In light of the incoming federal administration’s pronouncements regarding the Department of Education and the deporting of illegal immigrants, The National College Attainment Network (NCAN), a widely respected nonprofit specializing in working with local organizations and students on financial aid for college, has taken the unusual step of changing its guidance on mixed-status families submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
They are recommending these families “make a considered decision” on whether to file a FAFSA because they could be “targeted for punitive action in the future” due to concerns FAFSA data may be shared with other federal agencies.
U.S. citizens can apply for and receive federal aid regardless of whether their parents are U.S. citizens. Mixed-status households (where one parent is not a documented citizen) account for about 340,000 of the 17 million FAFSA applications each year. They can submit the application by entering all zeros into the social security number.
While there are some privacy regulations in place, the Federal Student Aid’s website states that the Department of Education may, without consent, share filed information with other federal agencies for “routine uses. The Federal Register must publish those designated purposes.
Currently, the policy states that the Education Department may share data with other agencies, such as the Social Security Administration, during the verification process, but only on the student applicant, not the co-filers, and does not include immigration or enforcement information or actions.
However, there is widespread concern about how the incoming administration may utilize this data in achieving their deportation objectives. Therefore, NCAN has taken the rare step of updating its guidance, explaining “we cannot assure you at this time that data submitted to the U.S. Department of Education as part of the FAFSA process will be protected” and that “they believe mixed-status families should make a considered decision about whether to submit identifying information to the federal government” and “it is dreadful that student and families have been put in the position of potentially choosing between their safety and the pursuit of postsecondary education.”
Each family must weigh the potential risk of disclosure against the benefits when making the decision whether to file federal forms in the future.
Hollis Bischoff is a college admissions adviser for College Unlocked. For information, email [email protected].
