II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 416 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to amend the process by 

which students with certain special circumstances apply for Federal financial aid. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2019 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

A BILL 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to amend 

the process by which students with certain special circumstances apply for Federal financial aid. 

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 ‘‘FAFSA Fairness Act 

5 of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PROVISIONAL INDEPENDENCE FOR CERTAIN STU7 DENTS. 

8 Section 483 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

9 U.S.C. 1090) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (h)(1), by inserting the fol2 lowing before the semicolon: ‘‘, including the special 

3 circumstances under which a student may qualify for 

4 a determination of independence’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(i) PROVISIONAL INDEPENDENT STUDENTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SECRETARY.— 

8 The Secretary shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) enable each student who, based on 

10 the special circumstance specified in subsection 

11 (h)(1), may qualify for an adjustment under 

12 section 479A that will result in a determination 

13 of independence under such section and section 

14 480(d)(1)(I), to complete the forms developed 

15 by the Secretary under subsection (a) as an 

16 independent student for the purpose of a provi17 sional determination of the student’s Federal fi18 nancial aid award, but subject to verification 

19 under paragraph (2)(E) for the purpose of the 

20 final determination of the award; 

21 ‘‘(B) upon completion of the forms devel22 oped by the Secretary under subsection (a), 

23 provide an estimate of the student’s Federal 

24 Pell Grant award, based on the assumption the 


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1 student is determined to be an independent stu2 dent; 

3 ‘‘(C) ensure that, on each form developed 

4 under this section, there is a single and easily 

5 understood screening question to identify an ap6 plicant for aid who wishes to provisionally apply 

7 for independent status under sections 479A and 

8 480(d)(1)(I); and 

9 ‘‘(D) specify, on the forms, the con10 sequences under section 490(a) of knowingly 

11 and willfully completing the forms as an inde12 pendent student under subparagraph (A) with13 out meeting the special circumstances to qualify 

14 for such a determination. 

15 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR FINANCIAL AID AD16 MINISTRATORS.—With respect to a student accepted 

17 for admission who completes the forms as an inde18 pendent student under paragraph (1)(A), a financial 

19 aid administrator— 

20 ‘‘(A) shall notify the student of the institu21 tional process and requirements for an adjust22 ment under sections 479A and 480(d)(1)(I) 

23 that will result in a determination of independ24 ence under such sections within a reasonable 

25 time after the student completes the forms deVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Feb 19, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S416.IS S416

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1 veloped by the Secretary under subsection (a) 

2 as an independent student for the purpose of a 

3 provisional determination of the student’s Fed4 eral financial aid award; 

5 ‘‘(B) may make an adjustment under sec6 tions 479A and 480(d)(1)(I) for a determina7 tion of independence in the absence of con8 flicting information; 

9 ‘‘(C) shall provide a final determination of 

10 the student’s Federal financial aid award to the 

11 student in the same manner as, and by not 

12 later than the date that, the administrator pro13 vides most other provisionally independent stu14 dents their final determinations of Federal fi15 nancial aid awards, or during the award year in 

16 which the student initially submits an applica17 tion, whichever comes sooner; 

18 ‘‘(D) shall, in making a final determination 

19 of the student’s Federal financial aid award, 

20 use the discretion provided under sections 479A 

21 and 480(d)(1)(I) to verify whether the student 

22 meets the special circumstances to qualify as an 

23 independent student; 

24 ‘‘(E) in accordance with paragraph (B), 

25 may consider as adequate verification that a 


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1 student qualifies for an adjustment under sec2 tions 479A and 480(d)(1)(I)— 

3 ‘‘(i) submission of a court order or of4 ficial Federal or State documentation that 

5 the student’s parent or legal guardian is 

6 incarcerated in any Federal or State penal 

7 institution; 

8 ‘‘(ii) a documented phone call with, or 

9 a written statement from— 

10 ‘‘(I) a child welfare agency au11 thorized by a State or county; 

12 ‘‘(II) a Tribal child welfare au13 thority; 

14 ‘‘(III) an independent living case 

15 worker; or 

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

17 facility, or program serving the vic18 tims of abuse, neglect, assault, or vio19 lence; 

20 ‘‘(iii) a documented phone call with, 

21 or a written statement from, an attorney, 

22 a guardian ad litem, or a court appointed 

23 special advocate, documenting that per24 son’s relationship to the student; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) a documented phone call with, or 

2 a written statement from, a representative 

3 of a program under chapter 1 or 2 of sub4 part 2 of part A; or 

5 ‘‘(v) submission of a copy of the stu6 dent’s biological or adoptive parents’ or 

7 legal guardians’— 

8 ‘‘(I) certificates of death; or 

9 ‘‘(II) verified obituaries; 

10 ‘‘(F) if a student does not have, and can11 not get, documentation from any of the des12 ignated authorities described in subparagraph 

13 (E) of whether a student may qualify for an ad14 justment under sections 479A and 480(d)(1)(I) 

15 that will result in a determination of independ16 ence, may base the verification and final deter17 mination on— 

18 ‘‘(i) a documented interview with the 

19 student that is limited to whether the stu20 dent meets the requirements, and not 

21 about the reasons for the student’s situa22 tions; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) an attestation from the student 

24 that they meet the requirements, which in25 cludes a description of the approximate 


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1 dates that the student ended the financial 

2 or caregiving relationship with their parent 

3 or legal guardian, to the best of the stu4 dent’s knowledge; 

5 ‘‘(G) retain all documents related to the 

6 adjustment under sections 479A and 

7 480(d)(1)(I), including documented interviews, 

8 for the duration of the student’s enrollment at 

9 the institution and for a minimum of 1 year 

10 after the student is no longer enrolled at the in11 stitution; and 

12 ‘‘(H) shall presume that any student who 

13 has obtained an adjustment under sections 

14 479A and 480(d)(1)(I) and a final determina15 tion of independence for a preceding award year 

16 at an institution to be independent for a subse17 quent award year at the same institution un18 less— 

19 ‘‘(i) the student informs the institu20 tion that circumstances have changed; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) the institution has specific con22 flicting information about the student’s 

23 independence.’’. 

Æ 


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