of the Social Se5 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et 

6 seq.). 

7 ‘‘(gg) Federal housing as8 sistance programs, including ten9 ant-based assistance under sec10 tion 8(o) of the United States 

11 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

12 1437f(o)), and public housing, as 

13 defined in section 3(b)(1) of such 

14 Act (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(1)). 

15 ‘‘(hh) Any other means-test16 ed program determined by the 

17 Secretary to be appropriate. 

18 ‘‘(XVII) If the applicant, or, if 

19 necessary, the parents or spouse of 

20 the applicant, reported receiving tax 

21 exempt payments from an individual 

22 retirement plan (as defined in section 

23 7701 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

24 1986) distribution or from pensions or 

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1 formation as to how much of the indi2 vidual retirement plan distribution or 

3 pension or annuity disbursement was 

4 a qualified rollover. 

5 ‘‘(iii) PROHIBITION AGAINST RE6 QUESTING INFORMATION MORE THAN

7 ONCE.—Any information requested during 

8 the process of creating an account for com9 pleting the free application under this sub10 section, shall not be required a second time 

11 for the same award year, or in a duplica12 tive manner, when completing such free 

13 application except in the case of an un14 usual situation. 

15 ‘‘(iv) CHANGE IN FAMILY SIZE.—The 

16 Secretary shall provide a process by which 

17 an applicant shall confirm the accuracy of 

18 family size or update the family size with 

19 respect to such applicant for purposes of 

20 determining the need of such applicant for 

21 financial assistance under this title based 

22 on a change in family size from the tax 

23 year data used for such determination. 


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1 ‘‘(v) SINGLE QUESTION FOR HOME2 LESS STATUS.—The Secretary shall ensure 

3 that— 

4 ‘‘(I) on the form developed under 

5 this section for which the information 

6 is applicable, there is a single, easily 

7 understood screening question to iden8 tify an applicant who is an unaccom9 panied homeless child or youth (as 

10 such term is defined in section 725 of 

11 the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist12 ance Act) or an unaccompanied youth 

13 who is self-supporting and at risk of 

14 homelessness; and 

15 ‘‘(II) such question is distinct 

16 from those relating to an individual 

17 who does not have access to parental 

18 income due to an unusual cir19 cumstance. 

20 ‘‘(vi) ADJUSTMENTS.—The Secretary 

21 shall disclose on the FAFSA that the stu22 dent may, on a case-by-case basis, qualify 

23 for an adjustment under section 479A to 

24 the cost of attendance or the values of the 


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1 data items required to calculate the stu2 dent aid index for the student or parent. 

3 ‘‘(C) NOTIFICATION OF REQUEST FOR TAX

4 RETURN INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall 

5 advise students and borrowers who submit an 

6 application for Federal student financial aid 

7 under this title (as well as parents and spouses 

8 who sign such an application or request or a 

9 Master Promissory Note on behalf of those stu10 dents and borrowers) of the authority of the 

11 Secretary to request that the Internal Revenue 

12 Service disclose their tax return information as 

13 described in section 494. 

14 ‘‘(D) AUTHORIZATIONS AVAILABLE TO THE

15 APPLICANT.— 

16 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION TO RELEASE

17 AND TRANSMIT TO INSTITUTION.—An ap18 plicant and, if necessary, the parents or 

19 spouse of the applicant shall provide the 

20 Secretary with authorization to release and 

21 transmit to an institution, as specified by 

22 the applicant, in order for the applicant’s 

23 eligibility for Federal financial aid pro24 grams to be determined, the following: 


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1 ‘‘(I) Information described under 

2 section 6103(l)(13) of the Internal 

3 Revenue Code of 1986. 

4 ‘‘(II) All information provided by 

5 the applicant on the application de6 scribed by this subsection to deter7 mine the applicant’s eligibility for 

8 Federal financial aid under this title 

9 and for the application, award, and 

10 administration of such Federal finan11 cial aid. 

12 ‘‘(ii) AUTHORIZATION TO RELEASE

13 AND TRANSMIT TO STATE AND INSTITU14 TION.— 

15 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—An applicant 

16 and, if necessary, the parents or 

17 spouse of the applicant may provide 

18 the Secretary with authorization to re19 lease and transmit to the State of res20 idence of the applicant and to any in21 stitution specified by the applicant, in 

22 order for the applicant’s eligibility for 

23 State student financial aid programs 

24 or institution-based student financial 


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1 aid programs to be determined, the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(aa) Information described 

4 under section 6103(l)(13) of the 

5 Internal Revenue Code of 1986. 

6 ‘‘(bb) All information pro7 vided by the applicant on the ap8 plication described by this sub9 section for the application, 

10 award, and administration of fi11 nancial aid by a State or an in12 stitution of higher education. 

13 ‘‘(II) SPECIAL RULE.—An insti14 tution to which an applicant selects to 

15 release and transmit information 

16 under subclause (I) shall not be dis17 closed to any other institution. 

