6148 - FAFSA Completion Program

6148 Instruction

FAFSA Completion Program

The Board of Education (Board) recognizes that college, for many students, continues to be an important pathway that helps to provide students with the necessary skills for work and for lifelong learning. In addition, research has indicated the students who complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) are more likely to attend college with financial aid.

Many Connecticut students, eligible for college, fail to complete the FAFSA each year, resulting in the loss of funds that could help support their postsecondary education.

The Board acknowledges that Connecticut has, for eligible school districts, implemented a FAFSA Completion Challenge (Challenge). This Challenge is based on the premise that FAFSA completion is strongly associated with postsecondary enrollment and outcomes. Students who complete the FAFSA, in greater numbers, attend college directly from high school in comparison to non-completers.

Note: The statewide FAFSA Challenge is a partnership between the State Department of Education (SDE) and the Connecticut College and Career Readiness Alliance. This partnership aims to strengthen postsecondary access and enrollment by raising FAFSA completion rates among high school seniors.

Therefore, the Board, through this policy, sets as a goal a District initiative to improve the completion rates for FAFSA among grade 12 students or students in District adult education programs. This goal aims to strengthen District efforts to improve postsecondary enrollment and student outcomes and to make it easier for students to attend postsecondary education.

District efforts to meet this initiative should spark and support local creativity to increase FAFSA completion and postsecondary enrollment rates. The Board directs the administration to develop plans to pilot and initiate new strategies to increase yearly student FAFSA completion rates. The Board may accept gifts, grants, and donations, including in-kind donations, to implement this policy.

As required, the Board will publish and make available on the District website the annual FAFSA student completion rate for the graduating class of each high school within the District.

Legal Reference: Connecticut General Statutes

P. A. 21-199 An Act Concerning Various Revisions and Additions to the Statutes Relating to Education and Workforce Development, Sect. 6, 7, 8.

Policy Adopted: March 2022