Title: FSA Fairness Act of 2018
Policy area: Education

Summary:
FAFSA Fairness Act of 2018
This bill amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to revise the free application for federal student aid (FAFSA) process for certain students. Specifically, the Department of Education must allow students to complete FAFSA as independent students under special circumstances.
Financial aid administrators must provide those students with an initial determination regarding their assistance in the same manner as, and by no later than the date that, they provide other independent students with that determination.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2596 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2596

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

                             March 22, 2018

 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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``FAFSA Fairness Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. CHANGES TO THE FAFSA FOR CERTAIN STUDENTS.

    Section 483 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1090) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (h)(1), by inserting the following before 
        the semicolon: ``, including the special circumstances under 
        which a student may qualify for a determination of 
        independence''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Provisional Independent Students.--
            ``(1) Requirements for the secretary.--The Secretary 
        shall--
                    ``(A) enable each student who, based on the special 
                circumstance specified in subsection (h)(1), may 
                qualify for an adjustment under section 479A that will 
                result in a determination of independence under such 
                section and section 480(d)(1)(I), to complete the forms 
                developed by the Secretary under subsection (a) as an 
                independent student for the purpose of an initial 
                determination of the student's Federal financial aid 
                award by a financial aid administrator at an 
                institution of higher education to which the student is 
                applying for financial aid, but subject to verification 
                under paragraph (2)(B) for the purpose of the final 
                determination of the award; and
                    ``(B) specify, on the forms, the consequences under 
                section 490(a) of knowingly and willfully completing 
                the forms as an independent student under subparagraph 
                (A) without meeting the special circumstances to 
                qualify for such a determination.
            ``(2) Requirements for financial aid administrators.--With 
        respect to a student who completes the forms as an independent 
        student under paragraph (1)(A), a financial aid administrator 
        shall--
                    ``(A) provide an initial determination of the 
                student's Federal financial aid award to the student in 
                the same manner as, and by not later than the date 
                that, the administrator provides other independent 
                students their initial determinations of Federal 
                financial aid awards; and
                    ``(B) in making a final determination of the 
                student's Federal financial aid award, use the 
                discretion provided under sections 479A and 
                480(d)(1)(I) to verify whether the student meets the 
                special circumstances to qualify as an independent 
                student.
            ``(3) Definition.--For purposes of this subsection, the 
        term `other independent students' means students--
                    ``(A) who meet the definition of `independent' 
                under section 480(d)(1); and
                    ``(B) whose independent status is not subject to 
                verification by a financial aid administrator under 
                paragraph (2)(B).''.
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