II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1346 

To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary to 

provide for the use of data from the second preceding tax year to 

carry out the simplification of applications for the estimation and determination of financial aid eligibility, to increase the income threshold 

to qualify for a student aid index equal to or less than zero, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 7, 2019 

Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, and Mrs. 

GILLIBRAND) 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 require 

the Secretary to provide for the use of data from the 

second preceding tax year to carry out the simplification 

of applications for the estimation and determination of 

financial aid eligibility, to increase the income threshold 

to qualify for a student aid index equal to or less than 

zero, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Simplifying Financial 

3 Aid for Students Act of 2019’’. 

4 SEC. 2. REFERENCES; GENERAL EFFECTIVE DATE. 

5 (a) REFERENCES.—Except as otherwise expressly 

6 provided, whenever in this Act there is a reference to, or 

7 an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an 

8 amendment to, or a repeal of, a section or other provision, 

9 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section 

10 or other provision of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

11 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). 

12 (b) GENERAL EFFECTIVE DATE.—Except as other13 wise provided in this Act or the amendments made by this 

14 Act, this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 

15 be effective with respect to determinations of need under 

16 part F of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

17 (20 U.S.C. 1087kk et seq.) for the award year beginning 

18 July 1, 2020. 

19 SEC. 3. EARLY ESTIMATES OF AVAILABLE AID. 

20 Section 483(a) (20 U.S.C. 1090(a)) is amended by 

21 adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(13) EVALUATION OF EARLY ESTIMATE

23 TOOLS.—Not later than the award year beginning 

24 July 1, 2020, the Secretary shall— 

25 ‘‘(A) evaluate any early estimate tools au26 thorized under paragraph (9); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) identify and implement opportunities 

2 to streamline those tools to align with the provi3 sions under part F.’’. 

4 SEC. 4. STUDENT AID INDEX. 

5 (a) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Act (20 

6 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘an expected family contribu8 tion’’ each place the term appears and inserting ‘‘a 

9 student aid index’’; 

10 (2) by striking ‘‘expected family contributions’’ 

11 each place the term appears and inserting ‘‘student 

12 aid indexes’’; 

13 (3) by striking ‘‘expected family contribution’’ 

14 each place the term appears and inserting ‘‘student 

15 aid index’’; 

16 (4) in section 474— 

17 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

18 ‘‘EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘STUDENT AID INDEX’’; and 

20 (B) in subsection (a), in the heading, by 

21 striking ‘‘EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘STUDENT AID INDEX’’; 

23 (5) in section 475— 


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1 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

2 ‘‘FAMILY CONTRIBUTION’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘STUDENT AID INDEX’’; and 

4 (B) in subsection (a), in the heading, by 

5 striking ‘‘EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘STUDENT AID INDEX’’; 

7 (6) in section 476— 

8 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

9 ‘‘FAMILY CONTRIBUTION’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘STUDENT AID INDEX’’; and 

11 (B) in subsection (a), in the heading, by 

12 striking ‘‘EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘STUDENT AID INDEX’’; 

14 (7) in section 477— 

15 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

16 ‘‘FAMILY CONTRIBUTION’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘STUDENT AID INDEX’’; and 

18 (B) in subsection (a), in the heading, by 

19 striking ‘‘EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘STUDENT AID INDEX’’; 

21 (8) by striking ‘‘family contribution’’ each place 

22 the term appears and inserting ‘‘student aid index’’; 

23 and 


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1 (9) by striking ‘‘family contributions’’ each 

2 place the term appears and inserting ‘‘student aid 

3 indexes’’. 

4 (b) CALCULATION OF NEGATIVE STUDENT AID

5 INDEX.—The Act (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is amended— 

6 (1) in section 475— 

7 (A) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘re8 quested;’’ and all that follows through the pe9 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘requested.’’; and 

10 (B) in subsection (g)(1), by striking ‘‘para11 graph (5);’’ and all that follows through the pe12 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘paragraph (5).’’; 

13 (2) in section 476(a), by striking ‘‘enrollment;’’ 

14 and all that follows through the period at the end 

15 and inserting ‘‘enrollment.’’; 

16 (3) in section 477(a), by striking ‘‘enrollment;’’ 

17 and all that follows through the period at the end 

18 and inserting ‘‘enrollment.’’; and 

19 (4) in section 479(a)(2)(B), by inserting ‘‘whose 

20 student aid index would otherwise be a positive num21 ber using only the elements of the simplified needs 

22 test under subsection (b)(2),’’ after ‘‘requirements of 

23 subsection (c),’’. 

24 (c) NEGATIVE STUDENT AID INDEX.—Section 471 

25 (20 U.S.C. 1087kk) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 471. AMOUNT OF NEED. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The maximum dollar amount of 

3 financial assistance provided under this title to a student 

4 shall not exceed the cost of attendance for such student. 

5 ‘‘(b) NEGATIVE STUDENT AID INDEX.—For pur6 poses of determining eligibility for Federal financial aid 

7 under this part, any negative student aid index shall be 

8 treated as zero.’’. 

9 SEC. 5. CALCULATION OF STUDENT AID INDEX. 

10 (a) STUDENT AID INDEX.—Section 473 (20 U.S.C. 

11 1087mm) is amended— 

12 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘FAM13 ILY CONTRIBUTION’’ and inserting ‘‘STUDENT

14 AID INDEX’’; and 

15 (2) in subsection (b)— 

16 (A) by striking the subsection heading and 

17 inserting ‘‘STUDENT AID INDEX EQUAL TO OR

18 LESS THAN ZERO’’; 

19 (B) in paragraph (1), by adding ‘‘or (3)’’ 

20 after ‘‘paragraph (2)’’; 

21 (C) in paragraph (2)— 

22 (i) by striking the paragraph heading 

23 and inserting ‘‘CHILDREN OF CERTAIN DE24 CEASED VETERANS’’; 

25 (ii) in each of subparagraphs (B) and 

26 (C), by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as 


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1 subclauses (I) and (II), respectively and 

2 adjusting the margins accordingly; 

3 (iii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

4 (A), (B), and (C), as clauses (i), (ii), and 

5 (iii), respectively; and 

6 (iv) by striking ‘‘Paragraph (1) shall’’ 

7 and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(A) APPLICABILITY.—Paragraph (1) 

9 shall’’; 

10 (D) in paragraph (3)— 

11 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

12 ‘‘subparagraphs (A), (B)(i), and (C) of 

13 paragraph (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘clause (i), 

14 (ii)(I), and (iii) of subparagraph (A)’’; and 

15 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

16 (I) by striking ‘‘subparagraphs 

17 (A), (B)(ii), and (C) of paragraph 

18 (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘clause (i), (ii)(II), 

19 and (iii) of subparagraph (A)’’; 

20 (II) by redesignating clauses (i) 

21 through (iii) as subclauses (I) through 

22 (III), respectively, and adjusting the 

23 margins accordingly; and 

24 (III) by redesignating subpara25 graphs (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and 


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1 (ii), respectively, and adjusting the 

2 margins accordingly; 

3 (E) by redesignating paragraph (3) as sub4 paragraph (B) of paragraph (2), and adjusting 

5 the margins accordingly; 

6 (F) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and 

7 (5) as paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; and 

8 (G) by inserting after paragraph (2)(B), as 

9 redesignated by subparagraph (E), the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(3) RECIPIENTS OF CERTAIN MEANS-TESTED

12 BENEFITS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) shall 

14 apply to a student if— 

15 ‘‘(i) that student is a dependent stu16 dent whose parent participated in a means17 tested benefits program at any time during 

18 the period encompassed from the beginning 

19 of the second prior calendar year through 

20 the date of filing; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) that student is independent and 

22 the student or spouse of that student par23 ticipated in a means-tested benefits pro24 gram at any time during the period encom25 passed from the beginning of the second 


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1 prior calendar year through the date of fil2 ing. 

3 ‘‘(B) MEANS-TESTED BENEFITS PRO4 GRAM.—In this paragraph, the term ‘means5 tested Federal benefits program’ means— 

6 ‘‘(i) the supplemental security income 

7 program under title XVI of the Social Se8 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); 

9 ‘‘(ii) the supplemental nutrition assist10 ance program established under the Food 

11 and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 

12 et seq.); 

13 ‘‘(iii) the Medicaid program under 

14 title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 

15 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.); 

16 ‘‘(iv) the free and reduced price school 

17 lunch program established under the Rich18 ard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 

19 (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.); 

20 ‘‘(v) a State program funded under 

21 the temporary assistance for needy families 

22 program under part A of title IV of the 

23 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et 

24 seq.); 


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1 ‘‘(vi) the special supplemental nutri2 tion program for women, infants, and chil3 dren established by section 17 of the Child 

4 Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786); 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(vii) any other program determined 

7 by the Secretary to be appropriate based 

8 on— 

9 ‘‘(I) the reliability under which 

10 the need for benefits from the pro11 gram is established; and 

12 ‘‘(II) the feasibility of data link13 ages. 

