District Of Columbia 2023-2024 Regular Session

District Of Columbia Council Bill B25-0501 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
2	2	The John A. Wilson Building
3	3	1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, nw
4	4	Washington, D.C. 20004
5	5
6	6	1
7	7
8	8	Statement of Introduction
9	9	Universal Free Application for Federal Student Aid Graduation Requirement Act of 2023
10	10	September 26, 2023
11	11
12	12	Today, I am proud to introduce the Universal Free Application for Federal Student Aid
13	13	Graduation Requirement Act of 2023 along with Councilmembers Charles Allen, Kenyan R.
14	14	McDuffie, Vincent C. Gray, Brooke Pinto, Matthew Frumin, and Robert C. White, Jr. This
15	15	legislation would require that each District of Columbia public high school student file a Free
16	16	Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) with the United States Department of Education
17	17	as a prerequisite to receiving a high school diploma. Students and families would have the option
18	18	to opt-out of this requirement by completing a waiver form administered by the Office of the
19	19	State Superintendent of Education.
20	20
21	21	Each year, the Department of Education awards approximately $112 billion in grant, work-study,
22	22	and loan funds, making it the largest provider of student financial aid in the nation. Students
23	23	must submit a FAFSA application to access that financial assistance. Due to a variety of factors
24	24	such as the pandemic, weak wage growth, and decades of rising college costs, financing higher
25	25	education out of pocket has become more economically challenging than ever before.
26	26	1
27	27
28	28
29	29	This current landscape makes financial aid an incredibly important factor in encouraging post-
30	30	secondary enrollment and reducing the burden of student loan debt, yet the National College
31	31	Attainment Network found that the national class of 2022 left $3.58 billion on the table in Pell
32	32	Grants because of a decreasing rate of FAFSA completion.
33	33	2
34	34	Despite having one of the highest
35	35	FAFSA completion rates in the nation, so few students in the District’s graduating class of 2022
36	36	applied for student aid that $2.7 million in Pell Grants was left on the table.
37	37	3
38	38
39	39
40	40	In response to low FAFSA completion rates, multiple states adopted policies to ensure that
41	41	students are aware of and maximize the financial aid available to them. Currently, 12 states have
42	42	universal FAFSA in some form or another while at least another dozen have introduced
43	43	legislation advancing the policy in the last couple of years.
44	44	4
45	45	Louisiana was the first state to adopt
46	46
47	47	1
48	48
49	49	Should States Make the FAFSA Mandatory?
50	50
51	51	2
52	52	NCAN Report: In 2022, High School Seniors Left $3.58 Billion on the Table in Pell Grants
53	53	3
54	54	Ibid.
55	55	4
56	56	Four More States Adopt Universal FAFSA; Total Climbs to 12
57	57	Christina Henderson Committee Member
58	58	Councilmember, At-Large Hospital and Health Equity
59	59	Chairperson, Committee on Health Judiciary and Public Safety
60	60	Transportation and the Environment
61	61	COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
62	62	The John A. Wilson Building
63	63	1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, nw
64	64	Washington, D.C. 20004
65	65
66	66	2
67	67	these policies in school year 2017-18, and has seen increases in FAFSA filing rates, high school
68	68	graduation, and in postsecondary enrollment. Additionally, the policy has helped address equity
69	69	concerns with the FAFSA completion gap separating high-income districts from low-income
70	70	districts closing from 8.5 percentage points to 1.1 percentage points in just one year.
71	71	5
72	72	Other
73	73	states have begun to see similar results after implementing universal FAFSA legislation and the
74	74	District should follow suit.
75	75
76	76	I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Council and ensuring that the District’s
77	77	students have what they need to be able to take full advantage of the aid available to them as they
78	78	enroll in post-secondary institutions following high school graduation.
79	79
80	80
81	81
82	82
83	83
84	84
85	85	5
86	86	Opportunities & Challenges of Universal FAFSA 1
87	87	_____________________________ ___________________________ 1
88	88	Councilmember Charles Allen Councilmember Christina Henderson 2
89	89	3
90	90	4
91	91	_____________________________ ___________________________ 5
92	92	Councilmember Vincent C. Gray Councilmember Brooke Pinto 6
93	93	7
94	94	8
95	95	_____________________________ ___________________________ 9
96	96	Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie Councilmember Matthew Frumin 10
97	97	11
98	98	12
99	99	_____________________________ 13
100	100	Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. 14
101	101	15
102	102	16
103	103	17
104	104	18
105	105	19
106	106	A BILL 20
107	107	21
108	108	_______________ 22
109	109	23
110	110	24
111	111	IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 25
112	112	26
113	113	_______________________ 27
114	114	28
115	115	29
116	116	To amend the Raising the Expectations for Education Outcomes Omnibus Act of 2012 to require 30
117	117	that each public high school student file a free application for Federal Student Aid with 31
118	118	the United States Department of Education as a prerequisite to receiv32
119	119	diploma. 33
120	120	34
121	121	BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 35
122	122	act may be cited as the “Universal Free Application for Federal Student Aid Graduation 36
123	123	Requirement Act of 2023”. 37
124	124	Sec. 2. Section 203 of the Raising the Expectations for Education Outcomes Omnibus 38
125	125	Act of 2012, effective June 19, 2012 (D.C. Law 19-142; D.C. Official Code § 38–752.03), is 39
126	126	amended as follows: 40 2
127	127	(a) A new subsection (a-1) is added to read as follows: 41
128	128	“(a-1) Beginning with the graduating class of 2024, the Mayor shall ensure that each 42
129	129	public high school student submits one of the following to the student’s high school before 43
130	130	graduation: 44
131	131	“(1) Proof of submission of a Free Application for Federal Student Aid 45
132	132	(“FAFSA”) application with the United States Department of Education; or 46
133	133	“(B) The waiver created by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education 47
134	134	pursuant to subsection (e) of this section.”. 48
135	135	(b) Subsection (b) is amended to read as follows: 49
136	136	“(b) By September 30th of each calendar year, the Mayor shall submit a report to the 50
137	137	Council that details the number of students who: 51
138	138	“(1) Applied for FAFSA; 52
139	139	“(2) Filed the FAFSA waiver; and 53
140	140	“(3) Enrolled at a post-secondary institution, including the number of students 54
141	141	who attend each type, including: 55
142	142	“(A) Universities; 56
143	143	“(B) Colleges; 57
144	144	“(C) Vocational schools; and 58
145	145	“(D) Other post-secondary institutions.”. 59
146	146	(c) A new subsection (e) is added to read as follows: 60
147	147	“(e) The Office of the State Superintendent of Education shall create a waiver form that 61
148	148	exempts a student from submitting a FAFSA application as a prerequisite to graduation.”. 62
149	149	Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement. 63 3
150	150	The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 64
151	151	impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 65
152	152	approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a) 66
153	153	Sec. 4. Effective date. 67
154	154	This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 68
155	155	Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of Congressional rev69
156	156	prov70
157	157	24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813: D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 71
158	158	Columbia Register. 72