18 ‘‘(iii) AUTHORIZATION TO RELEASE

19 AND TRANSMIT TO BENEFITS PRO20 GRAMS.—An applicant and, if necessary, 

21 the parents or spouse of the applicant may 

22 provide the Secretary with authorization to 

23 release and transmit to means-tested Fed24 eral benefit programs, as defined in section 

25 473(e), the following: 


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•S 4247 IS

1 ‘‘(I) Information described under 

2 section 6103(l)(13) of the Internal 

3 Revenue Code of 1986. 

4 ‘‘(II) All information provided by 

5 the applicant on the application de6 scribed by this subsection to deter7 mine the applicant’s eligibility for the 

8 application, award, and administration 

9 of such means-tested Federal benefits 

10 programs. 

11 ‘‘(E) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.—Upon 

12 receiving— 

13 ‘‘(i) an application under this section, 

14 the Secretary shall, as soon as practicable, 

15 perform the necessary functions with the 

16 Commissioner of Internal Revenue to cal17 culate the applicant’s student aid index 

18 and scheduled award for a Federal Pell 

19 Grant, if applicable, assuming full-time en20 rollment for an academic year, and note to 

21 the applicant the assumptions relationship 

22 to the scheduled award; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) an authorization under subpara24 graph (D), the Secretary shall, as soon as 

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1 mation described under such subparagraph 

2 to the State of residence of the applicant 

3 or an institution, as specified by the appli4 cant, in order for the applicant’s eligibility 

5 for Federal, State, or institutional student 

6 financial aid programs to be estimated or 

7 determined. 

8 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION TO BE SUPPLIED BY THE

9 SECRETARY OF EDUCATION.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Upon receiving and 

11 timely processing a free application that con12 tains the information described in paragraph 

13 (2), the Secretary shall provide to the applicant 

14 (and the parents of a dependent student appli15 cant, or spouse of the independent student ap16 plicant, if applicable) the following information 

17 based on full-time attendance for an academic 

18 year: 

19 ‘‘(i) The estimated dollar amount of a 

20 Federal Pell Grant scheduled award for 

21 which the applicant is eligible for such 

22 award year. 

23 ‘‘(ii) Information on other types of 

24 Federal financial aid for which the appli25 cant may be eligible (including situations 


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•S 4247 IS

1 in which the applicant could qualify for 

2 150 percent of a schedule Federal Pell 

3 Grant award and loans made under this 

4 title) and how the applicant can find addi5 tional information regarding such aid. 

6 ‘‘(iii) Information regarding each in7 stitution selected by the applicant in ac8 cordance with paragraph (2)(B)(ii)(X), in9 cluding the following: 

10 ‘‘(I) The following information, 

11 as collected through the Integrated 

12 Postsecondary Education Data Sys13 tem or a successor Federal data sys14 tem as designated by the Secretary: 

15 ‘‘(aa) Net price by income 

16 quintile. 

17 ‘‘(bb) Median debt of stu18 dents upon completion. 

19 ‘‘(cc) Graduation rate. 

20 ‘‘(dd) Retention rate. 

21 ‘‘(ee) Transfer rate, if avail22 able. 

23 ‘‘(II) Institutional default rate, 

24 as calculated under section 435. 


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1 ‘‘(iv) If the student is eligible for a 

2 student aid index of less than or equal to 

3 zero under section 473 but has not indi4 cated that they receive Federal means-test5 ed benefits, a notification of the Federal 

6 means-tested benefits for which they may 

7 be eligible. 

8 ‘‘(v) Information on education tax 

9 credits described in paragraphs (1) and (2) 

10 of section 25A(a) of the Internal Revenue 

11 Code of 1986. 

12 ‘‘(vi) If the individual identified as a 

13 veteran, or as serving (on the date of the 

14 application) on active duty in the Armed 

15 Forces for other than training purposes, 

16 information on benefits administered by 

17 the Department of Veteran Affairs or De18 partment of Defense, respectively. 

19 ‘‘(vii) If applicable, the applicant’s 

20 current outstanding balance of loans under 

21 this title. 

22 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION PROVIDED TO THE

23 STATE.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

25 shall provide, with authorization from the 


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•S 4247 IS

1 applicant in accordance with paragraph 

2 (2)(D)(ii), to a State agency administering 

3 State-based financial aid and serving the 

4 applicant’s State of residence, the informa5 tion described under section 6103(l)(13) of 

6 the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and in7 formation described in paragraph (2)(B) 

8 for the application, award, and administra9 tion of grants and other aid provided di10 rectly from the State to be determined by 

11 such State. Such information shall include 

12 the list of institutions provided by the ap13 plicant on the application. 

14 ‘‘(ii) USE OF INFORMATION.—A State 

15 agency administering State-based financial 

16 aid— 

17 ‘‘(I) shall use the information 

18 provided under clause (i) solely for the 

19 application, award, and administration 

20 of State-based financial aid for which 

21 the applicant is eligible and for State 

22 agency research that does not release 

23 any individually identifiable informa24 tion on any applicant to promote colVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:56 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00093 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4247.IS S4247

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1 lege attendance, persistence, and com2 pletion; 

3 ‘‘(II) may use identifying infor4 mation for student applicants to de5 termine whether or not a graduating 

6 secondary student has filed the appli7 cation in coordination with local edu8 cational agencies or secondary schools 

9 to encourage students to complete the 

10 application; and 

11 ‘‘(III) shall not share application 

12 information with any other entity 

13 without the explicit written consent of 

14 the applicant, except as provided in 

15 subclause (II). 

