Student Defense Offers Guidance to the Department of Education on FAFSA Data Sharing Methods to Increase Student Enrollment in Public Benefits Programs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
September 16, 2024

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Student Defense Offers Guidance to the Department of Education on FAFSA Data Sharing Methods to Increase Student Enrollment in Public Benefits Programs

Student Defense, The Hope Center for Student Basic Needs at Temple University, and The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS) today submitted proposed guidance to the Department of Education to encourage state agencies and Title IV institutions to provide students with multiple opportunities to consent to share their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and Federal Tax Information (FTI) data with state agencies to determine eligibility for and enroll in means-tested benefits programs. The guidance also features sample consent language institutions and state agencies can use to obtain the required consent to share student data.

By proposing multiple methods to obtain consent, Student Defense seeks to increase student access to means-tested benefits and facilitate students’ ability to meet their basic needs. By streamlining the process of enrolling in public benefits, institutions can help students stay enrolled and complete their degrees and credentials.

“It’s great that the Department of Education allows the use of FAFSA data to inform outreach to students about public benefits but we need more than a handful of institutions to participate,” said Student Defense President Aaron Ament. “This proposed guidance aims to make it easier for students to share information that will ultimately help them access benefits and complete their degrees.”

Read our proposed guidance on the Student Defense website. You can also read the Dear Colleague letter on the Student Defense website.