- 2025-26 FAFSA open to all students
- FAFSA Deadline Act heads to the President’s desk
- ICYMI: President-Elect Trump selects his Education Secretary
2025-26 FAFSA opens to all students
On Thursday, the Department of Education (ED) announced the official release of the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA) to all students and families. After completing four rounds of beta testing, the form was released 10 days ahead of the target release date of December 1. The paper FAFSA is now available to students and families as well.
Each beta test looked at student and contributor experiences filling out and submitting the form, transmission of Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) to states and institutions, and student- and institution-initiated corrections. The Department did not identify any “critical bugs” with the online form during beta testing, with a large majority of filers indicating a positive experience with the form. The Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) has added more than 700 agents to its contact center to help students, families, and institutions navigate any additional challenges now that the form is live.
The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) is encouraged by the results of the beta testing and the early release of the FAFSA form. AACC will continue to monitor the rollout of the 2025-26 FAFSA and encourages colleges to contact the Office of Government Relations (OGR) with any questions.
FAFSA Deadline Act heads to the President’s desk
On Thursday, the Senate unanimously approved the FAFSA Deadline Act, sending the bill to be signed into law by President Biden. The House of Representatives approved the measure last week with near-unanimous support. The bill would require the Department of Education (ED) to make the 2026-27 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and subsequent FAFSAs available to students and families on October 1. It would also require the Department to notify Congress by September 1 if it will not be able to meet the deadline.
Currently, the statutory deadline to release the form is January 1, but ED has historically released the form on October 1. Institutions, states, and other entities have planned their application, admissions, and aid deadlines with that October 1 release date in mind. When the 2024-25 FAFSA was released in late December, it threw those timelines into disarray, delayed financial aid officers’ ability to package aid officers, and gave students less time to complete the form and to make informed college decisions. While the 2025-26 FAFSA was released earlier than the previous year, it was still released past the usual October 1 date.
The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) has endorsed the FAFSA Deadline Act. We believe the bill will deliver more certainty for students and families and a return to regular order for colleges after two condensed and difficult award cycles.
ICYMI: President-Elect Trump selects his Education Secretary
This week, President-Elect Donald Trump announced that he will nominate Linda McMahon to serve as the next Secretary of Education. While not an established name in the education policy space, McMahon is a strong ally of President-Elect Trump and currently serves as the co-chair of his presidential transition team. McMahon was confirmed by the Senate to serve as Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) during President Trump’s first term, so she is expected to be confirmed for this new role. After heading the SBA, McMahon went on to serve as board chair for the America First Policy Institute.
Secretary-designate McMahon has been publicly supportive of apprenticeships, Career and Technical Education (CTE), and workforce education. She is also a supporter of expanding Pell Grants to short-term workforce programs, a key priority for AACC. In September, she penned an op-ed in support of the Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act. While short-term workforce Pell will still require an act of Congress, the Secretary of Education can use their influence and bully pulpit to drum up additional support.