14 ‘‘(4) DETERMINATION FOR STATE AND INSTI15 TUTIONAL AID.—For each student whose student aid 

16 index is deemed to be zero under paragraph (1), the 

17 Secretary shall also calculate the student aid index 

18 for the student, using the simplified version of the 

19 Free Application for Federal Student Aid form in 

20 accordance with section 479, to identify students 

21 who have a negative student aid index and may be 

22 eligible for additional State or institutional aid.’’. 

23 (b) SIMPLIFIED NEEDS TEST.—Section 479 (20 

24 U.S.C. 1087ss) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 479. SIMPLIFIED NEEDS TESTS. 

2 ‘‘(a) SIMPLIFIED APPLICATION SECTION.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 

4 and use a simplified version of the Free Application 

5 for Federal Student Aid form prescribed under sec6 tion 483(a) for families described in subsections (b) 

7 and (c) of this section. 

8 ‘‘(2) REDUCED DATA REQUIREMENTS.—The 

9 simplified version shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) in the case of a family meeting the 

11 requirements of subsection (b)(1), permit such 

12 family to submit only the data elements re13 quired under subsection (b)(2) for the purposes 

14 of establishing eligibility for student financial 

15 aid under this part; and 

16 ‘‘(B) in the case of a family meeting the 

17 requirements of subsection (c), permit such 

18 family to be treated as having a student aid 

19 index equal to or less than zero for purposes of 

20 establishing such eligibility and to submit only 

21 the data elements required to make a deter22 mination under subsection (c). 

23 ‘‘(b) SIMPLIFIED NEEDS TEST.— 

24 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY.—An applicant is eligible to 

25 file a simplified version containing the elements re26 quired by paragraph (2) if— 


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1 ‘‘(A) in the case of an applicant who is a 

2 dependent student— 

3 ‘‘(i) the student’s parents include at 

4 least one parent who is a dislocated work5 er; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the total adjusted gross income 

7 of the parents (excluding any income of 

8 the dependent student) is less than 

9 $50,000; or 

10 ‘‘(B) in the case of an applicant who is an 

11 independent student— 

12 ‘‘(i) the student (and the student’s 

13 spouse, if any) is a dislocated worker or 

14 has a spouse who is a dislocated worker; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the adjusted gross income of the 

17 student (and the student’s spouse, if any) 

18 is less than $50,000. 

19 ‘‘(2) SIMPLIFIED TEST ELEMENTS.—The six 

20 elements to be used for the simplified needs analysis 

21 are— 

22 ‘‘(A) adjusted gross income, 

23 ‘‘(B) Federal taxes paid, 

24 ‘‘(C) untaxed income and benefits, 

25 ‘‘(D) the number of family members, 


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1 ‘‘(E) the number of family members in 

2 postsecondary education, and 

3 ‘‘(F) an allowance (A) for State and other 

4 taxes, as defined in section 475(c)(2) for de5 pendent students and in section 477(b)(2) for 

6 independent students with dependents other 

7 than a spouse, or (B) for State and other in8 come taxes, as defined in section 476(b)(2) for 

9 independent students without dependents other 

10 than a spouse. 

11 ‘‘(3) QUALIFYING FORMS.—In the case of an 

12 independent student, the student, or in the case of 

13 a dependent student, the family, files a form de14 scribed in this subsection, or subsection (c), as the 

15 case may be, if the student or family, as appro16 priate, files— 

17 ‘‘(A) a form 1040 (including any prepared 

18 or electronic version of such form) required 

19 pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 

20 or 

21 ‘‘(B) an income tax return (including any 

22 prepared or electronic version of such return) 

23 required pursuant to the tax code of the Com24 monwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American 

25 Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Republic of the 


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1 Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Mi2 cronesia, or Palau. 

3 ‘‘(c) STUDENT AID INDEX EQUAL TO OR LESS THAN

4 ZERO.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall con6 sider an applicant to have a student aid index equal 

7 to or less than zero if— 

8 ‘‘(A) in the case of a dependent student— 

9 ‘‘(i) the student’s parents— 

10 ‘‘(I) certify that the parents are 

11 not required to file a Federal income 

12 tax return; and 

13 ‘‘(II) include at least one parent 

14 who is a dislocated worker; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) the sum of the adjusted gross 

16 annual income of the parents is less than 

17 or equal to $36,000; 

18 ‘‘(B) in the case of an independent student 

19 with dependents other than a spouse— 

20 ‘‘(i) the student (and the student’s 

21 spouse, if any)— 

22 ‘‘(I) certifies that the student 

23 (and the student’s spouse, if any) is 

24 not required to file a Federal income 

25 tax return; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) is a dislocated worker or 

2 has a spouse who is a dislocated work3 er; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) the sum of the adjusted gross 

5 annual income of the student and spouse 

6 (if appropriate) is less than or equal to 

7 $36,000; or 

8 ‘‘(C) in the case of an independent stu9 dents without dependents— 

10 ‘‘(i) the student— 

11 ‘‘(I) certifies that the student is 

12 not required to file a Federal income 

13 tax return; and 

14 ‘‘(II) is a dislocated worker; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) the sum of the adjusted gross 

16 annual income of the student is less than 

17 or equal to $23,000. 

18 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.—An individual is not re19 quired to qualify or file for the earned income credit 

20 in order to be eligible under this subsection. The 

21 Secretary shall annually adjust the income level nec22 essary to qualify an applicant for the student aid 

23 index of equal to or less than zero. The income level 

24 shall be adjusted by a percentage equal to increases 

25 in the Consumer Price Index between the calendar 


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1 year preceding the beginning of such academic year, 

2 and the second preceding year, rounding the result 

3 to the nearest $1,000. 

4 ‘‘(d) DISLOCATED WORKER.—In this section, the 

5 term ‘dislocated worker’ has the meaning given the term 

6 in section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 

7 Act.’’. 

8 SEC. 6. FAFSA SIMPLIFICATION. 

9 (a) FAFSA SIMPLIFICATION.—Section 483(f) (20 

10 U.S.C. 1090(f)) is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(f) REDUCTION OF INCOME AND ASSET INFORMA12 TION TO DETERMINE ELIGIBILITY FOR STUDENT FINAN13 CIAL AID.— 

14 ‘‘(1) USE OF INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE

15 DATA TO POPULATE FAFSA.—The Secretary shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) make every effort to make available 

17 and allow applicants to utilize the data that is 

18 available to the Secretary pursuant to section 

19 6103(l)(13) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

20 1986 to reduce the amount of original data 

21 entry by applicants and strengthen the reli22 ability of data used to calculate a student aid 

23 index to— 

24 ‘‘(i) allow an applicant to automati25 cally populate the electronic version of the 


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1 forms under this section with data avail2 able from the Internal Revenue Service; 

3 ‘‘(ii) direct an applicant to appro4 priate questions on such forms based on 

5 the applicant’s answers to previous ques6 tions; 

7 ‘‘(iii) identify the type of form filed 

8 and whether certain forms or schedules, as 

9 identified by the Secretary, were filed with 

10 Federal form 1040; 

11 ‘‘(iv) transfer all applicable schedule 

12 information; and 

13 ‘‘(v) allow an applicant to verify that 

14 the applicant or the family of the applicant 

15 did not file a Federal tax return without 

16 additional action on the part of the stu17 dent; and 

18 ‘‘(B) allow single taxpayers, married tax19 payers filing jointly, and married taxpayers fil20 ing separately to utilize such data retrieval tool 

21 to its full capacity. 

22 ‘‘(2) STRENGTHENING THE IRS DATA.—The 

23 Secretary shall work with the Secretary of the 

24 Treasury to expand the capabilities of transferring 

25 relevant Internal Revenue Service data by— 


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1 ‘‘(A) incorporating all fields from Federal 

2 tax returns and W–2 forms relevant to need 

3 analysis; and 

4 ‘‘(B) incorporating line items from forms 

5 and schedules identified by the Secretary. 

6 ‘‘(3) CROSS AGENCY LINKAGES.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in co8 ordination with the head of each agency that 

9 administers a specified means-tested Federal 

10 benefits program (as defined in section 

11 473(b)(3)), shall examine how the agency can 

12 verify an applicant or an applicant’s family’s re13 ceipt of specified means-tested Federal benefits 

14 in order to compute a student aid index for low15 income students in order to simplify, for stu16 dents, the application process for student finan17 cial assistance. 

18 ‘‘(B) CONNECTION TO OTHER MEANS

19 TESTED BENEFITS.—The Secretary shall enter 

20 into data sharing agreements, as necessary, to 

21 enable the sharing of FAFSA data for the pur22 pose of conducting outreach regarding, and con23 necting students to, State or Federal means24 tested benefits programs (including means-test25 ed Federal benefits programs as defined in secVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 May 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1346.IS S1346

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1 tion 473(b)(3)) for which the students may be 

2 eligible and for which, if eligible, could reduce 

3 the applicant’s need to borrow or work during 

4 college. 

