On December 11, President Biden signed the FAFSA Deadline Act (H.R. 8932) into law. The bill, which AAU endorsed, mandates the Department of Education to release the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on October 1 of each year instead of January 1.
Introduced by Rep. Erin Houchin (R-IN) in the House and Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) in the Senate, the FAFSA Deadline Act passed the House 381-1 and received unanimous support in the Senate.
While the Education Department has routinely made the FAFSA available to students and their families on October 1, the release of the federal student aid application was significantly delayed last year after the department implemented a congressionally mandated overhaul of the form. The department did not release the FAFSA until December 2023 and the subsequent rollout was beset by setbacks and delays, frustrating applicants and causing significant delays in students receiving financial aid offers.
Prior to the House vote, AAU joined the American Council on Education and 40 other higher education associations in sending a letter endorsing the bill. “Completion of the FAFSA is a crucial first step students and families take to increase access to a more affordable postsecondary education,” the letter said.
In moving the statutory date for the annual release of the FAFSA to October 1, the letter noted, the FAFSA Deadline Act would “ensure that students and families have sufficient time to make one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives.”
Kritika Agarwal is senior editorial officer at AAU.