With HEA reauthorization unlikely this year, Alexander focuses on FAFSA – Community College Daily
It is unlikely Congress will reauthorize the Higher Education Act this year, but the departing chair of the Senate’s education committee hopes to at least complete by year’s end a long goal of his: to make it easier for college students to apply for federal student aid.
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tennessee), who is not running for re-election and on Thursday held what may be his last education hearing with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, aims to finish his years-long effort to simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and streamline the application process. Although Congress, two administrations and the U.S. Education Department have over the last several years made changes to the FAFSA – from decreasing the number of questions on the form, to developing an app for it – more can be done to encourage students to apply, he said.
It’s especially important during the pandemic, which has upended the lives of many college students and prospective students, Alexander said.