5 ‘‘(C) AUTOMATIC MAXIMUM FEDERAL

6 PELL GRANT.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

7 a student who is described in section 473(b)(3) 

8 or whose income or family income is less than 

9 $36,000 at any point during the 24-month pe10 riod preceding the date of the determination, is 

11 a full-time student, and submits a form under 

12 this section, shall receive a maximum Federal 

13 Pell Grant and a determination of a student aid 

14 index of equal to or less than zero without addi15 tional action on the part of the student or the 

16 family of the student. 

17 ‘‘(D) PART-TIME STUDENTS.—The Sec18 retary shall ensure that a part-time student 

19 who is described in section 473(b)(3) and sub20 mits a form under this section shall receive a 

21 determination of a student aid index of equal to 

22 or less than zero. 

23 ‘‘(4) PROHIBITION AGAINST REQUESTING IN24 FORMATION MORE THAN ONCE.—Any information 

25 requested during the process of creating an account 


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1 for completing the web-based free application under 

2 this subsection, shall not be required a second time 

3 for the same award year, or in a duplicative manner, 

4 when completing such web-based free application. 

5 ‘‘(5) CHANGE IN FAMILY SIZE.—The Secretary 

6 shall provide a process by which an applicant shall 

7 confirm the accuracy of family size or may update 

8 the family size with respect to such applicant for 

9 purposes of determining the need of such applicant 

10 for financial assistance under this title based on a 

11 change in family size from the tax year data used 

12 for such determination. 

13 ‘‘(6) REPORT.—The Secretary shall report to 

14 Congress annually on the Department’s progress in 

15 maintaining and expanding the Internal Revenue 

16 Service data retrieval tool and in establishing cross 

17 agency linkages, as described in this subsection, and 

18 simultaneously make such reports publicly avail19 able.’’. 

20 (b) MOBILE USE.—Section 483(a)(3) (20 U.S.C. 

21 1090(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(I) MOBILE DEVICE FORMAT.—The Sec24 retary shall make the electronic version of the 

25 forms under this paragraph available through a 


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1 technology tool that can be used on mobile de2 vices. Such technology tool shall, at a minimum, 

3 enable applicants to— 

4 ‘‘(i) save data; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) submit the electronic version of 

6 the forms under this paragraph to the Sec7 retary through such tool.’’. 

8 (c) LANGUAGES FOR FAFSA.—Section 483 (20 

9 U.S.C. 1090 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(i) LANGUAGES FOR FAFSA.—The Secretary, in 

12 conjunction with the Director of the Census Bureau, shall 

13 determine the most common languages spoken at home 

14 in the United States and shall develop versions of the 

15 FAFSA form in each of those languages.’’. 

16 (d) OUTREACH BY FINANCIAL AID ADVISORS.—Sec17 tion 483 (20 U.S.C. 1090 et seq.), as amended by sub18 section (c), is further amended by adding at the end the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(j) OUTREACH BY FINANCIAL AID ADVISORS.—An 

21 institution of higher education may use information pro22 vided on a FAFSA to reach out to and counsel a student 

23 on the student’s eligibility for means-tested benefits in 

24 which the student is not enrolled and outside scholarships 

25 for which a student is eligible.’’. 


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1 SEC. 7. PRIOR-PRIOR YEAR AND DEFINITIONS OF TOTAL IN2 COME AND ASSETS. 

3 (a) TOTAL INCOME.—Section 480(a)(1) (20 U.S.C. 

4 1087vv(a)(1)) is amended to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

6 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATION.—Except as pro7 vided in paragraph (2), the term ‘total income’ 

8 is equal to— 

9 ‘‘(i) in the case of an individual who 

10 has not filed, and is not required to file, 

11 any Federal tax return or in the case of a 

12 qualified recipient of a means-tested Fed13 eral benefits program, as defined in section 

14 473(b)(3)(B), earned income for the sec15 ond preceding tax year minus excludable 

16 income (as defined in subsection (e)); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an individual who 

18 filed a Federal tax return or in the case of 

19 an individual who filed a foreign tax return 

20 in lieu of a Federal tax return, adjusted 

21 gross income from applicable schedule plus 

22 untaxed income and benefits for the second 

23 preceding fiscal tax year minus excludable 

24 income (as defined in subsection (e)). 

25 ‘‘(B) USE OF DATA.—Notwithstanding sec26 tion 478(a), the Secretary shall provide for the 


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1 use of data from the second preceding tax year 

2 when and to the extent necessary to carry out 

3 the simplification of applications (including sim4 plification for a subset of applications) used for 

5 the estimation and determination of financial 

6 aid eligibility. Such simplification shall include 

7 the sharing of data between the Internal Rev8 enue Service and the Department, pursuant to 

9 the consent of the taxpayer.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 480(a) (20 

11 U.S.C. 1087vv(a)) is amended— 

12 (1) by moving paragraph (2) two ems to the 

13 right; and 

14 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘No portion’’ 

15 and inserting the following: ‘‘AMOUNTS NOT IN16 CLUDED.—No portion’’. 

17 (c) UNTAXED INCOME AND BENEFITS.—Section 

18 480(b) (20 U.S.C. 1087vv(b)) is amended to read as fol19 lows: 

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

21 ‘untaxed income and benefits’ means— 

22 ‘‘(1) the aggregate amount of losses taken into 

23 account for determining adjusted gross income on 

24 Federal form 1040 and applicable schedules; 


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1 ‘‘(2) the amount of any tax-exempt interest in2 come reported on Federal form 1040; and 

3 ‘‘(3) amounts of foreign income excluded from 

4 adjusted gross income and reported on Federal form 

5 2555.’’. 

6 (d) EXCLUDABLE INCOME.—Section 480(e) (20 

7 U.S.C. 1087vv(e)) is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(e) The term ‘excludable income’ means— 

9 ‘‘(1) any student financial assistance awarded 

10 based on need as determined in accordance with the 

11 provisions of this part, including any income earned 

12 from work under part C of this title; and 

13 ‘‘(2) payments made and services provided 

14 under part E of title IV of the Social Security Act 

15 (42 U.S.C. 670 et seq.) to or on behalf of any child 

16 or youth over whom the State agency has responsi17 bility for placement, care, or supervision, including 

18 the value of vouchers for education and training and 

19 amounts expended for room and board for youth 

20 who are not in foster care but are receiving services 

21 under section 477 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 677).’’. 

22 (e) ASSETS.—Section 480(f)(1) (20 U.S.C. 

23 1087vv(f)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘The term’’ and all 

24 that follows through the period at the end and inserting 

25 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) In determining the value of assets in 

2 a determination of need under this title in the 

3 case of an individual who has not filed, and is 

4 not required to file, any Federal tax return or 

5 in the case of a qualified recipient of a means6 tested Federal benefits program, as defined in 

7 section 473(b)(3)(B), the individual’s assets 

8 shall be considered to be equal to zero. 

9 ‘‘(B) In the case of an individual who filed 

10 a form 1040 with forms or schedules, the term 

11 assets means amounts held in money market 

12 savings accounts or funds, capital gains, prize 

13 or award money, gambling winnings, time de14 posits, trusts, stocks, bonds, other securities, 

15 mutual funds, tax shelters, business income, 

16 rental real estate, royalties, partnerships, S cor17 porations, qualified education benefits (except 

18 as provided in paragraph (3)), and the net 

19 value of real estate, income producing property, 

20 and business and farm assets, excluding the 

21 primary home.’’. 

22 (f) SPECIAL COMBAT PAY.—Section 480 (20 U.S.C. 

23 1087vv) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (j), by striking paragraph (4); 

25 and 


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•S 1346 IS

1 (2) by striking subsection (n). 

2 SEC. 8. ELIMINATING UNNECESSARY AND BURDENSOME 

3 QUESTIONS. 

4 Section 483(a) (20 U.S.C. 1090(a)), as amended by 

5 section 3, is further amended by adding at the end the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(14) PROHIBITION OF UNNECESSARY AND

8 BURDENSOME QUESTIONS.—Notwithstanding any 

9 other provision of law, the Secretary shall not in10 clude on any form developed under this section a 

11 question about the applicant’s criminal history, reg12 istration for selective service, student taxable earn13 ings from need-based employment like work study, 

14 student combat pay, student cooperative education 

15 program earnings, student IRA deductions, student 

16 tax exempt interest income, student untaxed por17 tions of IRA distributions, student untaxed portions 

18 of pensions, student military or clergy living allow19 ances, student veteran noneducation benefits, stu20 dent other untaxed income, parent child support 

21 paid, child support received, parent taxable earnings 

22 from need-based employment like work-study, parent 

23 college grant or scholarship aid reported to the In24 ternal Revenue Service, parent combat pay, parent 

25 cooperative education program earnings, parent IRA 


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1 deductions, parent tax exempt interest income, par2 ent untaxed portions of pensions, parent military or 

3 clergy living allowances, parent veteran noneducation 

4 benefits, or parent other untaxed income.’’. 

