Education Dept. Announces a Long-Awaited FAFSA Fix. But Is It Too Little, Too Late?

The U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday announced a long-awaited fix that it said would allow students whose parents lack a Social Security number to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, which many such families have been unable to do since the online form became available late last year.
James Kvaal, the under secretary of education, said during a call with reporters on Tuesday that changes to the FAFSA system would “substantially streamline” the application process for mixed-status families. If the remedy works as described, it would ease what has arguably been the most vexing aspect of the form’s calamitous rollout. Problems with the recently revamped online application had been preventing many U.S.-born students with undocumented parents from completing the form.