NASFAA Mention: Cleveland Students Organize to ‘Ban the Box’ on College Applications

"When Kevin Ballou was released from prison in 2017, he knew exactly what he wanted to do. As an inmate in the Marion Correctional Facility in Ohio, he’d earned nearly sixty academic credits and understood that completing an undergraduate degree on the outside was essential," The Progressive reports. "Ballou’s story has a happy ending: He is now in his senior year at Cleveland State University (CSU), majoring in nonprofit administration, and expects to complete his degree in spring 2021."

..."Take the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, which requires students applying for financial assistance to answer question twenty-three: 'Have you been convicted for the possession or sale of illegal drugs for an offense that occurred while you were receiving federal student aid?'

Answering ‘YES’ can bar a student from receipt of Pell Grants, federal work study, and Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants, as well as loans, for a year or longer.

Thankfully, activists and college staff report that this, too, may be changing.

Karen McCarthy, director of policy analysis at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators explains that there is a great deal of momentum among college and university administrators to eliminate the question. 'It seems arbitrary to many of the 3,000 institutions that are members of NASFAA to only ask about drug convictions since we do not try to capture other bad behaviors on the form. Overall, there is a big push to simplify the FAFSA.'

This push has gained traction due to the 2019 introduction of the FAFSA Simplification Act [S. 2557], which was introduced in the Senate by Lamar Alexander [R-TN] and Doug Jones [D-Al] Although the bill is still pending, McCarthy says that passage is likely. She also notes that the bill will reduce the number of FAFSA questions from 108 to no more than thirty and omit all reference to drug or other criminal convictions."

NASFAA's "Notable Headlines" section highlights media coverage of financial aid to help members stay up to date with the latest news. Articles included under the notable headlines section are not written by NASFAA, but rather by external sources. Inclusion in Today's News does not imply endorsement of the material or guarantee the accuracy of information presented.

 

Publication Date: 10/26/2020

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