In an effort to increase awareness of and access to postsecondary education opportunities, Senator Linda Stewart (D- Orlando) has filed Senate Bill 826, requiring all high school students to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
The bill would require, as a prerequisite to graduating high school, that all students complete the FAFSA application. The new requirement would begin with the incoming freshmen class of the 2024 – 2025 school year, and include a provision that would allow students to opt out of this requirement should they choose to do so.
“This requirement only serves to help students by increasing their awareness of what opportunities are available after high school, and what financial options exist to make postsecondary education attainable,” said Stewart. “Many students may not know of the FAFSA program or may automatically discount themselves from applying because they think they may not qualify.”
FAFSA provides access to federal loans, work study, and grants for qualifying students. These loans and grants can be used to cover most types of postsecondary education at state colleges, universities, and technical schools.
“Universal awareness and access to FAFSA programs is a long term payoff for Florida. With this requirement we will see an increased number of students pursuing a postsecondary education and begin to fill many of the technical and professional work roles the state is so desperately in need of,” said Stewart. “Additionally, this policy is in line with the state’s ‘Strengthening Alignment between Industry and Learning (SAIL) to 60 initiative’’ which sets the goal for 60% of Floridians to have some kind of postsecondary education by the year 2030.”
Requirements for universal application to the FAFSA program have already passed in other states such as Louisiana, Texas, and Alabama.