5 SEC. 9. EXCEPTION TO REQUIRED REGISTRATION WITH SE6 LECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM; DEPARTMENT OF 

7 EDUCATION DATA MATCHING. 

8 (a) STUDENT ELIGIBILITY.—Subsection (n) of sec9 tion 484 (20 U.S.C. 1091) is repealed. 

10 (b) REPEAL OF INELIGIBILITY FOR CERTAIN ASSIST11 ANCE FOR FAILURE TO REGISTER WITH SYSTEM.—Sec12 tion 12 of the Military Selective Service Act (50 U.S.C. 

13 3811) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking subsection (f); and 

15 (2) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub16 section (f). 

17 SEC. 10. REPEAL OF SUSPENSION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR 

18 DRUG-RELATED OFFENSES; NOTICE CON19 CERNING PENALTIES FOR DRUG VIOLA20 TIONS. 

21 (a) REPEAL.—Subsection (r) of section 484 (20 

22 U.S.C. 1091(r)) is repealed. 

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Act is amend24 ed— 


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1 (1) in section 428(b)(3) (20 U.S.C. 

2 1078(b)(3))— 

3 (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

4 ‘‘485(l)’’ and inserting ‘‘485(k)’’; and 

5 (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

6 ‘‘485(l)’’ and inserting ‘‘485(k)’’; 

7 (2) in section 435(d)(5) (20 U.S.C. 

8 1085(d)(5))— 

9 (A) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

10 ‘‘485(l)’’ and inserting ‘‘485(k)’’; and 

11 (B) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

12 ‘‘485(l)’’ and inserting ‘‘485(k)’’; 

13 (3) in section 485 (20 U.S.C. 1092)— 

14 (A) by striking subsection (k); and 

15 (B) by redesignating subsections (l) and 

16 (m) as subsections (k) and (l), respectively; and 

17 (4) in section 487(e)(2)(B)(ii)(IV) (20 U.S.C. 

18 1094(e)(2)(B)(ii)(IV)), by striking ‘‘(l) of section 

19 485’’ and inserting ‘‘(k) of section 485’’. 

20 SEC. 11. IMPROVING FINANCIAL AID FOR HOMELESS AND 

21 FOSTER CARE CHILDREN AND YOUTH. 

22 (a) INDEPENDENT STUDENT.—Section 480(d)(1)(H) 

23 (20 U.S.C. 1087vv(d)(1)(H)) is amended— 

24 (1) in the matter preceding clause (i)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘during the school year in 

2 which the application is submitted’’; 

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘age 23 or younger’’ after 

4 ‘‘unaccompanied youth’’; and 

5 (C) by striking ‘‘terms are’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘term is’’; 

7 (2) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘, or a designee 

8 of the liaison’’ after ‘‘Act’’; 

9 (3) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘a program fund10 ed under the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘an emergency or transitional shelter, 

12 street outreach program, homeless youth drop-in 

13 center, or other program serving homeless youth,’’; 

14 and 

15 (4) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘program funded 

16 under subtitle B of title IV of the McKinney-Vento 

17 Homeless Assistance Act (relating to emergency 

18 shelter grants)’’ and inserting ‘‘Federal TRIO pro19 gram or a Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness 

20 for Undergraduate program under chapter 1 or 2 of 

21 subpart 2 of part A,’’. 

22 (b) FOSTER CARE CHILDREN AND YOUTH.—Section 

23 103 (20 U.S.C. 1003) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (10) through 

2 (24) as paragraphs (11) through (25), respectively; 

3 and 

4 (2) by inserting after paragraph (9) the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(10) FOSTER CARE CHILDREN AND YOUTH.— 

7 The term ‘foster care children and youth’— 

8 ‘‘(A) means children and youth whose care 

9 and placement are the responsibility of the 

10 State or Tribal agency that administers a State 

11 or Tribal plan under part B or E of title IV of 

12 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq. 

13 and 670 et seq.), without regard to whether fos14 ter care maintenance payments are made under 

15 section 472 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 672) on be16 half of such children and youth; and 

17 ‘‘(B) includes individuals who were age 13 

18 or older when their care and placement were 

19 the responsibility of a State or Tribal agency 

20 that administered a State or Tribal plan under 

21 part B or E of title IV of the Social Security 

22 Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq. and 670 et seq.) 

23 and who are no longer under the care and re24 sponsibility of such a State or Tribal agency, 

25 without regard to any such individual’s subseVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 May 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1346.IS S1346

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1 quent adoption, guardianship arrangement, or 

2 other form of permanency outcome.’’. 

3 (c) STREAMLINING DETERMINATIONS AND

4 VERIFICATION.—Section 480(d) (20 U.S.C. 1087vv(d)) is 

5 amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(3) SIMPLIFYING THE DETERMINATION PROC7 ESS FOR UNACCOMPANIED YOUTH.— 

8 ‘‘(A) VERIFICATION.—A financial aid ad9 ministrator shall accept a determination of 

10 independence made by any individual author11 ized to make such determinations under clause 

12 (i), (ii), or (iii) of paragraph (1)(H) in the ab13 sence of conflicting information. A documented 

14 phone call with, or a written statement from, 

15 one of the authorized individuals is sufficient 

16 verification when needed. For purposes of this 

17 paragraph, a financial aid administrator’s dis18 agreement with the determination made by an 

19 authorized individual shall not be considered 

20 conflicting information. 

21 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF INDEPEND22 ENCE.—A financial aid administrator shall 

23 make a determination of independence under 

24 paragraph (1)(H) if a student does not have, 

25 and cannot get, documentation from any of the 


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1 other designated authorities described in such 

2 paragraph. Such a determination shall be— 

3 ‘‘(i) based on the definitions outlined 

4 in paragraph (1)(H); 

5 ‘‘(ii) distinct from a determination of 

6 independence under paragraph (1)(I); 

7 ‘‘(iii) based on a documented inter8 view with the student; and 

9 ‘‘(iv) limited to whether the student 

10 meets the definitions in paragraph (1)(H) 

11 and not about the reasons for the student’s 

12 homelessness. 

13 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL STREAMLINING PER14 MITTED.—Nothing in this paragraph prohibits 

15 an institution from implementing polices that— 

16 ‘‘(i) streamline the determination of 

17 independence under paragraph (1)(H); and 

18 ‘‘(ii) improve a student’s access to fi19 nancial aid because that student is an un20 accompanied youth. 

21 ‘‘(4) SIMPLIFYING THE VERIFICATION PROCESS

22 FOR FOSTER CARE YOUTH.— 

23 ‘‘(A) VERIFICATION OF INDEPENDENCE.— 

24 If an institution requires documentation to 

25 verify that a student is independent based on a 


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1 status described in paragraph (1)(B), a finan2 cial aid administrator shall consider any of the 

3 following as adequate verification: 

4 ‘‘(i) Submission of a court order or of5 ficial State documentation that the student 

6 received Federal or State support in foster 

7 care. 

8 ‘‘(ii) A documented phone call with, 

9 written statement from, or verifiable elec10 tronic data match with— 

11 ‘‘(I) a child welfare agency au12 thorized by a State or county; 

13 ‘‘(II) a Tribal child welfare au14 thority; 

15 ‘‘(III) an independent living case 

16 worker; 

17 ‘‘(IV) a public or private foster 

18 care placing agency or foster care fa19 cility or placement; 

20 ‘‘(V) another program serving or21 phans, foster care youth, or wards of 

22 the court; or 

23 ‘‘(VI) a probation officer. 

24 ‘‘(iii) A documented phone call with, 

25 or a written statement from, an attorney, 


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1 a guardian ad litem, or a court appointed 

2 special advocate, documenting that per3 son’s relationship to the student. 

4 ‘‘(iv) A documented phone call with, 

5 or a written statement from, a representa6 tive of a Federal TRIO program or a 

7 Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness 

8 for Undergraduate Program under chapter 

9 1 or 2 of subpart 2 of part A. 

10 ‘‘(v) Verification of the student’s eligi11 bility for an education and training vouch12 er under the John H. Chafee Foster Care 

13 Independence Program under section 477 

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

15 ‘‘(vi) Submission of a copy of the stu16 dent’s biological or adoptive parents’ or 

17 legal guardians’— 

18 ‘‘(I) certificates of death; or 

19 ‘‘(II) verifiable obituaries. 

20 ‘‘(vii) An attestation from the student, 

21 which includes a description of why the 

22 student may qualify for a status described 

23 in paragraph (1)(B), including the approxi24 mate dates that the student was an or25 phan, in foster care, or a ward of the 


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1 court, to the best of the student’s knowl2 edge after making reasonable efforts to 

3 provide any requested documentation. 