16 ‘‘(iii) LIMITATION ON CONSENT PROC17 ESS.—A State may provide a consent proc18 ess whereby an applicant may elect to 

19 share the information described in clause 

20 (i) through explicit written consent to Fed21 eral, State, or local government agencies or 

22 tribal organizations to assist such appli23 cant in applying for and receiving Federal, 

24 State, or local government assistance, or 

25 tribal assistance for any component of the 


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1 applicant’s cost of attendance which may 

2 include financial assistance or non-mone3 tary assistance. 

4 ‘‘(iv) PROHIBITION.—Any entity that 

5 receives applicant information under clause 

6 (iii) shall not sell, share, or otherwise use 

7 applicant information other than for the 

8 purposes outlined in clause (iii). 

9 ‘‘(C) INFORMATION PROVIDED TO THE IN10 STITUTION.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

12 shall provide, with authorization from the 

13 applicant in accordance with paragraph 

14 (2)(D)(ii), to each institution selected by 

15 the applicant on the application, the infor16 mation described under section 6103(l)(13) 

17 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and 

18 information described in paragraph (2)(B) 

19 for the application, award, and administra20 tion of grants and other aid provided di21 rectly from the institution to be deter22 mined by such institution and grants and 

23 other aid provided directly from the State 

24 or Federal Government. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) USE OF INFORMATION.—An in2 stitution— 

3 ‘‘(I) shall use the information 

4 provided to it under clause (i) solely 

5 for the application, award, and admin6 istration of financial aid to the appli7 cant, and for institutional research 

8 that does not release any individually 

9 identifiable information on any appli10 cant, to promote college attendance, 

11 persistence and completion; and 

12 ‘‘(II) shall not share such infor13 mation with any other entity without 

14 the explicit written consent of the ap15 plicant. 

16 ‘‘(iii) LIMITATION ON CONSENT PROC17 ESS.—An institution may provide a con18 sent process whereby an applicant can 

19 elect to share the information described in 

20 clause (i) with explicit written consent to a 

21 scholarship granting organization, includ22 ing a tribal organization (defined in section 

23 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 

24 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

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1 ernment agencies or tribal organizations to 

2 assist the applicant in applying for and re3 ceiving private assistance, or Federal, 

4 State, local government assistance, or trib5 al assistance for any component of the ap6 plicant’s cost of attendance which may in7 clude financial assistance or non-monetary 

8 assistance. 

9 ‘‘(iv) PROHIBITION.—Any entity that 

10 receives applicant information under clause 

11 (iii) shall not sell, share, or otherwise use 

12 applicant information other than for the 

13 purposes outlined in clause (iii). 

14 ‘‘(4) DEVELOPMENT OF FORM AND INFORMA15 TION EXCHANGE.—Prior to the design of the free 

16 application under this subsection, the Secretary 

17 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, on an an18 nual basis— 

19 ‘‘(A) consult with stakeholders to gather 

20 information about innovations and technology 

21 available to— 

22 ‘‘(i) ensure an efficient and effective 

23 process; 

24 ‘‘(ii) mitigate unintended con25 sequences; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) determine the best practices for 

2 outreach to students and families during 

3 the transition to the streamlined process 

4 for the determination of Federal financial 

5 aid and Federal Pell Grant eligibility while 

6 reducing the data burden on applicants 

7 and families; and 

8 ‘‘(B) solicit public comments for the for9 mat of the free application that provides for 

10 adequate time to incorporate feedback prior to 

11 development of the application for the suc12 ceeding award year. 

13 ‘‘(5) NO ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUESTS

14 PERMITTED.—In carrying out this subsection, the 

15 Secretary may not require additional information to 

16 be submitted by an applicant (or the parents or 

17 spouse of an applicant) for Federal financial aid 

18 through other requirements or reporting, except as 

19 required under a process or procedure exercised in 

20 accordance with the authority under section 479A. 

21 ‘‘(6) STATE-RUN PROGRAMS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

23 conduct outreach to States in order to research 

24 the benefits to students of States relying solely 

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1 thorization by the applicant, as a result of an 

2 application for aid under this subsection for de3 termining the eligibility of the applicant for 

4 State provided financial aid. 

5 ‘‘(B) SECRETARIAL REVIEW.—If a State 

6 determines that there is a need for additional 

7 data elements beyond those provided pursuant 

8 to this subsection for determining the eligibility 

9 of an applicant for State provided financial aid, 

10 the State shall forward a list of those additional 

11 data elements determined necessary, but not 

12 provided by virtue of the application under this 

13 subsection, to the Secretary. The Secretary 

14 shall make readily available to the public 

15 through the Department’s websites and other 

16 means— 

17 ‘‘(i) a list of States that do not re18 quire additional financial information sepa19 rate from the Free Application for Federal 

20 Student Aid and do not require asset infor21 mation from students who qualify for the 

22 exemption from asset reporting under sec23 tion 479 for the purposes of awarding 

24 State scholarships and grant aid; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a list of States that require asset 

2 information from students who qualify for 

3 the exemption from asset reporting under 

4 section 479 for the purposes of awarding 

5 State scholarships and grant aid; 

6 ‘‘(iii) a list of States that have indi7 cated that they require additional financial 

8 information separate from the Free Appli9 cation for Federal Student Aid for pur10 poses of awarding State scholarships and 

11 grant aid; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) with the publication of the lists 

13 under this subparagraph, information 

14 about additional resources available to ap15 plicants, including links to such State 

16 websites. 

