[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 213 (Friday, November 4, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66683-66684]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24045]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


FAFSA Simplification Act Changes for Implementation in the 2023-
2024 Award Year

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Education (Department) publishes this 
notice, as required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, of 
the phased implementation of some elements of the FAFSA Simplification 
Act for the 2023-2024 award year. This notice also addresses other 
rules that will take effect for the 2023-2024 award year as part of the 
FAFSA Simplification Act.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Vanessa Gomez or Brian Schelling, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, Room 2C179 or 2C188, 
Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: (202) 453-6708 or (202) 453-5966. 
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]. If you are deaf, 
hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and wish to access 
telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Enacted into law as part of the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2021, Division FF, Title VII (116 Pub. L. 260), the 
FAFSA Simplification Act makes many significant changes to the Higher 
Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), regarding the Free Application 
for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA[supreg]) form, need analysis, and 
related policies and procedures for schools that participate in the 
title IV, HEA programs. Due to the magnitude of these changes and to 
ensure that both the Department and the higher education community were 
prepared to fully implement the FAFSA Simplification Act, in June 2021, 
Federal Student Aid (FSA) announced a phased approach to 
implementation.\1\ As part of this approach, in the FAFSA 
Simplification Act Technical Corrections Act, Division R (117 Pub. L. 
103) of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (CAA 2022), Congress 
extended the full implementation of the FAFSA Simplification Act until 
the 2024-2025 award year while also enabling the Department to 
implement the following elements in the 2023-2024 award year:
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    \1\ https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2021-06-11/beginning-phased-implementation-fafsa-simplification-act-ea-id-general-21-39.
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    1. Section 702(b) of the FAFSA Simplification Act regarding cost of 
attendance.
    2. Section 702(i) regarding discretion of student financial aid 
administrators. However, the system change required by this section's 
provisional independent student status will not be implemented until 
the FAFSA Simplification Act is fully integrated into our new systems 
for the 2024-2025 award year.
    3. Section 702(l) regarding special rules for independent students 
and definitions for independent students and determinations but 
excluding the revised definitions for veteran and marital status, which 
will be implemented in the 2024-2025 award year.
    4. Section 703 regarding only the period of eligibility for Pell 
grants under section 401(d) of the HEA, as amended by the FAFSA 
Simplification Act.
    Under the CAA 2022, the Department must announce in the Federal 
Register implementation of any of the above elements for the 2023-2024 
award year. Accordingly, the Department announces that it will 
implement all the provisions described above for the 2023-2024 award 
year. Certain provisions, including sections 702(b), 702(i), and 702(l) 
of the FAFSA Simplification Act, require institutions to develop 
policies

[[Page 66684]]

and procedures that address the updated requirements for students who 
apply for title IV, HEA student assistance prior to the beginning of 
that award year. Institutions must comply with the new statutory 
requirements when calculating awards of title IV, HEA programs for the 
2023-2024 award year; performing professional judgments under the 
discretion of financial aid administrators for awards from that award 
year; and establishing a student's dependency status for that award 
year, even if such activities occur prior to the beginning of the 2023-
2024 award year on July 1, 2023. We will provide more detailed guidance 
on the changes for cost of attendance, professional judgment, and 
independent student statuses for the 2023-2024 Award Year in an 
upcoming Dear Colleague Letter.
    The Department also announces that it will implement new rules 
establishing Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated students in 
Federal and State penal institutions as well as new rules governing the 
prison education programs in which these students will be enrolled. 
Although these rules are not specifically addressed in the CAA 2022, 
they will also be in effect for the 2023-2024 award year, as authorized 
in section 702(n) of the FAFSA Simplification Act. Because these are 
complex topics, the Department is developing additional guidance on 
these rules and policies.
    Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with disabilities 
can obtain this document in an accessible format. The Department will 
provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich 
Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file, 
braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc, or other accessible 
format.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may 
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of 
Federal Regulations at www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can view this 
document, as well as all other documents of this Department published 
in the Federal Register, in text or Portable Document Format (PDF). To 
use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at 
the site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

Nasser H. Paydar,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2022-24045 Filed 11-3-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P