4 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL STREAMLINING PER5 MITTED.—Nothing in this paragraph prohibits 

6 an institution from implementing polices that 

7 streamline the determination of independent 

8 status and improve a student’s access to finan9 cial aid because that student is an orphan, in 

10 foster care, or a ward of the court, or was an 

11 orphan, in foster care, or a ward of the court 

12 at any time when the student was 13 years of 

13 age or older. 

14 ‘‘(5) TIMING; USE OF EARLIER DETERMINA15 TION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) TIMING.—A determination under 

17 subparagraph (B) or (H) of paragraph (1) for 

18 a student— 

19 ‘‘(i) shall be made as quickly as prac20 ticable; 

21 ‘‘(ii) may be made as early as the year 

22 before the award year for which the stu23 dent initially submits an application; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) shall be made no later than dur2 ing the award year for which the student 

3 initially submits an application. 

4 ‘‘(B) USE OF EARLIER DETERMINATION.— 

5 Any student who is determined to be inde6 pendent under subparagraph (B) or (H) of 

7 paragraph (1) for a preceding award year at an 

8 institution shall be presumed to be independent 

9 for each subsequent award year at the same in10 stitution unless— 

11 ‘‘(i) the student informs the institu12 tion that circumstances have changed; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) the institution has specific con14 flicting information about the student’s 

15 independence, and has informed the stu16 dent of this information and the oppor17 tunity to challenge such information 

18 through a documented interview or an im19 partial review by the Student Loan Om20 budsman pursuant to section 141(f)(3). 

21 ‘‘(6) RETENTION OF DOCUMENTS.—A financial 

22 aid administrator shall retain all documents related 

23 to the determination of independence under subpara24 graph (B) or (H) of paragraph (1), including docu25 mented interviews, for the duration of the student’s 


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1 enrollment at the institution and for a minimum of 

2 1 year after the student is no longer enrolled at the 

3 institution.’’. 

4 (d) CONSOLIDATING QUESTIONS REGARDING HOME5 LESS STATUS ON THE FAFSA.—Section 483(a)(4) (20 

6 U.S.C. 1090(a)(4)) is amended by adding at the end the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(C) SINGLE QUESTION REGARDING

9 HOMELESS STATUS.—The Secretary shall en10 sure that, on each form developed under this 

11 section for which the information is applicable, 

12 there is a single, easily understood screening 

13 question to identify an applicant for aid who 

14 is— 

15 ‘‘(i) an unaccompanied homeless child 

16 or youth (as such term is defined in sec17 tion 725 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless 

18 Assistance Act); or 

19 ‘‘(ii) an unaccompanied youth who is 

20 self-supporting and at risk of homeless21 ness.’’. 

22 (e) DATA TRANSPARENCY ON THE NUMBER OF FI23 NANCIAL AID APPLICANTS.—Section 483 (20 U.S.C. 

24 1090), as amended by section 6, is further amended by 

25 adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(k) DATA TRANSPARENCY ON THE NUMBER OF AP2 PLICANTS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall annu4 ally publish data on the number of individuals who 

5 apply for Federal student aid pursuant to this sec6 tion who are homeless individuals described in sec7 tion 725 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist8 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a), including unaccom9 panied youth, and foster care youth. 

10 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The data described in para11 graph (1) with respect to homeless individuals shall 

12 include, at a minimum, for each application cycle— 

13 ‘‘(A) the total number of all applicants 

14 who were determined to be (or to be at risk of 

15 becoming) unaccompanied homeless youth, 

16 under section 480(d)(1)(H); 

17 ‘‘(B) the number of applicants described in 

18 subparagraph (A), disaggregated— 

19 ‘‘(i) by State; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) by the sources of determination 

21 as described in clauses (i) through (iv) of 

22 section 480(d)(1)(H); and 

23 ‘‘(C) the number of undetermined requests 

24 for homelessness consideration, including 

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1 termination had been made in response the ap2 plicant’s request for the institution to consider 

3 the applicant’s special circumstance of being 

4 homeless.’’. 

5 SEC. 12. ELIGIBILITY FOR DREAMERS, TEMPORARY PRO6 TECTED STATUS BENEFICIARIES, AND DE7 FERRED ENFORCED DEPARTURE GRANTEES. 

8 Section 484 (20 U.S.C. 1091), as amended by sec9 tions 9 and 10, is further amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a)(5), by inserting ‘‘or be a 

11 Dreamer student or a temporary protected status or 

12 deferred enforced departure student’’ after ‘‘becom13 ing a citizen or permanent resident’’; and 

14 (2) by inserting after subsection (q) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(r) DEFINITIONS FOR DREAMER STUDENTS AND

17 TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS OR DEFERRED EN18 FORCEMENT DEPARTURE STUDENTS.—In this section: 

19 ‘‘(1) DREAMER STUDENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘Dreamer 

21 student’ means an alien (as defined in section 

22 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

23 (8 U.S.C. 1101(a))) who— 

24 ‘‘(i) has been continuously physically 

25 present in the United States for not less 


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1 than the 4-year period preceding the date 

2 of enactment of the Simplifying Financial 

3 Aid for Students Act of 2019; 

4 ‘‘(ii) was younger than 18 years of 

5 age on the date on which the alien initially 

6 entered the United States; 

7 ‘‘(iii)(I) has been admitted to an insti8 tution of higher education; 

9 ‘‘(II) in the United States, has— 

10 ‘‘(aa) earned a high school di11 ploma or a commensurate alternative 

12 award from a public or private high 

13 school; 

14 ‘‘(bb) obtained a General Edu15 cational Development credential, or 

16 other equivalent of a high school di17 ploma, recognized under State law; or 

18 ‘‘(cc) obtained a recognized post19 secondary credential that is recog20 nized by the Secretary of Education, 

21 the Secretary of Labor, or a State 

22 under the Workforce Innovation and 

23 Opportunity Act; or 


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1 ‘‘(III) is enrolled in secondary school 

2 or in an education program assisting stu3 dents in— 

4 ‘‘(aa) obtaining a regular high 

5 school diploma or a General Edu6 cational Development credential, or 

7 other equivalent of a high school di8 ploma, recognized under State law; 

9 ‘‘(bb) passing the General Edu10 cational Development examinations, a 

11 State-recognized high school diploma 

12 equivalency examination, or other 

13 similar State-authorized examination; 

14 ‘‘(cc) obtaining a certificate or 

15 credential from an area career and 

16 technical education school, as defined 

17 in section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins 

18 Career and Technical Education Act 

19 of 2006, providing education at the 

20 secondary level; or 

21 ‘‘(dd) obtaining a recognized 

22 postsecondary credential; and 

23 ‘‘(iv)(I) is not inadmissible under 

24 paragraph (2), (3), (6)(E), (6)(G), (8), 

25 (10)(A), (10)(C), (10)(D), or (10)(E) of 


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1 section 212(a) of the Immigration and Na2 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)); 

3 ‘‘(II) has not ordered, incited, as4 sisted, or otherwise participated in the per5 secution of any person on account of race, 

6 religion, nationality, membership in a par7 ticular social group, or political opinion; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(III) excluding any offense under 

10 State law for which an essential element is 

11 the alien’s immigration status and any 

12 minor traffic offense, has not been con13 victed of— 

14 ‘‘(aa) any offense under Federal 

15 or State law that is punishable by a 

16 maximum term of imprisonment of 

17 more than 1 year; or 

18 ‘‘(bb) 3 or more offenses under 

19 Federal or State law for which the 

20 alien was convicted on different dates 

21 for each of the 3 offenses and impris22 oned for an aggregate of 90 days or 

23 more. 

24 ‘‘(B) HARDSHIP EXCEPTION.—The Sec25 retary of Homeland Security shall issue regulaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 May 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00042 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1346.IS S1346

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1 tions that direct when the Department shall 

2 waive the requirement of clause (i) or (ii), or 

3 both, of subparagraph (A) for an individual to 

4 qualify as a Dreamer student, under such sub5 paragraph, if the individual— 

6 ‘‘(i) demonstrates compelling cir7 cumstances for the inability to satisfy the 

8 requirement of such clause (i) or (ii), or 

9 both; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) satisfies the requirement of 

11 clauses (iii) and (iv) of subparagraph (A). 

12 ‘‘(2) TEMPORARY PROTECTED STATUS OR DE13 FERRED ENFORCED DEPARTURE STUDENT.—The 

14 term ‘temporary protected status or deferred en15 forced departure student’ means an alien (as defined 

16 in section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 

17 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a))) who— 

18 ‘‘(A)(i) has been continuously physically 

19 present in the United States for a period of not 

20 less than 3 years before the date of enactment 

21 of the Simplifying Financial Aid for Students 

22 Act of 2019; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) is a national of a foreign state (or 

24 part thereof), (or in the case of an alien having 

25 no nationality, is a person who last habitually 


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1 resided in such state), with a designation under 

2 subsection (b) of section 244 of the Immigra3 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1254a(b)) 

4 on September 25, 2016, who had or was other5 wise eligible for temporary protected status on 

6 such date; or 

7 ‘‘(B) was under a grant of deferred en8 forced departure as of September 28, 2016.’’. 

