S. 2596 – FSA Fairness Act of 2018

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Updated April 15, 2026 at 9:02 PM UTC

The FAFSA Fairness Act of 2018 would change how the federal student aid system treats applicants who have special circumstances that could make them independent. It lets those students fill out the FAFSA as if they were independent, but requires later verification of their status. The changes affect the Department of Education, college financial‑aid offices, and any student applying for federal aid who might qualify for an independent‑student determination.

Key Provisions

Adds language to the FAFSA rules to include special circumstances that can qualify a student for an independence determination.
Requires the Secretary of Education to allow students who meet those special circumstances to complete the FAFSA using the independent‑student form for an initial award calculation.
Mandates that financial‑aid administrators give these provisional independent students an initial award decision at the same time they do for other independent students.
Requires administrators to verify, before the final award, whether the student truly meets the special‑circumstance criteria for independence.
Defines “other independent students” as those who meet the standard independence definition and whose status is not subject to verification.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1950; text of measure as introduced: CR S1950)

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

March 22, 2018

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

March 22, 2018

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S1950; text of measure as introduced: CR S1950)

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

March 22, 2018

Floor Debate

1 member

What members said about S. 2596 on the floor

1 Democrat

Sen. Benjamin L. CardinD-MD · Mar 22, 2018

Mr. President, I would like to bring the Senate's attention to Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Fairness Act of 2018, the common sense legislation I am introducing with the junior…

Mr. President, I would like to bring the Senate's attention to Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Fairness Act of 2018, the common sense legislation I am introducing with the junior Senator from Maryland today. This legislation seeks to eliminate a barrier that potential college students with difficult personal and financial circumstances face when applying for Federal financial aid.

This body has worked to improve the college application process for students and their families over the last several years and successfully lobbied the Department of Education to allow students and their families to submit their FAFSA application in October and utilize prior-prior year tax data. These changes provide future college students and their families with several months to submit their financial information instead of a short time frame between January and February to meet State and institutional based deadlines for need- and merit-based financial aid programs. These steps have made it easier to students to sit with their families and make informed financial decisions on which college or university will provide the student with the highest quality yet least expensive college education.

Despite our work, a number of our students are being left behind and cannot take advantage of these changes. Those students, who face difficult personal and financial situations, including those who have left home due to abusive family environments, have parents who are incarcerated, or are unable to locate their parents are unable to fill out the FAFSA application. Rather than fill out one universal Federal financial aid application form, a potential college student must contact each institution they are applying to and undergo a ``dependency override'' process before a college or university will put together an estimated financial aid package for the student. Under this process, a student applying to one university in my state must submit nine different pieces of financial information, personal statement, and references in order to verify their independent status. These students, often first generation students unfamiliar with the process for applying to school, may give up on the dependency override process and fail to finish the college application process or leave significant Federal financial aid on the table.

The FAFSA Fairness Act would seek to correct this inequity for some of our most vulnerable students. If enacted, my legislation would allow students in these difficult personal and financial circumstances to fill out a FAFSA as a ``provisional independent'' student that colleges and universities would be able to provide those students with an initial financial aid award package. Once the student has had the opportunity to review the financial aid award packages from the schools they applied to and selected the school of their choice, that school's financial aid administrators will work with the student to complete the ``dependency override'' process and finalize the student's financial aid award package.

I'm proud to lead the Senate efforts with my seatmate from Maryland and appreciate the work of my colleague from Maryland's 7th Congressional District to lead this effort in the House of Representatives. I urge my colleagues to join in this effort to help students achieve their dream of higher education despite their difficult family and financial circumstances.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the joint resolution be printed in the Record.

Sen. Benjamin L. CardinD-MD · Mar 22, 2018

Mr. President, I would like to bring the Senate's attention to Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Fairness Act of 2018, the common sense legislation I am introducing with the junior…

Mr. President, I would like to bring the Senate's attention to Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Fairness Act of 2018, the common sense legislation I am introducing with the junior Senator from Maryland today. This legislation seeks to eliminate a barrier that potential college students with difficult personal and financial circumstances face when applying for Federal financial aid.

This body has worked to improve the college application process for students and their families over the last several years and successfully lobbied the Department of Education to allow students and their families to submit their FAFSA application in October and utilize prior-prior year tax data. These changes provide future college students and their families with several months to submit their financial information instead of a short time frame between January and February to meet State and institutional based deadlines for need- and merit-based financial aid programs. These steps have made it easier to students to sit with their families and make informed financial decisions on which college or university will provide the student with the highest quality yet least expensive college education.

Despite our work, a number of our students are being left behind and cannot take advantage of these changes. Those students, who face difficult personal and financial situations, including those who have left home due to abusive family environments, have parents who are incarcerated, or are unable to locate their parents are unable to fill out the FAFSA application. Rather than fill out one universal Federal financial aid application form, a potential college student must contact each institution they are applying to and undergo a ``dependency override'' process before a college or university will put together an estimated financial aid package for the student. Under this process, a student applying to one university in my state must submit nine different pieces of financial information, personal statement, and references in order to verify their independent status. These students, often first generation students unfamiliar with the process for applying to school, may give up on the dependency override process and fail to finish the college application process or leave significant Federal financial aid on the table.

The FAFSA Fairness Act would seek to correct this inequity for some of our most vulnerable students. If enacted, my legislation would allow students in these difficult personal and financial circumstances to fill out a FAFSA as a ``provisional independent'' student that colleges and universities would be able to provide those students with an initial financial aid award package. Once the student has had the opportunity to review the financial aid award packages from the schools they applied to and selected the school of their choice, that school's financial aid administrators will work with the student to complete the ``dependency override'' process and finalize the student's financial aid award package.

I'm proud to lead the Senate efforts with my seatmate from Maryland and appreciate the work of my colleague from Maryland's 7th Congressional District to lead this effort in the House of Representatives. I urge my colleagues to join in this effort to help students achieve their dream of higher education despite their difficult family and financial circumstances.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the joint resolution be printed in the Record.

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued March 22, 2018

II

115th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. 2596

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

March 22, 2018

Mr. Cardin (for himself and Mr. Van Hollen) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

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.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the FAFSA Fairness Act of 2018.

2.

Changes to the FAFSA 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 an initial determination of the student’s Federal financial aid award by a financial aid administrator at an institution of higher education to which the student is applying for financial aid, but subject to verification under paragraph (2)(B) for the purpose of the final determination of the award; and

(B)

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 who completes the forms as an independent student under paragraph (1)(A), a financial aid administrator shall—

(A)

provide an initial 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 other independent students their initial determinations of Federal financial aid awards; and

(B)

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.

(3)

Definition

For purposes of this subsection, the term other independent students means students—

(A)

who meet the definition of independent under section 480(d)(1); and

(B)

whose independent status is not subject to verification by a financial aid administrator under paragraph (2)(B).

.