SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Some college students can’t fill out their financial aid forms — and California lawmakers might come to the rescue.
As CalMatters higher education reporter Mikhail Zinshteyn explains, students whose parents do not have Social Security numbers are receiving error messages when they try to fill out their Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. This blocks them from not only applying for federal grants and loans, but also for aid at the University of California, California State University or private California colleges.
Because the deadline to apply is April 2, Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes drafted a bill to extend that deadline to May 2. The Corona Democrat, who is also the chairperson for the California Latino Legislative Caucus, said that moving the deadline will enable students to “access the financial resources to begin fulfilling their dreams of achieving higher education.”
Cervantes has fast-tracked the bill to go into effect immediately if it passes. The measure’s first hearing is expected Monday, but lawmakers only have a few days to approve the bill with the Legislature’s spring recess starting Thursday until April 1.
Meanwhile in the state Senate, California’s public colleges and universities urged a budget subcommittee last week to support a deadline extension for state financial aid. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s finance department and the Legislative Analyst’s Office backed the idea.
- Lisa Qing, an official with the analyst’s office: “We think that extending the state financial aid deadline is worth considering because it allows the U.S. Department of Education more time to resolve these technical difficulties.”
How many students have been affected so far?
It’s difficult to say, writes Mikhail: In California, more than 100,000 students submitted a federal aid application without their parents’ numbers in 2023, though it’s unclear whether those parents lacked a number or chose not to share one with the government.
With about $3 billion in state financial aid and thousands of eligible California students missing out on aid every year (California ranked 14th in FAFSA completion in 2023), the state has been attempting to make more financial aid available to more kinds of students.
In 2021, the state passed a law requiring all high school seniors to complete FAFSA. And last year, Newsom signed a measure requiring colleges to drop additional requirements for financial aid — particularly academic performance — that went beyond federal requirements.
But many are still left out. Adult learners lacking a high school diploma are underutilizing a little-known benefit that enables them access to federal aid, and a complex application process for undocumented students has led to only 14% of eligible DACA recipients receiving aid.
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CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.