17 ‘‘(7) INSTITUTION-RUN FINANCIAL AID.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

19 conduct outreach to institutions of higher edu20 cation to describe the benefits to students of re21 lying solely on the financial data made avail22 able, upon authorization for release by the ap23 plicant, as a result of an application for aid 

24 under this subsection for determining the eligi25 bility of the applicant for institutional financial 


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1 aid. The Secretary shall make readily available 

2 to the public through its websites and other 

3 means— 

4 ‘‘(i) a list of institutions that do not 

5 require additional financial information 

6 separate from the Free Application for 

7 Federal Student Aid and do not require 

8 asset information from students who qual9 ify for the exemption from asset reporting 

10 under section 479 for the purpose of 

11 awarding institution-run financial aid; 

12 ‘‘(ii) a list of institutions that require 

13 asset information from students who qual14 ify for the exemption from asset reporting 

15 under section 479 for the purpose of 

16 awarding institution-run financial aid; 

17 ‘‘(iii) a list of institutions that require 

18 additional financial information separate 

19 from the Free Application for Federal Stu20 dent Aid for the purpose of awarding insti21 tution-run financial aid; and 

22 ‘‘(iv) with the publication of the list in 

23 clause (iii), information about additional 

24 resources available to applicants. 


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1 ‘‘(8) SECURITY OF DATA.—The Secretary shall, 

2 in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, 

3 take all steps necessary to— 

4 ‘‘(A) safeguard the data required to be 

5 transmitted for the purpose of this section be6 tween Federal agencies and to States and insti7 tutions of higher education; 

8 ‘‘(B) secure the transmittal of such data; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(C) provide guidance to States and insti11 tutions of higher education regarding their obli12 gation to ensure the security of the data pro13 vided under this section. 

14 ‘‘(9) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one 

16 year after the date of enactment of the Student 

17 Loan Repayment and FAFSA Simplification 

18 Act, the Secretary shall report to the Com19 mittee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pen20 sions of the Senate and the Committee on Edu21 cation and Labor of the House of Representa22 tives on the progress of the Secretary in car23 rying out this subsection, including planning 

24 and stakeholder consultation. Such report shall 

25 include— 


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1 ‘‘(i) benchmarks for implementation; 

2 ‘‘(ii) entities and organization that the 

3 Secretary consulted; 

4 ‘‘(iii) system requirements for such 

5 implementation and how they will be ad6 dressed; 

7 ‘‘(iv) any areas of concern and poten8 tial problem issues uncovered that may 

9 hamper such implementation; and 

10 ‘‘(v) solutions determined to address 

11 such issues. 

12 ‘‘(B) QUARTERLY UPDATES.—The Sec13 retary shall provide updates to the Committees 

14 described in subparagraph (A)— 

15 ‘‘(i) as to the progress and planning 

16 described in subparagraph (A) prior to im17 plementation of the Free Application for 

18 Federal Student Aid under this subsection 

19 not less often than quarterly; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) at least 6 months and 1 year 

21 after implementation of the Free Applica22 tion for Federal Student Aid. 

23 ‘‘(b) ADJUSTMENTS AND IMPROVEMENTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall dis25 close in a consumer-tested format, upon completion 


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1 of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid 

2 under this section, that the student may, on a case3 by-case basis, qualify for an adjustment under sec4 tion 479A to the cost of attendance or the values of 

5 the data items required to calculate the Federal Pell 

6 Grant or the need analysis for the student or parent. 

7 Such disclosure shall specify— 

8 ‘‘(A) examples of the special circumstances 

9 under which a student or family member may 

10 qualify for such adjustment or determination of 

11 independence; and 

12 ‘‘(B) additional information regarding the 

13 steps a student or family member may take in 

14 order to seek an adjustment under section 

15 479A. 

16 ‘‘(2) CONSUMER TESTING.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 9 

18 months after the date of enactment of the Stu19 dent Loan Repayment and FAFSA Simplifica20 tion Act, the Secretary shall begin consumer 

21 testing the design of the Free Application for 

22 Federal Student Aid under this section with 

23 prospective first-generation college students, 

24 representatives of students (including low-in25 come students, first generation college students, 


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1 adult students, veterans, servicemembers, and 

2 prospective students), students’ families (includ3 ing low-income families, families with first gen4 eration college students, and families with pro5 spective students), institutions of higher edu6 cation, secondary school and postsecondary 

7 counselors, and nonprofit consumer groups. 

8 ‘‘(B) UPDATES.—For award year 2021 

9 and each fourth succeeding award year there10 after, the Secretary shall update the design of 

11 the Free Application for Federal Student Aid 

12 based on additional consumer testing with the 

13 populations described in subparagraph (A) in 

14 order to improve the usability and accessibility 

15 of the application. 

16 ‘‘(3) ACCESSIBILITY OF THE FAFSA.—The Sec17 retary shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) in conjunction with the Director of 

19 the Census Bureau, shall determine the most 

20 common languages spoken at home in the 

21 United States; 

22 ‘‘(B) develop versions of the Free Applica23 tion for Federal Student Aid form in each of 

24 the languages determined in subparagraph (A); 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(C) ensure the Free Application for Fed2 eral Student Aid is compliant with the most re3 cent Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, or 

4 successor guidelines. 

