You wouldn’t be required to file a college financial aid form under a bill headed for the House floor, but it’d be easier to get help if you do.
The Senate voted last month to require the form unless you opt out, the third straight year it’s passed the bill. This year, a House committee has proposed an alternative: have the state notify parents the form is out there, and offer help filling it out. The bill would require parents to respond and say whether they plan to complete the form.
Indiana School Boards Association executive director Terry Spradlin says the stronger Senate version would create more work for principals and teachers, however, he says schools can support the House version. College and business groups say they prefer the requirement, but call the House version a step forward. Commission for Higher Education associate commissioner Josh Garrison says instead of flying blind, the commission would gain information about why parents aren’t completing the form, and could tweak their outreach efforts accordingly.
Indiana Chamber vice president Jason Bearce says Indiana’s low college attendance has had concrete costs. He says the need for a stronger pipeline of new skilled workers was one reason Indiana lost out on the Amazon HQ2 project four years ago, and a new Intel semiconductor factory awarded last month to New Albany, Ohio.
Bearce says many families simply don’t realize how much state and federal aid is available. He says requiring parents to fill out the form, or at least make an informed decision not to fill it out, would particularly help to reach low-income families who aren’t thinking about a four-year college investment because they’re focused on paying their bills every month.
