Biden Signs FAFSA Deadline Act into Law, Making October 1 the Official FAFSA Launch Date
By Maria Carrasco, NASFAA Staff Reporter
President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed into law the FAFSA Deadline Act, a bipartisan bill that makes October 1 the official launch date of the FAFSA each year.
The FAFSA Deadline Act, introduced by Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Ind.), who sits on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, passed in the House with a 381-1 vote and unanimously cleared the Senate.
Specifically, the law makes October 1 the official launch date for the FAFSA each year and directs the Department of Education (ED) to certify by September 1 that the FAFSA will be ready by October 1. However, if ED anticipates that the FAFSA will not launch on October 1, the department will need to testify before Congress to explain why.
In previous cycles, the FAFSA has typically been released on October 1. However, the 2024-25 FAFSA, which followed the implementation of FAFSA simplification, was not released until late December last year, and the 2025-26 FAFSA was officially launched in November this year.
NASFAA, along with other higher education organizations, previously signed a letter of support for the FAFSA Deadline Act. The letter highlighted the importance that students and families have sufficient time to choose which college to attend, since it is one of the “biggest financial decisions of their lives.”
Codifying the October 1 FAFSA launch date into law has been a top priority for NASFAA for many years.
"NASFAA is pleased that the FAFSA Deadline Act has been signed into law. By codifying the October 1 release date for future FAFSA cycles into statute, colleges and universities will be able to provide financial aid information to students much sooner,” said Nalia Medina, NASFAA's assistant director of government relations “This change will give students more time to make informed decisions about their postsecondary education for future aid cycles."
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, who introduced the Senate version of the bill, noted that because of the late launch of the 2024-25 FAFSA last year, many students did not complete the FAFSA form.
“The Biden-Harris FAFSA delays forced students to choose their college without knowing their financial aid status, or not attend college at all because they didn’t know if they could afford it,” Cassidy said in a statement. “Students should not have to suffer because of bureaucratic incompetence.”
Publication Date: 12/12/2024
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