5 ‘‘(4) REAPPLICATION IN A SUCCEEDING ACA6 DEMIC YEAR.—In order to streamline applicant’s ex7 perience applying for financial aid, the Secretary 

8 shall allow an applicant who electronically applies for 

9 financial assistance under this title for an academic 

10 year subsequent to an academic year for which such 

11 applicant applied for financial assistance under this 

12 title to automatically electronically import all of the 

13 applicant’s (including parents, guardians, or 

14 spouses, as applicable) identifying, demographic, and 

15 school data from the previous application and to up16 date such information to reflect any circumstances 

17 that have changed. 

18 ‘‘(5) TECHNOLOGY ACCESSIBILITY.—The Sec19 retary shall make the application under this section 

20 available through prevalent technology. Such tech21 nology shall, at a minimum, enable applicants to— 

22 ‘‘(A) save data; and 

23 ‘‘(B) submit the application under this title 

24 to the Secretary through such technology. 


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1 ‘‘(6) VERIFICATION BURDEN.—The Secretary 

2 shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) to the maximum extent practicable, 

4 streamline and simplify the process of 

5 verification for applicants for Federal financial 

6 aid; 

7 ‘‘(B) in establishing policies and proce8 dures to verify applicants’ eligibility for Federal 

9 financial aid, consider— 

10 ‘‘(i) the burden placed on low-income 

11 applicants; 

12 ‘‘(ii) the risk to low-income applicants 

13 of failing to enroll or complete from being 

14 selected for verification; 

15 ‘‘(iii) the effectiveness of the policies 

16 and procedures in safeguarding against a 

17 net cost to taxpayers; and 

18 ‘‘(iv) the reasons for the source of any 

19 improper payments; and 

20 ‘‘(C) issue a report not less often than an21 nually sharing the percentage of applicants sub22 ject to verification, whether the applicants ulti23 mately received Federal financial aid disburse24 ments, and whether the student aid index 


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1 changed enough to affect the applicant’s award 

2 of any Federal financial aid under this title. 

3 ‘‘(7) STUDIES.—The Secretary shall periodi4 cally conduct studies on— 

5 ‘‘(A) the effect of States requiring addi6 tional information specified in clauses (ii) and 

7 (iii) of paragraph (6)(B) on the determination 

8 of State financial aid awards and whether the 

9 additional information required is a barrier to 

10 college enrollment by examining— 

11 ‘‘(i) how much financial aid awards 

12 would change if the additional information 

13 were not required; 

14 ‘‘(ii) the number of students who 

15 started but did not finish the Free Appli16 cation for Federal Student Aid, compared 

17 to the baseline year of 2021; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) the number of students who— 

19 ‘‘(I) started a Free Application 

20 for Federal Student Aid but did not 

21 receive financial assistance under this 

22 title for the applicable academic year; 

23 and 


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1 ‘‘(II) if available, did not enroll 

2 in an institution of higher education 

3 in the applicable academic year; 

4 ‘‘(B) the most common barriers faced by 

5 applications in completing the Free Applications 

6 for Federal Student Aid; and 

7 ‘‘(C) the most common reasons that stu8 dents and families do not fill out the Free Ap9 plications for Federal Student Aid. 

10 ‘‘(c) DATA AND INFORMATION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall publish 

12 data in a publicly accessible manner— 

13 ‘‘(A) annually on the total number of Free 

14 Applications for Federal Student Aid submitted 

15 by application cycle, disaggregated by demo16 graphic characteristics, type of institution or in17 stitutions of higher education to which the ap18 plicant applied, the applicant’s State of legal 

19 residence, and high school and public school 

20 district; 

21 ‘‘(B) quarterly on the total number of Free 

22 Applications for Federal Student Aid submitted 

23 by application cycle, disaggregated by type of 

24 institution or institutions of higher education to 

25 which the applicant applied, the applicant’s 


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1 State of legal residence, and high school and 

2 public school district; 

3 ‘‘(C) weekly on the total number of Free 

4 Applications for Federal Student Aid sub5 mitted, disaggregated by high school and public 

6 school district; and 

7 ‘‘(D) annually on the number of individ8 uals who apply for Federal financial aid pursu9 ant to this section who indicated they are a 

10 homeless child or youth (as defined in section 

11 725 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist12 ance Act), an unaccompanied youth, or a foster 

13 care youth. 

14 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The data described in para15 graph (1) with respect to homeless children and 

16 youth shall include, at a minimum, for each applica17 tion cycle— 

18 ‘‘(A) the total number of all applicants 

19 who were determined to be individuals described 

20 in section 480(d)(8); and 

21 ‘‘(B) the number of applicants described in 

22 subparagraph (A), disaggregated— 

23 ‘‘(i) by State; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) by the sources of determination 

25 as described in section 479D(b). 


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1 ‘‘(3) DATA SHARING.—The Secretary may enter 

2 into data sharing agreements with the appropriate 

3 Federal or State agencies to conduct outreach re4 garding, and connect applicants directly with, the 

5 means-tested Federal benefit programs described in 

6 subsection (a)(2)(B)(ii)(XVI) for which the appli7 cants may be eligible. 