9 SEC. 13. PROVISIONAL INDEPENDENCE FOR CERTAIN STU10 DENTS. 

11 Section 483 (20 U.S.C. 1090), as amended by section 

12 11, is further amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (h)(1), by inserting the fol14 lowing before the semicolon: ‘‘, including the special 

15 circumstances under which a student may qualify for 

16 a determination of independence’’; and 

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

18 ‘‘(l) PROVISIONAL INDEPENDENT STUDENTS.— 

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

20 The Secretary shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) enable each student who, based on a 

22 special circumstance specified in accordance 

23 with subsection (h)(1), may qualify for an ad24 justment under section 479A that will result in 

25 a determination of independence under such 


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1 section and section 480(d)(1)(I), to complete 

2 the forms developed by the Secretary under 

3 subsection (a) as an independent student for 

4 the purpose of a provisional determination of 

5 the student’s Federal financial aid award, but 

6 subject to verification under paragraph (2)(E) 

7 for the purpose of the final determination of the 

8 award; 

9 ‘‘(B) upon completion of the forms devel10 oped by the Secretary under subsection (a), 

11 provide an estimate of the student’s Federal 

12 Pell Grant award, based on the assumption the 

13 student is determined to be an independent stu14 dent; 

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

16 under this section, there is a single and easily 

17 understood screening question to identify an ap18 plicant for aid who wishes to provisionally apply 

19 for independent status under sections 479A and 

20 480(d)(1)(I); and 

21 ‘‘(D) specify, on the forms, the con22 sequences under section 490(a) of knowingly 

23 and willfully completing the forms as an inde24 pendent student under subparagraph (A) withVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 May 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00045 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1346.IS S1346

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1 out meeting the special circumstances to qualify 

2 for such a determination. 

3 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR FINANCIAL AID AD4 MINISTRATORS.—With respect to a student accepted 

5 for admission who completes the forms as an inde6 pendent student under paragraph (1)(A), a financial 

7 aid administrator— 

8 ‘‘(A) shall notify the student of the institu9 tional process and requirements for an adjust10 ment under sections 479A and 480(d)(1)(I) 

11 that will result in a determination of independ12 ence under such sections within a reasonable 

13 time after the student completes the forms de14 veloped by the Secretary under subsection (a) 

15 as an independent student for the purpose of a 

16 provisional determination of the student’s Fed17 eral financial aid award; 

18 ‘‘(B) may make an adjustment under sec19 tions 479A and 480(d)(1)(I) for a determina20 tion of independence in the absence of con21 flicting information; 

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

23 the student’s Federal financial aid award to the 

24 student in the same manner as, and by not 

25 later than the date that, the administrator proVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 May 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1346.IS S1346

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1 vides most other provisionally independent stu2 dents their final determinations of Federal fi3 nancial aid awards, or during the award year in 

4 which the student initially submits an applica5 tion, whichever comes sooner; 

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

7 of the student’s Federal financial aid award, 

8 use the discretion provided under sections 479A 

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

10 meets the special circumstances to qualify as an 

11 independent student; 

12 ‘‘(E) in accordance with subparagraph (B), 

13 may consider as adequate verification that a 

14 student qualifies for an adjustment under sec15 tions 479A and 480(d)(1)(I)— 

16 ‘‘(i) submission of a court order or of17 ficial Federal or State documentation that 

18 the student’s parent or legal guardian is 

19 incarcerated in any Federal or State penal 

20 institution; 

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

22 a written statement from— 

23 ‘‘(I) a child welfare agency au24 thorized by a State or county; 


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1 ‘‘(II) a Tribal child welfare au2 thority; 

3 ‘‘(III) an independent living case 

4 worker; or 

5 ‘‘(IV) a public or private agency, 

6 facility, or program serving the vic7 tims of abuse, neglect, assault, or vio8 lence; 

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

10 or a written statement from, an attorney, 

11 a guardian ad litem, or a court appointed 

12 special advocate, documenting that per13 son’s relationship to the student; 

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

15 a written statement from, a representative 

16 of a program under chapter 1 or 2 of sub17 part 2 of part A; or 

18 ‘‘(v) submission of a copy of the stu19 dent’s biological or adoptive parents’ or 

20 legal guardians’— 

21 ‘‘(I) certificates of death; or 

22 ‘‘(II) verified obituaries; 

23 ‘‘(F) if a student does not have, and can24 not get, documentation from any of the des25 ignated authorities described in subparagraph 


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•S 1346 IS

1 (E) of whether a student may qualify for an ad2 justment under sections 479A and 480(d)(1)(I) 

3 that will result in a determination of independ4 ence, may base the verification and final deter5 mination on— 

6 ‘‘(i) a documented interview with the 

7 student that is limited to whether the stu8 dent meets the requirements, and not 

9 about the reasons for the student’s situa10 tions; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) an attestation from the student 

12 that the student meets the requirements, 

13 which includes a description of the approx14 imate dates that the student ended the fi15 nancial or caregiving relationship with 

16 their parent or legal guardian, to the best 

17 of the student’s knowledge; 

18 ‘‘(G) shall retain all documents related to 

19 the adjustment under sections 479A and 

20 480(d)(1)(I), including documented interviews, 

21 for the duration of the student’s enrollment at 

22 the institution and for a minimum of 1 year 

23 after the student is no longer enrolled at the in24 stitution; and 


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

2 has obtained an adjustment under sections 

3 479A and 480(d)(1)(I) and a final determina4 tion of independence for a preceding award year 

5 at an institution to be independent for a subse6 quent award year at the same institution un7 less— 

8 ‘‘(i) the student informs the institu9 tion that circumstances have changed; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) the institution has specific con11 flicting information about the student’s 

12 independence.’’. 

13 SEC. 14. SECURE DISCLOSURE OF TAX RETURN INFORMA14 TION TO CARRY OUT THE HIGHER EDU15 CATION ACT OF 1965. 

16 (a) AMENDMENTS TO THE INTERNAL REVENUE

17 CODE OF 1986.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (13) of section 

19 6103(l) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is 

20 amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(13) DISCLOSURE OF RETURN INFORMATION

22 TO CARRY OUT THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF

23 1965.— 

24 ‘‘(A) INCOME-CONTINGENT OR INCOME25 BASED REPAYMENT AND TOTAL AND PERMAVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:56 May 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00050 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1346.IS S1346

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1 NENT DISABILITY DISCHARGE.—The Secretary 

2 shall, upon written request from the Secretary 

3 of Education, disclose to officers, employees, 

4 and contractors of the Department of Edu5 cation, as specifically authorized and designated 

6 by the Secretary of Education, only for the pur7 pose of (and to the extent necessary in) estab8 lishing, renewing, administering, and con9 ducting analyses and forecasts for estimating 

10 costs related to income contingent or income11 based repayment programs, and the discharge 

12 of loans based on a total and permanent dis13 ability (within the meaning of section 437(a) of 

14 the Higher Education Act of 1965), under title 

15 IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, the 

16 following return information (as defined in sub17 section (b)(2)) with respect to taxpayers identi18 fied by the Secretary of Education as partici19 pating in the loan programs under title IV of 

20 such Act, for taxable years specified by such 

21 Secretary: 

22 ‘‘(i) Taxpayer identity information 

23 with respect to such taxpayer. 

24 ‘‘(ii) The filing status of such tax25 payer. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) Type of tax return from which 

2 the return information is provided. 

3 ‘‘(iv) The adjusted gross income of 

4 such taxpayer. 

5 ‘‘(v) Total number of exemptions 

6 claimed, or total number of individuals and 

7 dependents claimed, as applicable, on the 

8 return. 

9 ‘‘(vi) Number of children with respect 

10 to which tax credits under section 24 are 

11 claimed on the return. 

12 ‘‘(vii) Other information determined 

13 to be necessary by agreement between the 

14 Secretary and the Secretary of Education 

15 to administer the Federal financial aid pro16 grams as required by the Higher Edu17 cation Act of 1965. 

18 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL STUDENT FINANCIAL

19 AID.—The Secretary shall, upon written request 

20 from the Secretary of Education, disclose to of21 ficers, employees, and contractors of the De22 partment of Education, as specifically author23 ized and designated by the Secretary of Edu24 cation, only for the purpose of (and to the ex25 tent necessary in) determining eligibility for, 


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1 and amount of, Federal student financial aid 

2 under programs authorized by title IV of the 

3 Higher Education Act of 1965 and conducting 

4 analyses and forecasts for estimating costs re5 lated to such programs, the following return in6 formation (as defined in subsection (b)(2)) with 

7 respect to taxpayers identified by the Secretary 

8 of Education as applicants for Federal student 

9 financial aid under title IV of such Act, for tax10 able years specified by such Secretary: 

11 ‘‘(i) Taxpayer identity information 

12 with respect to such taxpayer. 

