California will extend college financial aid application deadline pending Newsom’s signature
Students who have struggled to complete their financial aid applications following months of issues at the federal level will likely have one more month to file their paperwork in California.
Senate lawmakers overwhelmingly passed a bill to provide this extension on Thursday, sending it to the Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk for final approval. The governor has not stated a position on the bill, but he is expected to sign it.
The legislation, authored by Assemblywoman Sabrina Cervantes, D-Riverside, was fast-tracked this week to further help students who depend on financial aid to attend college. If signed, the bill moves the deadline for Cal Grants and other state aid programs from April 2 to May 2.
“Let’s help make California students eligible for FAFSA and make their dream of a higher education a reality,” said Cervantes during Monday’s Assembly vote.
Cervantes’ legislation is yet another attempt to ease some worries for students and families after a botched roll out of this year’s revamped Free Application for Federal Student Aid form, known as FAFSA. Thousands of students across the state continue to wait for their financial aid award letters, which for many is instrumental in deciding where they attend school.
Last month, the University of California and California State University systems announced they would extend the deadline for students to accept their admission offers for fall 2024 to no earlier than May 15. And on Thursday, Sacramento State pushed its intent to register deadline to June 1.
Delay after delay
FAFSA problems started last fall when the new system fell behind schedule. The FAFSA form usually becomes available for students in October, but the application wasn’t available until the last weekend of December.
More technical issues followed, with some students unable to gain access to the website or forms, and others facing a shortage of help from the department’s help line.
Some students or parents have spent three hours waiting on the phone for someone to answer the department’s help line, said Erika Viramontes, the director of the school counseling program at Green Dot Public Schools California, a nonprofit educational organization based in Los Angeles.
The new form also particularly hurt students who could not provide a social security number for their parents or caregivers.
Some of these families were unable to confirm their identity and thus couldn’t finalize their applications. Many were required to submit emails with photos of their identification documents, such as passports and driver’s licenses.
“It’s been very disheartening to not have access to the form because of the system glitches,” Viramontes said.
These issues caused frustration and anxiety among many mixed-status families at Sacramento State, said Kimberly Gomez, program coordinator for the Dreamer Resource Center, which provides help to undocumented students and individuals with mixed-status families. The number of students asking for FAFSA help doubled compared to previous years, according to Gomez.
“I’ve had to do a lot of reassurance with the students and their parents to let them know that it’s not them,” Gomez said. “They came to this country so their children can come to college, and they can have these opportunities and it’s not their fault.”
The U.S. Department of Education said earlier this month it had fixed many of the technical issues, but warned that other problems remained. Due to these ongoing issues, students are recommended to submit applications before May 2 and contact their financial aid offices if any problems arise.
