Bill Text: HI SCR134 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requesting The Department Of Education To Establish A Free Application For Federal Student Aid Working Group To Develop And Implement A Plan To Make Completion Of A Free Application For Federal Student Aid A Statewide Graduation Requirement Beginning In The 2022-2023 Academic Year.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-16 - The hearing on this measure has been cancelled until further notice. [SCR134 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2020-SCR134-Introduced.html
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THE SENATE |
S.C.R. NO. |
134 |
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THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
Requesting the department of education to establish a free application for federal student aid wORKING group to develop and implement a plan to make completion of a free application for federal student aid a statewide graduation requirement beginning in the 2022-2023 academic year.
WHEREAS, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid is a form completed by current and prospective post-secondary education students seeking undergraduate or graduate education in the United States to determine eligibility for federal financial aid; and
WHEREAS, federal financial aid options include need-based aid such as federal Pell Grants, as well as unsubsidized Stafford loans that may be available to students regardless of income or other circumstances; and
WHEREAS, in 2018, certain eligible Hawaii students could have claimed $10,000,000 in federal Pell Grant moneys, had they completed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, but this federal financial aid instead went unclaimed; and
WHEREAS, students who do not complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid may rely instead on private student loans that often have high interest rates and lack the consumer protections included with federal student loans; and
WHEREAS, completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid is also the leading indicator of college enrollment, and there is ample evidence that increased financial aid results in positive outcomes, including college completion; and
WHEREAS, in 2016, in response to more than fifty percent of Louisiana high school seniors not completing the necessary paperwork, the State of Louisiana began requiring completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid as a prerequisite for graduation; and
WHEREAS, as of 2019, Louisiana is ranked first in the nation for completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid among high school seniors, having an eighty-two percent completion rate; and
WHEREAS, in recent years, Hawaii's Free Application for Federal Student Aid completion rate has remained close to sixty percent; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Education has set a goal to have ninety percent of Hawaii high school seniors complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid in the 2019-2020 academic year; and
WHEREAS, increasing completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid will benefit Hawaii students and families, and may result in long-term benefit to the State through increased educational achievement and a corresponding increase in economic growth and stability; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2020, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Education is requested to establish a Free Application for Federal Student Aid Working Group to develop and implement a plan to make completion of a Free Application for Federal Student Aid a statewide graduation requirement beginning in the 2022-2023 academic year; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is requested to include in this plan an option to waive the requirement, provided that any waiver require an acknowledgement of the purpose of and opportunities provided through completion of a Free Application for Federal Student Aid; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Free Application for Federal Student Aid Working Group comprise the following:
(1) The Chair of the Senate Committee on Education, or the Chair's designee, who is requested to serve as co-chair of the Working Group;
(2) The Chair of the House of Representatives Committee on Lower and Higher Education, or the Chair's designee, who is requested to serve as co-chair of the Working Group;
(3) The Superintendent of Education, or the Superintendent's designee;
(4) The Chairperson of the Board of Education, or the Chairperson's designee;
(5) The President of the University of Hawaii, or the President's designee;
(6) A representative from the University of Hawaii Community College System, to be selected by the University of Hawaii Vice President for Community Colleges;
(7) The Executive Director of Hawaii P-20 Partnerships for Education, or the Executive Director's designee;
(8) A Department of Education complex area superintendent, to be selected by the Superintendent of Education;
(9) A Department of Education principal, to be selected by the Superintendent of Education;
(10) A Department of Education school counselor, to be selected by the Superintendent of Education;
(11) A representative of the nonprofit sector, to be invited by the Speaker of the House of Representatives to be a member of the Working Group;
(12) A representative of the Hawaii Association for College Admission Counseling, to be invited by the President of the Senate to be a member of the Working Group;
(13) A representative of the philanthropic community, to be invited by the Speaker of the House of Representatives to be a member of the Working Group;
(14) A representative of the business community, to be invited by the President of the Senate to be a member of the Working Group; and
(15) Any other member deemed necessary by the Working Group; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education provide administrative support to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid Working Group; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in developing a plan to make completion of a Free Application for Federal Student Aid a statewide graduation requirement, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid Working Group is requested to consider the following:
(1) Resources that are available or may be necessary, including public-private partnerships, to ensure successful implementation of the state plan;
(2) Strategies to ensure that the waiver option is simple and unconditional;
(3) Approaches to establish regional pilot programs, whether by complex area or island, including consideration of the feasibility of these approaches;
(4) Strategies to better support students through the college application process, including providing necessary guidance for students to enroll in college and continue with success once the Free Application for Federal Student Aid is completed;
(5) Procedures to protect family privacy, particularly for undocumented immigrant families, and to support schools to provide hardship waivers for students having unresponsive parents; and
(6) Any other issue deemed necessary by the Working Group; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Working Group is requested to submit to the Legislature, the Superintendent of Education, and each complex area superintendent, a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2021; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Superintendent of Education, Chairperson of the Board of Education, President of the University of Hawaii, Vice President for Community Colleges of the University of Hawaii, Executive Director of the Hawaii P-20 Partnerships for Education, and President of the Hawaii Association for College Admission Counseling.
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OFFERED BY: |
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Department of Education; Free Application for Federal Student Aid