8 ‘‘(d) ENSURING FORM USABILITY.— 

9 ‘‘(1) SIGNATURE.—Notwithstanding any other 

10 provision of this title, the Secretary may permit the 

11 Free Application for Federal Student Aid to be sub12 mitted without a signature, if a signature is subse13 quently submitted by the applicant, or if the appli14 cant uses an access device provided by the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(2) FREE PREPARATION AUTHORIZED.—Not16 withstanding any other provision of this title, an ap17 plicant may use a preparer for consultative or prepa18 ration services for the completion of the Free Appli19 cation for Federal Student Aid without charging a 

20 fee to the applicant if the preparer— 

21 ‘‘(A) includes, at the time the application 

22 is submitted to the Department, the name, ad23 dress or employer’s address, social security 

24 number or employer identification number, and 


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1 organizational affiliation of the preparer on the 

2 applicant’s form; 

3 ‘‘(B) is subject to the same penalties as an 

4 applicant for purposely giving false or mis5 leading information in the application; 

6 ‘‘(C) clearly informs each individual upon 

7 initial contact, that the Free Application for 

8 Federal Student Aid is a free form that may be 

9 completed without professional assistance; and 

10 ‘‘(D) does not produce, use, or disseminate 

11 any other form for the purpose of applying for 

12 Federal financial aid other than the Free Appli13 cation for Federal Student Aid form developed 

14 by the Secretary under this section. 

15 ‘‘(3) CHARGES TO STUDENTS AND PARENTS

16 FOR USE OF FORMS PROHIBITED.—The need and 

17 eligibility of a student for financial assistance under 

18 this title may be determined only by using the Free 

19 Application for Federal Student Aid developed by 

20 the Secretary under this section. Such application 

21 shall be produced, distributed, and processed by the 

22 Secretary, and no parent or student shall be charged 

23 a fee by the Secretary, a contractor, a third-party 

24 servicer or private software provider, or any other 

25 public or private entity for the collection, processing, 


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1 or delivery of Federal financial aid through the use 

2 of such application. No data collected on a form for 

3 which a fee is charged shall be used to complete the 

4 Free Application for Federal Student Aid prescribed 

5 under this section, except that a Federal or State in6 come tax form prepared by a paid income tax pre7 parer or preparer service for the primary purpose of 

8 filing a Federal or State income tax return may be 

9 used to complete the Free Application for Federal 

10 Student Aid prescribed under this section. 

11 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION PROCESSING CYCLE.—The 

12 Secretary shall enable students to submit a Free Ap13 plication for Federal Student Aid developed under 

14 this section and initiate the processing of such appli15 cation, not later than January 1 of the student’s 

16 planned year of enrollment, to the maximum extent 

17 practicable, on or around October 1 prior to the stu18 dent’s planned year of enrollment. 

19 ‘‘(5) EARLY ESTIMATES.—The Secretary shall 

20 maintain an electronic method for applicants to 

21 enter income and family size information to calculate 

22 a non-binding estimate of the applicant’s Federal fi23 nancial aid available under this title and shall place 

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1 ning of the Free Application for Federal Student 

2 Aid.’’. 

3 (n) STUDENT ELIGIBILITY.—Section 484 of the 

4 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091) is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) by striking subsection (q) and inserting the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(q) USE OF INCOME DATA WITH IRS.—The Sec9 retary, in cooperation with the Secretary of the Treasury, 

10 shall fulfill the data transfer requirements under section 

11 6103(l)(13) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.’’; 

12 (2) by striking subsection (r); 

13 (3) by redesignating subsections (s) and (t) as 

14 subsections (r) and (s), respectively; and 

15 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(t) EXCEPTION TO REQUIRED REGISTRATION WITH

17 THE SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM.—Notwithstanding 

18 section 12(f) of the Military Selective Service Act (50 

19 U.S.C. 3811(f)), an individual shall not be ineligible for 

20 assistance or a benefit provided under this title if the indi21 vidual is required under section 3 of such Act (50 U.S.C. 

22 3802) to present himself for and submit to registration 

23 under such section and fails to do so in accordance with 

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1 ance with any rule or regulation issued under such sec2 tion.’’. 

3 (o) INSTITUTIONAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IN4 FORMATION FOR STUDENTS.—Section 485 of the Higher 

5 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092) is amended by 

6 striking subsection (k). 

7 (p) EARLY AWARENESS OF FINANCIAL AID ELIGI8 BILITY.—Section 485E of the Higher Education Act of 

9 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1092f) is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 485E. EARLY AWARENESS AND OUTREACH OF FINAN11 CIAL AID ELIGIBILITY. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall implement 

13 early outreach activities in order to provide prospective 

14 students and their families with information about finan15 cial aid and estimates of financial aid. Such early outreach 

16 activities shall include the activities described in sub17 sections (b), (c), and (d). 

18 ‘‘(b) PELL GRANT EARLY AWARENESS ESTI19 MATES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

21 produce a consumer-tested method of estimating stu22 dent eligibility for Federal Pell Grants outlined in 

23 section 401(b) utilizing the variables of family size 

24 and adjusted gross income, and presented in elecVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:56 Aug 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00115 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4247.IS S4247

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1 tronic format. There shall be a method for students 

2 to indicate whether they are, or will be in— 

3 ‘‘(A) a single-parent household; 

4 ‘‘(B) a household with two parents; or 

5 ‘‘(C) a household with no children or de6 pendents. 