13 ‘‘(ii) The filing status of such tax14 payer. 

15 ‘‘(iii) Type of tax return from which 

16 the return information is provided. 

17 ‘‘(iv) The adjusted gross income of 

18 such taxpayer. 

19 ‘‘(v) The amount of any net earnings 

20 from self-employment (as defined in sec21 tion 1402), wages (as defined in section 

22 3121(a) or 3401(a)), business income, in23 vestment income, and taxable income from 

24 a farming business (as defined in section 


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1 236A(e)(4)) for the period reported on the 

2 return. 

3 ‘‘(vi) The total income tax of such 

4 taxpayer. 

5 ‘‘(vii) Total number of exemptions 

6 claimed, or total number of individuals and 

7 dependents claimed, as applicable, on the 

8 return. 

9 ‘‘(viii) Number of children with re10 spect to which tax credits under section 24 

11 are claimed on the return. 

12 ‘‘(ix) Amount of any credit claimed 

13 under section 25A for the taxable year. 

14 ‘‘(x) Amount of individual retirement 

15 account distributions not included in ad16 justed gross income for the taxable year. 

17 ‘‘(xi) Amount of individual retirement 

18 account contributions and payments to 

19 self-employed SEP, Keogh, and other 

20 qualified plans which were deducted from 

21 income for the taxable year. 

22 ‘‘(xii) The amount of tax-exempt in23 terest. 


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1 ‘‘(xiii) Amounts from retirement pen2 sions and annuities not included in ad3 justed gross income for the taxable year. 

4 ‘‘(xiv) If applicable, the fact that 

5 there is no return filed for such taxpayer 

6 for the applicable year. 

7 ‘‘(xv) Other information determined to 

8 be necessary by agreement between the 

9 Secretary and the Secretary of Education 

10 to administer the Federal financial aid pro11 grams as required by the Higher Edu12 cation Act of 1965. 

13 ‘‘(C) RESTRICTION ON USE OF DISCLOSED

14 INFORMATION.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Return informa16 tion disclosed under subparagraphs (A) 

17 and (B) may be used by officers, employ18 ees, and contractors of the Department of 

19 Education, as specifically authorized and 

20 designated by the Secretary of Education, 

21 only for the purposes and to the extent 

22 necessary described in such subparagraphs 

23 and for mitigating risks (as defined in 

24 clause (ii)) relating to the programs de25 scribed in such subparagraphs. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) MITIGATING RISKS.—For pur2 poses of this subparagraph, the term ‘miti3 gating risks’ means, with respect to the 

4 programs described in subparagraphs (A) 

5 and (B)— 

6 ‘‘(I) analyzing or estimating costs 

7 associated with potential changes to 

8 the need-analysis formula; 

9 ‘‘(II) oversight activities by the 

10 Office of Inspector General of the De11 partment of Education as authorized 

12 by the Inspector General Act of 1978, 

13 as amended; 

14 ‘‘(III) developing or admin15 istering statistical models that inform 

16 support to populations of Federal stu17 dent loan borrowers who are at risk of 

18 default or delinquency; 

19 ‘‘(IV) reducing the net cost of 

20 improper payments to Federal finan21 cial aid recipients; and 

22 ‘‘(V) producing aggregate statis23 tics for reporting, research, or con24 sumer information on the performance 

25 of programs or institutions of higher 


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1 education participating in the pro2 grams under title IV of the Higher 

3 Education Act of 1965. 

4 Such term does not include the conduct of 

5 criminal investigations or prosecutions. 

6 ‘‘(iii) REDISCLOSURE TO INSTITU7 TIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION, STATE

8 HIGHER EDUCATION AGENCIES, AND DES9 IGNATED SCHOLARSHIP ORGANIZATIONS.— 

10 The Secretary of Education, and officers, 

11 employees, and contractors of the Depart12 ment of Education, may disclose return in13 formation received under subparagraph 

14 (B), solely for the use in the application, 

15 award, and administration of Federal stu16 dent financial aid, State aid, or aid award17 ed by eligible institutions or such entities 

18 as the Secretary of Education may des19 ignate, to the following persons: 

20 ‘‘(I) An institution of higher edu21 cation with which the Secretary of 

22 Education has an agreement under 

23 subpart 1 of part A, or part D or E, 

24 of title IV of the Higher Education 

25 Act of 1965. 


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1 ‘‘(II) A State higher education 

2 agency. 

3 ‘‘(III) A scholarship organization 

4 which is designated by the Secretary 

5 of Education as of the date of the en6 actment of the Simplifying Financial 

7 Aid for Students Act of 2019 as an 

8 organization eligible to receive the in9 formation provided under this clause. 

10 The preceding sentence shall only apply to 

11 the extent that the taxpayer with respect 

12 to whom the return information relates 

13 provides consent for such disclosure to the 

14 Secretary of Education as part of the ap15 plication for Federal student financial aid 

16 under title IV of the Higher Education Act 

17 of 1965. 

18 ‘‘(D) REQUIRED NOTIFICATION PERI19 ODS.— 

20 ‘‘(i) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS.— 

21 The Secretary and the Secretary of Edu22 cation shall issue joint notifications to the 

23 Committees on Finance and Health, Edu24 cation, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate 

25 and the Committees on Ways and Means 


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1 and Education and Labor of the House of 

2 Representatives not less than 120 days 

3 prior to the first disclosure of any type of 

4 return information under subparagraph 

5 (A)(vii) or (B)(xv) with respect to which 

6 such a notification has not been previously 

7 made. 

8 ‘‘(ii) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COM9 MENT.—There shall be a public notice and 

10 comment period beginning not less than 60 

11 days prior to the first disclosure of any 

12 type of return information under subpara13 graph (A)(vii) or (B)(xv) with respect to 

14 which such a notification has not been pre15 viously made, subsequent to the period al16 lotted for congressional comment under 

17 clause (i).’’. 

18 (2) CONFIDENTIALITY OF RETURN INFORMA19 TION.—Section 6103(a)(3) of such Code is amended 

20 by inserting ‘‘, (13)(A), (13)(B)’’ after ‘‘(12)’’. 

21 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

22 6103(p)(4) of such Code is amended— 

23 (A) by inserting ‘‘(A), (13)(B)’’ after 

24 ‘‘(13)’’ each place it occurs; and 


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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘, (13)(A), (13)(B)’’ after 

2 ‘‘(l)(10)’’ each place it occurs. 

3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

4 this section shall apply to disclosures made under section 

5 6103(l)(13) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as 

6 amended by this section) after the date of the enactment 

7 of this Act. 

8 SEC. 15. NOTIFICATION OF REQUEST FOR TAX RETURN IN9 FORMATION. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part G of title IV (20 U.S.C. 

11 1088 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 494. NOTIFICATION OF REQUEST FOR TAX RETURN 

14 INFORMATION. 

15 ‘‘The Secretary shall advise students and borrowers 

16 who submit an application for Federal student financial 

17 aid under this title or for the discharge of a loan based 

18 on permanent and total disability, as described in section 

19 437(a), or who request an income-contingent or income20 based repayment plan on their loan (as well as parents 

21 and spouses who sign such an application or request or 

22 a Master Promissory Note on behalf of those students and 

23 borrowers) that the Secretary has the authority to request 

24 that the Internal Revenue Service disclose their tax return 

25 information (as well as that of parents and spouses who 


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1 sign such an application or request or a Master Promis2 sory Note on behalf of those students and borrowers) to 

3 officers, employees, and contractors of the Department of 

4 Education as authorized under section 6103(1)(13) of the 

5 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, to the extent necessary 

6 for the Secretary to carry out this title.’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATED TO STU8 DENT ELIGIBILITY.—Section 484, as amended by sections 

9 9, 10, and 12, is further amended— 

10 (1) by striking subsection (q); 

11 (2) by redesignating subsections (o), (p), (s), 

12 and (t) as subsections (n), (o), (p), and (q), respec13 tively; and 

14 (3) by transferring subsections (p) and (q), as 

15 redesignated by paragraph (2), so as to precede sub16 section (r) (as added by section 12(b)). 

17 SEC. 16. EARLY FEDERAL PELL GRANT COMMITMENT PRO18 GRAM. 

19 Subpart 1 of part A of title IV (20 U.S.C. 1070a 

20 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 401B. EARLY FEDERAL PELL GRANT COMMITMENT 

22 PROGRAM. 

23 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall 

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1 gram (referred to in this section as the ‘Program’) under 

2 which the Secretary— 

3 ‘‘(1) makes a commitment to award Federal 

4 Pell Grants to eligible students in accordance with 

5 this section; and 

6 ‘‘(2) awards grants to States with approved ap7 plications under subsection (c), to enable the States 

8 to administer the Program, support eligible students, 

9 and carry out a targeted information campaign de10 scribed in subsection (d) in the State. 

