Each year, millions of students apply for federal student aid by filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Completion of the FAFSA is necessary to determine a student’s eligibility for federal Pell grants and integral for states and institutions to determine additional financial aid awards. However, due to the complexity of the FAFSA, over 1.4 million high school graduates did not fill out an application in 2014-2015, leaving $2.7 billion in FAFSA aid left unclaimed.

To support students in completing the FAFSA, a group of employers and non-profit stakeholders issued the following letter to the Chairs and Ranking Members of the Senate HELP Committee, supporting the reintroduction and passage of legislation to codify the use of prior-prior year (PPY) tax information and the October 1 start date for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). 

Please see the full letter here.