7 ‘‘(2) CONSUMER TESTING.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The method of esti9 mating eligibility described in paragraph (1) 

10 shall be consumer tested with prospective first11 generation students and families as well as low12 income individuals and families. 

13 ‘‘(B) UPDATES.—For award year 2023– 

14 2024 and each fourth succeeding award year 

15 thereafter, the design of the method of esti16 mating eligibility shall be updated based on ad17 ditional consumer testing with the populations 

18 described in subparagraph (A). 

19 ‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTION.—The method of esti20 mating eligibility described in paragraph (1) shall 

21 be— 

22 ‘‘(A) made publicly and prominently avail23 able on the Department of Education website; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(B) actively shared by the Secretary 

2 with— 

3 ‘‘(i) institutions of higher education 

4 participating in programs under this title; 

5 ‘‘(ii) all middle and secondary schools 

6 eligible for funds under part A of title I of 

7 the Elementary and Secondary Education 

8 Act of 1965; and 

9 ‘‘(iii) local educational agencies and 

10 middle schools and secondary schools that 

11 serve students not less than 25 percent of 

12 whom meet a measure of poverty as de13 scribed in section 1113(a)(5) of the Ele14 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 

15 1965. 

16 ‘‘(4) ELECTRONIC ESTIMATOR ON FAFSA.—In 

17 accordance with subsection (d)(5) of section 483, the 

18 Secretary shall maintain an electronic method for 

19 applicants to enter income and family size, and level 

20 of education sought information to calculate a non21 binding estimate (which may include a range or ceil22 ing) of the applicant’s Federal financial aid available 

23 under this title and shall place such calculator on a 

24 prominent location on the FAFSA website and in a 


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1 manner that encourages students to fill out the 

2 FAFSA. 

3 ‘‘(c) EARLY AWARENESS PLANS.—The Secretary 

4 shall establish and implement early awareness and out5 reach plans to provide early information about the avail6 ability of Federal financial aid and estimates of prospec7 tive students’ eligibility for Federal financial aid as well 

8 as to promote the attainment of postsecondary education 

9 specifically among prospective first-generation students 

10 and families as well as low-income individuals and fami11 lies, as follows: 

12 ‘‘(1) OUTREACH PLANS FOR LOW-INCOME FAMI13 LIES.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

15 develop plans for each population described in 

16 this subparagraph to disseminate information 

17 about the availability of Federal financial aid 

18 under this title, in addition to and in coordina19 tion with the distribution of the method of esti20 mating eligibility under subsection (b), to— 

21 ‘‘(i) all middle schools and secondary 

22 schools eligible for funds under part A of 

23 title I of the Elementary and Secondary 

24 Education Act of 1965; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) local educational agencies and 

2 middle schools and high schools that serve 

3 students not less than 25 percent of whom 

4 meet a measure of poverty as described in 

5 section 1113(a)(5) of the Elementary and 

6 Secondary Education Act; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) households receiving assistance 

8 under the supplemental nutrition assist9 ance program established under the Food 

10 and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 

11 et seq.). 

12 ‘‘(B) CONTENT OF PLANS.—The plans de13 scribed in paragraph (A) shall— 

14 ‘‘(i) provide students and their fami15 lies with information on— 

16 ‘‘(I) the availability of the College 

17 Scorecard described in section 132; 

18 ‘‘(II) the electronic estimates of 

19 financial aid available under sub20 section (b); 

21 ‘‘(III) Federal financial aid avail22 able to students, including eligibility 

23 criteria for the Federal financial aid 

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1 cable Federal educational tax credits); 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(IV) resources that can inform 

4 students of financial aid that may be 

5 available from State-based financial 

6 aid, State-based college savings pro7 grams, and scholarships and other 

8 non-governmental sources; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) describe how the dissemination of 

10 information will be conducted by the Sec11 retary. 

12 ‘‘(C) REPORTING AND UPDATES.—The 

13 Secretary shall post the information about the 

14 plans under subparagraph (A) and associated 

15 goals publicly on the Department of Education 

16 website. On an annual basis, the Secretary shall 

17 report qualitative and quantitative outcomes re18 garding the implementation of the plans under 

19 subparagraph (A). The Secretary shall review 

20 and update such plans not less often than every 

21 4 award years with the goal of progressively in22 creasing the impact of the activities under this 

23 paragraph. 

24 ‘‘(D) PARTNERSHIP.—The Secretary may 

25 partner with States, State systems of higher 


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1 education, institutions of higher education, or 

2 college access organizations to carry out this 

3 paragraph. 

4 ‘‘(2) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION PLANS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

6 develop interagency coordination plans in order 

7 to inform more students and families, including 

8 low-income individuals or families, about the 

9 availability of Federal financial aid under this 

10 title through participation in existing Federal 

11 programs or tax benefits that serve low-income 

12 individuals or families, in coordination with the 

13 following Secretaries: 

14 ‘‘(i) The Secretary of the Treasury. 

15 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary of Labor. 

16 ‘‘(iii) The Secretary of Health and 

17 Human Services. 

18 ‘‘(iv) The Secretary of Agriculture. 

