The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee held a hearing on “Reauthorizing the Higher Education Act: Simplifying the FAFSA and Reducing the Burden of Verification”. There was bipartisan support for reducing the number of FAFSA questions, sharing data between the IRS and FSA, expanding Pell to short-term programs, and introducing CTE and community colleges to middle and high school students. Concern was expressed for first generation students and students of color who get selected for verification and may end up not going to college because they just stop the process, while the questions flagged for verification could be answered with data sharing between the IRS and FSA.
Read ASAHP’s Full Memo here.