99-28640. Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests  

  • [Federal Register Volume 64, Number 211 (Tuesday, November 2, 1999)]
    [Notices]
    [Pages 59171-59172]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 99-28640]
    
    
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    DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
    
    
    Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests
    
    AGENCY: Department of Education.
    
    ACTION: Proposed collection; comment request.
    
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    SUMMARY: The Secretary of Education requests comments on the Free 
    Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) that the Secretary proposed 
    to use for the 2001-2002 year. The FAFSA is completed by students and 
    their families and the information submitted on the form is used to 
    determine the students' eligibility and financial need for financial 
    aid under the student financial assistance programs authorized under 
    Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, (Title IV, 
    HEA Programs).
    
    DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
    January 3, 2000.
    
    ADDRESSES: Written comments and requests for copies of the proposed 
    information collection requests should be addressed to Patrick J. 
    Sherrill, Department of Education, 600 Independence Avenue, SW, Room 
    5624, Regional Office Building 3, Washington, DC 20202-4651.
        In addition, interested persons can access this document on the 
    Internet:
        (1) Go to IFAP at http://ifap.ed.gov.
        (2) Click on the ``Bookshelf'' or on ``Current SFA Publications''.
        (3) Scroll down and click on ``FAFSAs and Renewal FAFSAs''.
        (4) Click on ``By 2001-2002 Award Year''.
        (5) Click on ``FAFSA Form/Instructions''.
        Please note that the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software, version 
    3.0 or greater, is necessary to view this file. This software can be 
    downloaded for free from Adobe's website: http://www.adobe.com.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patrick J. Sherrill (202) 708-8196. 
    Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may 
    call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 
    between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday.
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 483 of the Higher Education Act of 
    1965, as amended (HEA), requires the Secretary, ``in cooperation with 
    agencies and organizations involved in providing student financial 
    assistance,'' to ``produce, distribute and process free of charge a 
    common financial reporting form to be used to determine the need and 
    eligibility of a student under'' the Title IV, HEA Programs. This form 
    is the FAFSA. In addition, Section 483 authorizes the Secretary to 
    include non-financial data items that assist States in awarding State 
    student financial assistance.
        The Secretary requests comments on the draft 2001-2002 FAFSA that 
    has been posted to the IFAP website (see above). In particular, the 
    Secretary seeks comments on the following changes under consideration 
    to the 2001-2002 FAFSA. References to the current FAFSA are to the 
    2000-2001 FAFSA.
         Revision of ``dependents other than a spouse'' question. 
    Applicants who have dependents other than a spouse are considered 
    ``independent,'' and are therefore not required to report parental 
    information on the FAFSA. ``Dependents other than a spouse'' includes, 
    (1) children supported by the applicant, and (2) non-children 
    dependents who live with and are supported by the applicant. The 
    current FAFSA asks for both of these categories of dependents in a 
    single question. In order to make the application easier to understand, 
    the Secretary is considering splitting this into two separate 
    questions.
         Business and investment farm net worth. As part of the 
    continuing effort to simplify the FAFSA, the Secretary proposes to ask 
    for business net worth and investment farm net worth in a single 
    question.
         Two untaxed income worksheets. The current FAFSA collects 
    untaxed income information through Worksheet A (and a separate earned 
    income credit (EIC) question on the form itself). Some states and 
    schools have indicated that the current Worksheet A is not useful for 
    identifying particularly needy students. Some untaxed income is an 
    indicator of need (e.g., welfare benefits, social security benefits) 
    and some untaxed income is not (e.g., payments to tax-deferred pension 
    and savings plans, tax exempt interest income). For 2001-2002, the 
    Secretary proposes to split the current Worksheet A into a ``non-
    needy'' untaxed income worksheet
    
    [[Page 59172]]
    
    (Worksheet A) and a ``needy'' untaxed income worksheet (Worksheet B). 
    The EIC question on the current form would be incorporated into the new 
    Worksheet B. The current Worksheet B, which collects income exclusions, 
    would become Worksheet C.
    
        Note: A school suggested grouping untaxed income items by 
    whether or not they had a tax form reference. The Secretary solicits 
    comments on this suggestion in light of the proposed change to the 
    current Worksheet A, above.
    
         Grade level. A school suggested that we add an additional 
    code to the grade level question to differentiate first-year graduate/
    professional students from continuing graduate/professional students. 
    The Secretary seeks comments on this proposed change.
        In addition to comments on the draft 2001-2002 FAFSA, the Secretary 
    requests comments on the following issues related to the FAFSA:
         Special circumstances. We received a suggestion to add a 
    ``check-off block'' to the FAFSA to indicate special circumstances 
    (e.g., reduced income or dependency issues). The Secretary solicits 
    comments on this suggestion.
         Net worth of assets. In the redesign of the 1999-2000 
    FAFSA, separate value and debt questions about assets were combined 
    into single net worth questions. The Secretary invites comment on any 
    effect that this change has made on the delivery of student financial 
    aid.
         Single identifier. The Secretary is considering switching 
    from the current, six-digit ``Federal School Code'' to a single, eight-
    digit identifier in the ``school codes'' section of the FAFSA (Step 
    Six).
        The Secretary is publishing this request for comment under the 
    provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
    seq. Under that Act, ED must obtain the review and approval of the 
    Office of Management and Budget (OMB) before it may use a form to 
    collect information. However, under the procedure for obtaining 
    approval from OMB, ED must first obtain public comment of the proposed 
    form, and to obtain that comment, ED must publish this notice in the 
    Federal Register.
        In addition to comments requested above, to accommodate the 
    requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Secretary is 
    interested in receiving comments with regard to the following matters: 
    (1) Is this collection necessary to the proper functions of the 
    Department, (2) will this information be processed and used in a timely 
    manner, (3) is the estimate of burden accurate, (4) how might the 
    Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information 
    to be collected, and (5) how might the Department minimize the burden 
    of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of 
    information technology.
    
        Dated: October 28, 1999.
    William E. Burrow,
    Leader, Information Management Group, Office of the Chief Information 
    Officer.
    
    Office of Postsecondary Education
    
        Type of Review: Revision.
        Title: Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
        Frequency: Annually.
        Affected Public: Individuals and families.
        Reporting and Recordkeeping Burden:
    
          Responses: 11,134,376
          Burden Hours: 7,073,050
    
        Abstract: The FAFSA collects identifying and financial information 
    about a student applying for Title IV, Higher Education Act (HEA) 
    Program funds. This information is used to determine the student's 
    financial need. The information is also used to determine the student's 
    eligibility for grants and loans under the Title IV, HEA Programs. It 
    is further used for determining a student's eligibility for State and 
    institutional financial aid programs.
    
    [FR Doc. 99-28640 Filed 11-1-99; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 4001-01-P
    
    
    

Document Information

Published:
11/02/1999
Department:
Education Department
Entry Type:
Notice
Action:
Proposed collection; comment request.
Document Number:
99-28640
Dates:
Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before January 3, 2000.
Pages:
59171-59172 (2 pages)
PDF File:
99-28640.pdf