The Education Department says it is following the law in updating the FAFSA financial aid application form and its treatment of family farms, an issue that raised concerns among senators from both parties.
Several Republican senators told the department in a recent letter that a new question on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid could force students to list the net worth of a family farm as assets, potentially rendering them ineligible for assistance.
At issue is the department's implementation of the FAFSA Simplification Act, passed in 2020.
The asset question “fundamentally misunderstands how farm families operate, as the stream of revenue for crops and livestock varies significantly year-over-year, and assets cannot be cashed out to support a loan in the same capacity as traditional investments,” 14 senators wrote in a letter to the department. The lawmakers included Democrat Jon Tester of Montana and 13 Republicans.
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In a statement to Agri-Pulse, a spokesman for the department said it is “deeply committed to ensuring students from all backgrounds receive the federal student aid they need to access higher education and unlock a brighter future. We are implementing a bipartisan legislation passed by Congress that mandates updates to the FAFSA form and the financial aid formulas that rely upon it – including the statutory changes regarding family farms.”
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