Equitable Student Aid Access Act

Equitable Student Aid Access Act

This bill revises certain income requirements for calculating federal student financial aid amounts, and it requires the Department of Education (ED) to publish certain requirements for financial aid offers.

Specifically, the bill eliminates the simplified needs test in financial aid applications for families with income below a specified threshold, and it increases the income threshold that automatically qualifies a student for certain financial aid.

When determining the total income of an applicant or an applicant's household, ED shall provide for the use of data from the second preceding tax year to simplify applications used for the estimation and determination of financial aid eligibility.

ED must also conduct consumer testing to serve as the basis for determining requirements for financial aid offers. A financial aid offer must contain information such as cost of attendance and sources of available financial aid, as well as a standardized quick reference box to enable comparison of information on college costs and financial aid.