Washington, D.C. — Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper joined 29 of their Senate colleagues in a letter urging U.S. Department of Education (DOE) Secretary Miguel Cardona to address an error in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) that prevents students with family members who do not have a Social Security number (SSN) from filling out the form.
“We remain concerned about the Department’s plan to address the ongoing error that does not allow for contributors without a Social Security Number (SSN) to complete the FAFSA application, the impact of this error, and how any remedies will be communicated in a culturally relevant manner to impacted students, institutions of higher education, and other student financial aid stakeholders,” wrote Bennet, Hickenlooper, and the senators.
Congress passed the bipartisan FAFSA Simplification Act and the FUTURE Act to reform the FAFSA application and make it more efficient and straightforward for the over 17 million students who fill out the form each year. DOE launched the new form in late December 2023, but contributors, including parents and spouses, without SSNs still cannot complete their part of the application. DOE pledged to solve the issue by mid-March, but has only provided a small-scale temporary option that is still preventing impacted students from filing their complete application.
“We are concerned that without clear direction from the Department, these students will miss out on opportunities and not be able to finance their higher education. There remains widespread misinformation, a lack of clear communication with students and stakeholders, and no plan to address the long-term impact that this error may have on the educational prospects for some of our most vulnerable students,” continued the senators.
The letter is supported by organizations and stakeholders including the Presidents’ Alliance for Higher Education and Immigration, the Education Trust, the National Education Association (NEA), Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), ImmSchools, National College Attainment Network (NCAN), National Immigration Law Center (NILC), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), and UnidosUS.
Bennet has consistently pushed DOE to simplify the FAFSA form to make it easier for students to apply for federal financial aid so that more students would enroll, stay in school, and graduate. In 2014, Bennet introduced the Financial Aid Simplification and Transparency (FAST) Act with U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) to reduce the number of FAFSA questions from 108 to 2 and simplify the process. Several of the bill’s measures passed in the 2020 FAFSA Simplification Act. Last year, Bennet led a letter to DOE urging officials to provide specific guidance to farm families ahead of implementation of the new FAFSA form. He also joined several bipartisan colleagues to urge DOE to provide clear guidance and communication to students, families, educators, college access counselors, and schools leading up to and after the release of the new form. In February, Bennet and 108 colleagues wrote to DOE to address delays and operational issues with the new FAFSA.
The text of the letter is available HERE and below.
Dear Secretary Cardona:
We write to express our gratitude for the Department of Education’s (the Department) commitment to correct errors in the newly released Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). However, we remain concerned about the Department’s plan to address the ongoing error that does not allow for contributors without a Social Security Number (SSN) to complete the FAFSA application, the impact of this error, and how any remedies will be communicated in a culturally relevant manner to impacted students, institutions of higher education, and other student financial aid stakeholders.
Each year, students fill out the FAFSA form hoping to secure federal funding for their post-secondary plans. With the passage of the bipartisan FAFSA Simplification Act and the FUTURE Act, the new FAFSA application was supposed to become more efficient and simpler for students to fill out. However, there were multiple errors in the release of the new form, including not allowing students with contributors without SSNs to be able to complete their application.
The students impacted by this error are entitled to apply for federal financial aid, yet through no fault of their own, they are currently being locked out from taking advantage of this opportunity in a timely manner. Across the nation, students, parents, financial aid officers, and advocates are expressing frustration and anger as they attempt to gauge how best to proceed in this unique, complicated situation. However, they are often met with an alarming rate of misinformation, long call center wait times, and excessive barriers to access. We are concerned that without clear direction from the Department, these students will miss out on opportunities and not be able to finance their higher education.
While we were pleased to hear the Department’s announcement that there will finally be a permanent fix to this error by mid-March, and that there is a small-scale temporary option for these students in certain circumstances, we continue to be very concerned. There remains widespread misinformation, a lack of clear communication with students and stakeholders, and no plan to address the long-term impact that this error may have on the educational prospects for some of our most vulnerable students.
We request that the Department respond to the following set of questions by March 12th:
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On what date does the Department expect to make the announcement about a permanent solution for students with contributors without a SSN?
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How is the Department addressing misinformation, especially if it leads students and contributors to input incorrect information on their FAFSA forms? How will students be notified if they need to correct their form?
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How does the Department plan to communicate the finalized fixes to all impacted stakeholders and students, especially those in underserved areas and rural communities who may not have broadband access or direct connection to advocacy organizations that can share these updates?
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Once the error is fixed, how is the Department planning to craft communications for stakeholders, with the clear steps that need to be taken, to disseminate to impacted applicants? Can the Department provide additional information on how institutions of higher education can request onsite federal assistance?
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On February 5th, the Department announced it would provide additional federal personnel and expertise to help colleges prepare and process financial aid forms. Will these resources be deployed and available to stakeholders who need additional support to address this error?
We urge the Department to assure students in any notices or outreach that their information and that of their contributor(s) shall be used only for the purposes of determining eligibility or administering aid. We also urge the Department to provide a comprehensive, easy-to-find Frequently Asked Questions website link and document that is timely, easily understood, and culturally relevant to provide much-needed clarity on what students with contributors who do not have a SSN can expect and how they can navigate making updates to their applications.
We thank the Department for its efforts and commitment to addressing our concerns, and we look forward to continuing to work together.
Sincerely,