Title: FAFSA Fairness Act of 2019
Policy area: Education

Summary:
FAFSA Fairness Act of 2019
This bill revises 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.
It also requires financial aid administrators to provide those students with a final determination regarding their assistance in the same manner as, and by no later than the date that, they provide other provisionally independent students with that determination.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 416 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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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.

    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 2019''.

SEC. 2. PROVISIONAL INDEPENDENCE 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 a provisional 
                determination of the student's Federal financial aid 
                award, but subject to verification under paragraph 
                (2)(E) for the purpose of the final determination of 
                the award;
                    ``(B) upon completion of the forms developed by the 
                Secretary under subsection (a), provide an estimate of 
                the student's Federal Pell Grant award, based on the 
                assumption the student is determined to be an 
                independent student;
                    ``(C) ensure that, on each form developed under 
                this section, there is a single and easily understood 
                screening question to identify an applicant for aid who 
                wishes to provisionally apply for independent status 
                under sections 479A and 480(d)(1)(I); and
                    ``(D) 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 accepted for admission who completes the 
        forms as an independent student under paragraph (1)(A), a 
        financial aid administrator--
                    ``(A) shall notify the student of the institutional 
                process and requirements for an adjustment under 
                sections 479A and 480(d)(1)(I) that will result in a 
                determination of independence under such sections 
                within a reasonable time after the student completes 
                the forms developed by the Secretary under subsection 
                (a) as an independent student for the purpose of a 
                provisional determination of the student's Federal 
                financial aid award;
                    ``(B) may make an adjustment under sections 479A 
                and 480(d)(1)(I) for a determination of independence in 
                the absence of conflicting information;
                    ``(C) shall provide a final 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 most other 
                provisionally independent students their final 
                determinations of Federal financial aid awards, or 
                during the award year in which the student initially 
                submits an application, whichever comes sooner;
                    ``(D) shall, 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;
                    ``(E) in accordance with paragraph (B), may 
                consider as adequate verification that a student 
                qualifies for an adjustment under sections 479A and 
                480(d)(1)(I)--
                            ``(i) submission of a court order or 
                        official Federal or State documentation that 
                        the student's parent or legal guardian is 
                        incarcerated in any Federal or State penal 
                        institution;
                            ``(ii) a documented phone call with, or a 
                        written statement from--
                                    ``(I) a child welfare agency 
                                authorized by a State or county;
                                    ``(II) a Tribal child welfare 
                                authority;
                                    ``(III) an independent living case 
                                worker; or
                                    ``(IV) a public or private agency, 
                                facility, or program serving the 
                                victims of abuse, neglect, assault, or 
                                violence;
                            ``(iii) a documented phone call with, or a 
                        written statement from, an attorney, a guardian 
                        ad litem, or a court appointed special 
                        advocate, documenting that person's 
                        relationship to the student;
                            ``(iv) a documented phone call with, or a 
                        written statement from, a representative of a 
                        program under chapter 1 or 2 of subpart 2 of 
                        part A; or
                            ``(v) submission of a copy of the student's 
                        biological or adoptive parents' or legal 
                        guardians'--
                                    ``(I) certificates of death; or
                                    ``(II) verified obituaries;
                    ``(F) if a student does not have, and cannot get, 
                documentation from any of the designated authorities 
                described in subparagraph (E) of whether a student may 
                qualify for an adjustment under sections 479A and 
                480(d)(1)(I) that will result in a determination of 
                independence, may base the verification and final 
                determination on--
                            ``(i) a documented interview with the 
                        student that is limited to whether the student 
                        meets the requirements, and not about the 
                        reasons for the student's situations; and
                            ``(ii) an attestation from the student that 
                        they meet the requirements, which includes a 
                        description of the approximate dates that the 
                        student ended the financial or caregiving 
                        relationship with their parent or legal 
                        guardian, to the best of the student's 
                        knowledge;
                    ``(G) retain all documents related to the 
                adjustment under sections 479A and 480(d)(1)(I), 
                including documented interviews, for the duration of 
                the student's enrollment at the institution and for a 
                minimum of 1 year after the student is no longer 
                enrolled at the institution; and
                    ``(H) shall presume that any student who has 
                obtained an adjustment under sections 479A and 
                480(d)(1)(I) and a final determination of independence 
                for a preceding award year at an institution to be 
                independent for a subsequent award year at the same 
                institution unless--
                            ``(i) the student informs the institution 
                        that circumstances have changed; or
                            ``(ii) the institution has specific 
                        conflicting information about the student's 
                        independence.''.
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