BRUNSWICK, ME – Following a push from U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) and several of his colleagues, the Obama Administration announced today that the U.S. Department of Education will begin using prior-prior year data for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in the next academic year. In June, Senator King signed on to a letter to the Department of Education urging the change, which will simplify the FAFSA process for students and their families, and legislation he introduced earlier this year would have also accomplished the change announced today.

“A complex web of paperwork doesn’t help our students get ahead – it’s just another obstacle standing in the way of a college education,” Senator King said. “I welcome the Administration’s announcement today, which will make it easier for students to apply for student aid and help make higher education more accessible. There’s still more work to be done to simplify that process, and I will continue to engage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to eliminate unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles, empower students and their families with more accessible information, and provide an easier pathway to higher education.”

According to the Obama Administration, the President is expected to formally unveil the changes at a town hall event with high school students in Iowa this afternoon. In early June, Senator King signed on to a letter, led by Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), that urged Education Secretary Arne Duncan to use his authority to move to a simpler income tax verification process for students filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) when applying to college or university. Specifically the letter urged the Secretary to allow the use of data from the second preceding tax year, also known as “prior-prior year” data in filing out the FAFSA. Currently, many students across the country are receiving their college admissions letters without the accompanying financial aid award information they need to compare college options and costs.

Most families’ incomes do not change significantly from year-to-year, yet the current process forces applicants to wait until January 1 of each year – far after many college application deadlines – to complete the FAFSA in the same year they plan to enroll using the prior year’s tax data. When the FAFSA becomes available, many students and their families struggle to obtain tax documents quickly enough for dozens of local, state and private grant deadlines. The short window provided for filing taxes before filling out the FAFSA places students and families in a difficult situation with few good options.

Under their authority, the Department can allow students to use prior-prior year data, which is more likely to be on file and much easier to import directly into the FAFSA. This will speed up the application process and help reduce the burden of verification for documenting their financial situation and aid eligibility. Prior-prior year data is also not likely to have a significant effect on students’ financial aid awards.  Financial aid administrators, admissions officers, state grant agencies, and college access programs also strongly support using this data.

Earlier this year, Senators King also cosponsored the FAST Act, a bill to simplify the process of applying for and receiving federal financial aid to attend college, allow year-round use of Pell Grants, discourage over-borrowing and simplify repayments. The bill would reduce to a single postcard – called the “Student Aid Short Form” – the questions 20 million Americans must answer to apply for federal financial aid each year and inform high school students in their junior year of the amount they’ll receive in federal aid to help pay for college. It would also address the problem of some students borrowing too much money, and simplify the options students have to repay their federal loans. The FAST Act also streamlines federal grant and loan programs to better serve more students more effectively, and like the change being announced later today, it includes a provision allowing FAFSA filers to use prior-prior year data.  

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