Title: FAFSA Act
Policy area: Education

Summary:
Financial Aid Fairness for Students Act or the FAFSA Act
This bill repeals a provision that makes students convicted of drug-related offenses ineligible for federal student aid, and it prohibits the Department of Education from asking about drug-related convictions on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4584 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4584

 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to repeal the suspension of 
eligibility for assistance under title IV due to drug-related offenses.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 1, 2019

Ms. Bass (for herself, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Vargas, Mr. 
Trone, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. Hastings, Ms. Moore, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Norton, 
Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Kennedy, Ms. Meng, Ms. Pressley, Mr. Evans, 
  Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Cardenas, Ms. Lee of California, Mrs. Watson 
   Coleman, Ms. Fudge, Mr. Rush, Ms. Johnson of Texas, Mr. Brown of 
Maryland, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Payne, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Clay, 
 Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Crist, Mr. Rouda, Mr. Young, Mr. 
Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Serrano, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, 
 and Ms. Judy Chu of California) introduced the following bill; which 
          was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to repeal the suspension of 
eligibility for assistance under title IV due to drug-related offenses.

    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 ``Financial Aid Fairness for Students 
Act'' or the ``FAFSA Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Expanding the ability of low- and middle-income 
        borrowers to pursue higher education is critical to reversing 
        decades of exclusionary policies that have adversely impacted 
        people of color.
            (2) Under current law, individuals with drug-related 
        offenses are precluded from accessing Federal grants, loans, 
        and work-study aid pursuant to section 484(r) of the Higher 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091(r)), commonly referred to 
        as the ``Aid Elimination Penalty''.
            (3) The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) 
        screens applicants for Federal financial aid based on her or 
        his history of drug offenses.
            (4) Given that criminal sentencing laws in the United 
        States disproportionately impact racial minorities and low-
        income communities, the Aid Elimination Penalty may 
        disproportionately hinder these same groups from accessing 
        Federal financial aid.
            (5) Recognizing that an educated citizenry is the 
        powerhouse of the Nation, that higher education allows 
        Americans to access well-paying jobs, healthcare, strong 
        interpersonal relationships and a higher quality of life, the 
        Federal Government should incentivize the pursuit of higher 
        education while ensuring equality of opportunity.

SEC. 3. REPEAL OF SUSPENSION OF ELIGIBILITY UNDER THE HIGHER EDUCATION 
              ACT OF 1965 FOR GRANTS, LOANS, AND WORK ASSISTANCE FOR 
              DRUG-RELATED OFFENSES.

    (a) Repeal.--Subsection (r) of section 484 of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1091(r)) is repealed.
    (b) Revision of FAFSA Form.--Section 483 of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1090) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
                            ``(i) Convictions.--The Secretary shall not 
                        include any question about the conviction of an 
                        applicant for the possession or sale of illegal 
                        drugs on the FAFSA (or any other form developed 
                        under subsection (a)).''.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--The Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 428(b)(3) (20 U.S.C. 1078(b)(3))--
                    (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``485(l)'' and 
                inserting ``485(k)''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``485(l)'' and 
                inserting ``485(k)'';
            (2) in section 435(d)(5) (20 U.S.C. 1085(d)(5))--
                    (A) in subparagraph (E), by striking ``485(l)'' and 
                inserting ``485(k)''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (F), by striking ``485(l)'' and 
                inserting ``485(k)'';
            (3) in section 484 (20 U.S.C. 1091)--
                    (A) by striking subsection (r); and
                    (B) by redesignating subsections (s) and (t) as 
                subsections (r) and (s), respectively;
            (4) in section 485 (20 U.S.C. 1092)--
                    (A) by striking subsection (k); and
                    (B) by redesignating subsections (l) and (m) as 
                subsections (k) and (l), respectively; and
            (5) in section 487(e)(2)(B)(ii)(IV) (20 U.S.C. 
        1094(e)(2)(B)(ii)(IV)), by striking ``(l) of section 485'' and 
        inserting ``(k) of section 485''.
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