19 ‘‘(v) The Secretary of Housing and 

20 Urban Development. 

21 ‘‘(vi) The Secretary of Commerce. 

22 ‘‘(vii) The Secretary of Veterans Af23 fairs. 


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1 ‘‘(B) PROCESS, ACTIVITIES, AND GOALS.— 

2 Each interagency coordination plan under sub3 paragraph (A) shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) to identify opportunities in which 

5 low-income individuals and families could 

6 be informed of the availability of Federal 

7 financial aid under this title through ac8 cess to other Federal programs that serve 

9 low-income individuals and families; 

10 ‘‘(ii) to identify methods to effectively 

11 inform low-income individuals and families 

12 of the availability of Federal financial aid 

13 for postsecondary education under this 

14 title; 

15 ‘‘(iii) develop early awareness activi16 ties that align with the opportunities and 

17 methods identified under clauses (ii) and 

18 (iii); 

19 ‘‘(iv) establish goals regarding the ef20 fects of the activities to be implemented 

21 under clause (iii); and 

22 ‘‘(v) provide information on how stu23 dents and families can maintain access to 

24 Federal programs that serve low-income 

25 individuals and families operated by the 


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1 agencies identified under subsection (A) 

2 while attending an institution of higher 

3 education. 

4 ‘‘(C) PLAN WITH SECRETARY OF THE

5 TREASURY.—The interagency coordination plan 

6 under subparagraph (A)(i) between the Sec7 retary and the Secretary of the Treasury shall 

8 further include specific methods to increase the 

9 application for Federal financial aid under this 

10 title from individuals who file Federal tax re11 turns, including collaboration with tax prepara12 tion entities or other third parties, as appro13 priate. 

14 ‘‘(D) REPORTING AND UPDATES.—The 

15 Secretary shall post the information about the 

16 interagency coordination plans under paragraph 

17 (2) and associated goals publicly on the Depart18 ment of Education website. The plans shall 

19 have the goal of progressively increasing the im20 pact of the activities under this paragraph by 

21 increasing the number of low-income applicants 

22 for, and recipients of, Federal financial aid. The 

23 plans shall be updated not less than once every 

24 4 years. 


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1 ‘‘(3) NATIONWIDE PARTICIPATION IN EARLY

2 AWARENESS PLANS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

4 solicit voluntary public commitments from enti5 ties, such as States, State systems of higher 

6 education, institutions of higher education, and 

7 other interested organizations, to carry out 

8 early awareness plans, which shall include 

9 goals, to— 

10 ‘‘(i) notify prospective and existing 

11 students who are low-income individuals 

12 and families about their eligibility for Fed13 eral aid under this title, as well as State14 based financial aid, if applicable, on an an15 nual basis; 

16 ‘‘(ii) increase the number of prospec17 tive and current students who are low-in18 come individuals and families filing the 

19 Free Application for Federal Student Aid; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(iii) increase the number of prospec22 tive and current students who are low-in23 come individuals and families enrolling in 

24 postsecondary education. 


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1 ‘‘(B) REPORTING AND UPDATES.—Each 

2 entity that makes a voluntary public commit3 ment to carry out an early awareness plan may 

4 submit quantitative and qualitative data based 

5 on the entity’s progress toward the goals of the 

6 plan annually prior to a date selected by the 

7 Secretary. 

8 ‘‘(C) EARLY AWARENESS CHAMPIONS.— 

9 Based on data submitted by entities, the Sec10 retary shall select and designate entities sub11 mitting public commitments, plans, and goals, 

12 as Early Awareness Champions on an annual 

13 basis. Those entities designated as Early 

14 Awareness Champions shall provide one or 

15 more case studies regarding the activities the 

16 entity undertook under this paragraph which 

17 shall be made public by the Secretary on the 

18 Department of Education website to promote 

19 best practices. 

20 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 

22 and implement a public awareness campaign de23 signed using current and relevant independent re24 search regarding strategies and media platforms 

25 found to be most effective in communicating with 


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1 low-income populations in order to increase national 

2 awareness regarding the availability of Federal Pell 

3 Grants and financial aid under this title and, at the 

4 option of the Secretary, potential availability of 

5 State need-based financial aid. 

6 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—The public awareness 

7 campaign described in paragraph (1) shall leverage 

8 the activities in subsections (b) and (c) to highlight 

9 eligibility among low-income populations. In devel10 oping and implementing the campaign, the Secretary 

11 may work in coordination with States, institutions of 

12 higher education, early intervention and outreach 

13 programs under this title, other Federal agencies, 

14 organizations involved in college access and student 

15 financial aid, secondary schools, local educational 

16 agencies, public libraries, community centers, busi17 nesses, employers, workforce investment boards, and 

18 organizations that provide services to individuals 

19 that are or were homeless, in foster care, or are dis20 connected youth. 

21 ‘‘(3) REPORTING.—The Secretary shall report 

22 on the success of the public awareness campaign de23 scribed in paragraph (1) annually regarding the ex24 tent to which the public and target populations were 

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1 vertising and outreach campaigns and data regard2 ing whether the campaign produced any increase in 

3 applicants for Federal aid under this title publicly 

4 on the Department of Education website.’’. 

Æ 


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