Yesterday, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Senate companion bill to H.R. 8932 – The FAFSA Deadline Bill – which mandates that the Department of Education will publish the FASFA form by no later than October 1st. If the Department is unable to meet the mandatory deadline they must provide notice to Congress in advance and be called to explain the reason(s) for the delay. President Biden is expected to sign the legislation into law to make it official that beginning in 2025 this deadline will be required.
Under current law, the Department must enable applicants to submit the FAFSA and initiate the processing of submitted FAFSAs by January 1 of the applicant's planned year of enrollment, and to the maximum extent practicable, on or around October 1 prior to the applicant's planned year of enrollment. This bill removes the January 1 flexibility and imposes a statutory deadline for release of the FAFSA as October 1.
The bill also requires the Department to certify to Congress by September 1 whether or not the FAFSA will be ready on October 1. If the FAFSA will not be ready by October 1, then the bill requires the Secretary of Education to testify to Congress on (1) the anticipated failure to meet the deadline, and (2) the financial impact on students and families.
AACS will continue to keep members updated with any new FAFSA and Department developments. | 
