New Legislation Eases Access to Federal Student Aid

Continuing College Success Foundation’s tradition of fighting for educational access and affordability, simplifying the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and safeguarding access to the Federal Pell Grant has been a top advocacy priority for us and our college access partners.

In close coordination with our partners at National College Attainment Network (NCAN) and other education advocates, CSF staff, students and alumni made several trips to Washington, D.C. between 2018 and 2020 to meet with congressional members. They included Senator Patty Murray, Senator Maria Cantwell, Representative Kim Schrier, a number of Congressional staffers, and U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) staff.

Our major federal policy areas were simplifying the FAFSA, doubling the Pell Grant, and a clean Dream Act. We received several advocacy grants from NCAN to help us do this work.

On December 21, 2020, Congress passed a $1.4 trillion coronavirus relief and spending bill that included FAFSA simplification and expanded Pell eligibility. After years of advocacy efforts, simpler and easier access to federal financial aid for our scholars is at hand.

“Seeing a long-sought policy change that will help so many young people, particularly underserved youth, access higher education makes the challenging job of an advocate worthwhile,” said Juliette Schindler Kelly, CSF’s director of public affairs and strategic partnerships. “Thank you to all who fought for these changes and to recently-retired HELP chair Sen. Lamar Alexander and ranking member Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state for their leadership.”

“It was a privilege to be invited by NCAN and CSF to participate in the democratic process firsthand,” said Jesse Colman, CSF Alumni and senior communications officer. “As a former CSF Scholar and Pell Grant recipient, having the opportunity to help remove barriers to higher education was deeply meaningful. Though the work to make a college degree attainable for all is only beginning, I know from experience that when we raise our voices together, progress is obtainable.”

Read CSF’s statements on simplifying the FAFSA and safeguarding access to the federal Pell Grant, and learn the most important funding aspects of the legislation to provide additional COVID relief.