[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1075 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1075
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to amend the process by which
students with certain special circumstances apply for Federal financial
aid.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 7, 2019
Mr. Cummings (for himself, Mr. Ruppersberger, and Mr. Sarbanes)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to amend the process by which
students with certain special circumstances apply for Federal financial
aid.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``FAFSA Fairness Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. PROVISIONAL INDEPENDENCE FOR CERTAIN STUDENTS.
Section 483 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1090) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (h)(1), by inserting the following before
the semicolon: ``, including the special circumstances under
which a student may qualify for a determination of
independence''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(i) Provisional Independent Students.--
``(1) Requirements for the secretary.--The Secretary
shall--
``(A) enable each student who, based on the special
circumstance specified in subsection (h)(1), may
qualify for an adjustment under section 479A that will
result in a determination of independence under such
section and section 480(d)(1)(I), to complete the forms
developed by the Secretary under subsection (a) as an
independent student for the purpose of a provisional
determination of the student's Federal financial aid
award, but subject to verification under paragraph
(2)(E) for the purpose of the final determination of
the award;
``(B) upon completion of the forms developed by the
Secretary under subsection (a), provide an estimate of
the student's Federal Pell Grant award, based on the
assumption the student is determined to be an
independent student;
``(C) ensure that, on each form developed under
this section, there is a single and easily understood
screening question to identify an applicant for aid who
wishes to provisionally apply for independent status
under sections 479A and 480(d)(1)(I); and
``(D) specify, on the forms, the consequences under
section 490(a) of knowingly and willfully completing
the forms as an independent student under subparagraph
(A) without meeting the special circumstances to
qualify for such a determination.
``(2) Requirements for financial aid administrators.--With
respect to a student accepted for admission who completes the
forms as an independent student under paragraph (1)(A), a
financial aid administrator--
``(A) shall notify the student of the institutional
process and requirements for an adjustment under
sections 479A and 480(d)(1)(I) that will result in a
determination of independence under such sections
within a reasonable time after the student completes
the forms developed by the Secretary under subsection
(a) as an independent student for the purpose of a
provisional determination of the student's Federal
financial aid award;
``(B) may make an adjustment under sections 479A
and 480(d)(1)(I) for a determination of independence in
the absence of conflicting information;
``(C) shall provide a final determination of the
student's Federal financial aid award to the student in
the same manner as, and by not later than the date
that, the administrator provides most other
provisionally independent students their final
determinations of Federal financial aid awards, or
during the award year in which the student initially
submits an application, whichever comes sooner;
``(D) shall, in making a final determination of the
student's Federal financial aid award, use the
discretion provided under sections 479A and
480(d)(1)(I) to verify whether the student meets the
special circumstances to qualify as an independent
student;
``(E) in accordance with paragraph (B), may
consider as adequate verification that a student
qualifies for an adjustment under sections 479A and
480(d)(1)(I)--
``(i) submission of a court order or
official Federal or State documentation that
the student's parent or legal guardian is
incarcerated in any Federal or State penal
institution;
``(ii) a documented phone call with, or a
written statement from--
``(I) a child welfare agency
authorized by a State or county;
``(II) a Tribal child welfare
authority;
``(III) an independent living case
worker; or
``(IV) a public or private agency,
facility, or program serving the
victims of abuse, neglect, assault, or
violence;
``(iii) a documented phone call with, or a
written statement from, an attorney, a guardian
ad litem, or a court appointed special
advocate, documenting that person's
relationship to the student;
``(iv) a documented phone call with, or a
written statement from, a representative of a
program under chapter 1 or 2 of subpart 2 of
part A; or
``(v) submission of a copy of the student's
biological or adoptive parents' or legal
guardians'--
``(I) certificates of death; or
``(II) verified obituaries;
``(F) if a student does not have, and cannot get,
documentation from any of the designated authorities
described in subparagraph (E) of whether a student may
qualify for an adjustment under sections 479A and
480(d)(1)(I) that will result in a determination of
independence, may base the verification and final
determination on--
``(i) a documented interview with the
student that is limited to whether the student
meets the requirements, and not about the
reasons for the student's situations; and
``(ii) an attestation from the student that
they meet the requirements, which includes a
description of the approximate dates that the
student ended the financial or caregiving
relationship with their parent or legal
guardian, to the best of the student's
knowledge;
``(G) retain all documents related to the
adjustment under sections 479A and 480(d)(1)(I),
including documented interviews, for the duration of
the student's enrollment at the institution and for a
minimum of 1 year after the student is no longer
enrolled at the institution; and
``(H) shall presume that any student who has
obtained an adjustment under sections 479A and
480(d)(1)(I) and a final determination of independence
for a preceding award year at an institution to be
independent for a subsequent award year at the same
institution unless--
``(i) the student informs the institution
that circumstances have changed; or
``(ii) the institution has specific
conflicting information about the student's
independence.''.
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