11 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—The Program shall 

12 meet the following requirements: 

13 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE STUDENTS.—A student shall be 

14 eligible to receive a commitment from the Secretary 

15 under paragraph (2) if the student— 

16 ‘‘(A) is in any of the grades 8 through 12; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(B) is a member of a household receiving 

19 assistance under the supplemental nutrition as20 sistance program established under the Food 

21 and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et 

22 seq.). 

23 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL PELL GRANT COMMITMENT.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible student 

25 shall receive a commitment from the Secretary 


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1 to receive a Federal Pell Grant during the first 

2 2 academic years that the student is in attend3 ance at an institution of higher education as an 

4 undergraduate student, if the student— 

5 ‘‘(i) applies for Federal financial aid 

6 (via the Free Application for Federal Stu7 dent Aid under section 483) during the 

8 student’s senior year of secondary school 

9 and during the succeeding academic year; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(ii) enrolls at such institution of 

12 higher education— 

13 ‘‘(I) not later than 3 years after 

14 such student receives a secondary 

15 school diploma or its recognized equiv16 alent; or 

17 ‘‘(II) if such student becomes a 

18 member of the armed forces, not later 

19 than 3 years after such student is dis20 charged, separated, or released from 

21 the Armed Forces. 

22 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF CONTINUED ELI23 GIBILITY.—When an eligible student receiving a 

24 Federal Pell Grant pursuant to the commitment 

25 under subparagraph (A) enters the student’s 


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•S 1346 IS

1 second academic year, the Secretary shall notify 

2 the student— 

3 ‘‘(i) of the upcoming conclusion of the 

4 commitment; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) that the student will remain eli6 gible for a Federal Pell Grant under sec7 tion 401 if the student, at the time of ap8 plication, is— 

9 ‘‘(I) a member of a household re10 ceiving assistance under the supple11 mental nutrition assistance program 

12 established under the Food and Nutri13 tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et 

14 seq.) at the time of such application; 

15 or 

16 ‘‘(II) is receiving benefits 

17 under— 

18 ‘‘(aa) the supplemental secu19 rity income program under title 

20 XVI of the Social Security Act 

21 (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.); 

22 ‘‘(bb) a State program fund23 ed under the temporary assist24 ance for needy families program 

25 under part A of title IV of the 


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1 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

2 601 et seq.); 

3 ‘‘(cc) the Medicaid program 

4 under title XIX of the Social Se5 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et 

6 seq.); or 

7 ‘‘(dd) a means-tested Fed8 eral benefit program, not de9 scribed in subclause (I), (II), or 

10 (III), that is determined appro11 priate by the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY OF FEDERAL PELL GRANT

13 REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The requirements of 

15 section 401 shall apply to Federal Pell Grants 

16 awarded pursuant to this section, except that 

17 with respect to each eligible student in the Pro18 gram, the amount of each such eligible stu19 dent’s Federal Pell Grant only shall be cal20 culated by deeming such student to have a stu21 dent aid index equal to zero. 

22 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION FOR STATE AND IN23 STITUTIONAL AID.—For each student whose 

24 student aid index is deemed to be zero under 

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1 culate the student aid index for the student, 

2 using the simplified version of the Free Applica3 tion for Federal Student Aid form in accord4 ance with section 479, to identify students who 

5 have a negative student aid index and may be 

6 eligible for additional State or institutional aid. 

7 ‘‘(c) STATE APPLICATIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State desiring to par9 ticipate in the Program shall submit an application 

10 to the Secretary at such time and in such manner 

11 as the Secretary may require. 

12 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each application shall in13 clude— 

14 ‘‘(A) a description of the State’s proposed 

15 targeted information campaign for the Pro16 gram, in accordance with subsection (d), and a 

17 copy of the plan described in subsection (d)(2); 

18 ‘‘(B) an assurance that the State will fully 

19 cooperate with the ongoing evaluation of the 

20 Program under subsection (e); 

21 ‘‘(C) a description of how the State will— 

22 ‘‘(i) encourage participating secondary 

23 students to enroll in rigorous and chal24 lenging curricula and coursework, in order 


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1 to reduce the need for remedial coursework 

2 at the postsecondary level; 

3 ‘‘(ii) increase the number of eligible 

4 students who— 

5 ‘‘(I) obtain a secondary school di6 ploma; and 

7 ‘‘(II) complete applications for 

8 and enroll in a program of postsec9 ondary education; 

10 ‘‘(iii) introduce eligible students to in11 stitutions of higher education, through 

12 trips and school-based sessions; 

13 ‘‘(iv) provide eligible students with as14 sistance in the admissions and application 

15 process for institutions of higher education 

16 or other postsecondary education pro17 grams; and 

18 ‘‘(v) ensure that each eligible student 

19 has an educational development plan; and 

20 ‘‘(D) such other information as the Sec21 retary may require. 

22 ‘‘(3) EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN.—In 

23 this subsection, the term ‘educational development 

24 plan’ means an individualized plan for a student 

25 that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) contains a series of steps to help pro2 mote the student’s career awareness and explo3 ration; and 

4 ‘‘(B) assists students in identifying— 

5 ‘‘(i) postsecondary options, including 

6 baccalaureate and subbaccalaureate degree 

7 programs; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) career and technical programs of 

9 study, including career and technical pro10 grams of study as defined in section 3 of 

11 the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical 

12 Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302). 

13 ‘‘(d) TARGETED INFORMATION CAMPAIGN AND

14 PLAN.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State receiving a 

16 grant under this section shall, in cooperation with 

17 the participating local educational agencies within 

18 the State and the Secretary, develop a targeted in19 formation campaign for the Program. 

20 ‘‘(2) PLAN.—Each State receiving a grant 

21 under this section shall include in the application 

22 submitted under subsection (c) a written plan for 

23 their proposed targeted information campaign. The 

24 plan shall include the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) OUTREACH.—Outreach to students 

2 and their families, at a minimum, at the begin3 ning and end of each academic year. 

4 ‘‘(B) DISTRIBUTION.—How the State 

5 plans to provide the outreach described in sub6 paragraph (A) and to provide the information 

7 described in subparagraph (C). 

8 ‘‘(C) INFORMATION.—The annual provi9 sion by the State to all students and families 

10 participating in the Program of information re11 garding— 

12 ‘‘(i) the average net price of in-State 

13 institutions of higher education, 

14 disaggregated by sector and by income 

15 quintile; 

16 ‘‘(ii) Federal Pell Grants, including— 

17 ‘‘(I) the maximum Federal Pell 

18 Grant for each academic year; 

19 ‘‘(II) when and how to apply for 

20 a Federal Pell Grant; and 

21 ‘‘(III) what the application proc22 ess for a Federal Pell Grant requires; 

23 ‘‘(iii) State-specific postsecondary edu24 cation savings programs; 

25 ‘‘(iv) State-based financial aid; 


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1 ‘‘(v) Federal financial aid available to 

2 students, including eligibility criteria for 

3 the Federal financial aid and an expla4 nation of the Federal financial aid pro5 grams; and 

6 ‘‘(vi) financial aid that may be avail7 able from nongovernmental sources. 

8 ‘‘(3) ANNUAL INFORMATION.—The information 

9 described in paragraph (2)(C) shall be provided to 

10 eligible students annually for the duration of the 

11 students’ participation in the Program. 

12 ‘‘(4) RESERVATION.—Each State receiving a 

13 grant under this section shall reserve $200,000 of 

14 the grant funds received each fiscal year to carry out 

15 the targeted information campaign described in this 

16 subsection. 

17 ‘‘(5) INFORMATION CAMPAIGN IN NON-PARTICI18 PATING STATES.—In the case of a State does not 

19 apply for a grant under this section, or applies but 

20 does not satisfy the requirements of the grant, the 

21 Secretary shall carry out an information campaign 

22 and administer the Program for the State, in order 

23 to ensure that eligible students in the State are as24 sisted under the Program. 

25 ‘‘(e) EVALUATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appro2 priated under subsection (f) for a fiscal year, the 

3 Secretary shall reserve not more than $1,000,000 to 

4 award a grant or contract to an organization outside 

5 the Department for an independent evaluation of the 

6 impact of the Program. 

7 ‘‘(2) COMPETITIVE BASIS.—The grant or con8 tract shall be awarded on a competitive basis. 

9 ‘‘(3) MATTERS EVALUATED.—The evaluation 

10 described in this subsection shall consider metrics 

11 established by the Secretary that emphasize college 

12 access and success, encouraging low-income students 

13 to pursue higher education, and the cost effective14 ness of the program. 

15 ‘‘(4) DISSEMINATION.—The findings of the 

16 evaluation shall be widely disseminated to the public 

17 by the organization conducting the evaluation as well 

18 as by the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

20 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

21 such sums as may be necessary.’’. 

Æ 


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