U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) on July 8 proposed legislation that would establish an earlier application processing cycle for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form.
The FAFSA Deadline Act of 2024, S. 4632, which Sen. Cassidy sponsored, would require the U.S. Department of Education to make the FAFSA form available to students each year on Oct. 1.
While the annual FAFSA form has typically been available by Oct. 1, Sen. Cassidy and other lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are concerned that the department is behind on its FAFSA responsibilities after saying it won’t publish the draft FAFSA for comment, which is normally done by March. This will make it more difficult for feedback to be provided before October, according to Sen. Cassidy.
“The Department of Education has had more than three years to properly implement the new FAFSA. Yet, the department is once again behind on making the FAFSA form available to students by Oct. 1,” he said. “Another class of students may skip college altogether because they don’t know if they can afford it.”
If enacted, Sen. Cassidy said that S. 4632 would hold U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona accountable “to ensure students have their financial offers in time to choose the best, affordable college option for them.”
The measure has been referred for consideration to the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, which Sen. Cassidy serves on as ranking member.
S. 4632 is the companion bill to the same-named bill introduced previously by U.S. Rep. Erin Houchin (R-IN) in the U.S. House of Representatives.