20 U.S.C. § 1090 : US Code - Section 1090: Forms and regulations

Search 20 U.S.C. § 1090 : US Code - Section 1090: Forms and regulations

(a) Common financial aid form development and processing
(1) Single form required
The Secretary, in cooperation with representatives of agencies
and organizations involved in student financial assistance, shall
produce, distribute, and process free of charge a common
financial reporting form to be used to determine the need and
eligibility of a student for financial assistance under parts A
through D of this subchapter and part C of subchapter I of
chapter 34 of title 42 (other than under subpart 4 of part A of
this subchapter). The Secretary shall include on the form
developed under this subsection such data items as the Secretary
determines are appropriate for inclusion. Such items shall be
selected in consultation with States to assist in the awarding of
State financial assistance. In no case shall the number of such
data items be less than the number included on the form on
October 7, 1998. Such form shall satisfy the requirements of
section 1070a(d) of this title.
(2) Charges to students and parents for use of form prohibited
The common financial reporting form prescribed by the Secretary
under paragraph (1) shall be produced, distributed, and processed
by the Secretary and no parent or student shall be charged a fee
for the collection, processing, or delivery of financial aid
through the use of such form. The need and eligibility of a
student for financial assistance under parts A through D of this
subchapter and part C of subchapter I of chapter 34 of title 42
(other than under subpart 4 of part A of this subchapter) may
only be determined by using the form developed by the Secretary
pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection. No student may
receive assistance under parts A through D of this subchapter and
part C of subchapter I of chapter 34 of title 42 (other than
under subpart 4 of part A of this subchapter), except by use of
the form developed by the Secretary pursuant to this section. No
data collected on a form for which a fee is charged shall be used
to complete the form prescribed under paragraph (1).
(3) Distribution of data
Institutions of higher education, guaranty agencies, and States
shall receive, without charge, the data collected by the
Secretary using the form developed pursuant to this section for
the purposes of processing loan applications and determining need
and eligibility for institutional and State financial aid awards.
Entities designated by institutions of higher education, guaranty
agencies, or States to receive such data shall be subject to all
the requirements of this section, unless such requirements are
waived by the Secretary.
(4) Contracts for collection and processing
(A) The Secretary shall, to the extent practicable, enter into
not less than 5 contracts with States, institutions of higher
education, or private organizations for the purposes of the
timely collection and processing of the form developed pursuant
to paragraph (1) and the timely delivery of the data submitted on
such form. The Secretary shall use such contracts to assist
States and institutions of higher education with the collection
of additional data required to award State or institutional
financial assistance, except that the Secretary shall not include
these additional data items on the common financial reporting
form developed pursuant to this section. The Secretary shall
include in each such contract a requirement that -
(i) any charges by the contractor to the student or parent
for additional data items required by a State or institution
for any purpose (regardless of the method of collection) shall
be reasonable and shall not exceed the marginal cost of
collecting, processing, and delivering such additional data,
taking into account any payment received by the contractor to
produce, distribute, and process the common financial reporting
form prescribed by the Secretary pursuant to paragraph (1); and
(ii) the contractor will require any person or entity to whom
the contractor provides such additional data to agree not to
collect from any student or parent any charge that would not be
permitted under this subparagraph for any such additional data.
(B) To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure that
at least one contractor, or a portion of one contract, under this
paragraph will serve graduate and professional students.
(C) As part of the procurement process for the 1993-1994 award
year, and for all procurements thereafter pertaining to the
contracts under this paragraph, the Secretary shall require all
entities competing for such contracts to comply with all
requirements of this subsection and to -
(i) use the common financial reporting form as prescribed in
paragraph (1), which shall be clearly identified as the "Free
Application for Federal Student Aid"; and
(ii) use a common, simplified reapplication form as the
Secretary shall prescribe pursuant to subsection (b) of this
section, in each award year.
(D) The Secretary shall reimburse all approved contractors at a
reasonable predetermined rate for processing such applications,
for issuing eligibility reports, and for carrying out other
services or requirements that may be prescribed by the Secretary.
(E) All approved contractors shall be required to adhere to all
editing, processing, and reporting requirements established by
the Secretary to ensure consistency.
(F) No approved contractor shall enter into exclusive
arrangements with guarantors, lenders, secondary markets, or
institutions of higher education for the purpose of reselling or
sharing of data collected for the multiple data entry process.
All data collected under a contract issued by the Secretary
pursuant to this paragraph for the multiple data entry process is
the exclusive property of the Secretary and may not be
transferred to a third party by an approved contractor without
the Secretary's express written approval.
(5) Electronic forms
(A) The Secretary, in cooperation with representatives of
agencies and organizations involved in student financial
assistance, including private computer software providers, shall
develop an electronic version of the form described in paragraph
(1). As permitted by the Secretary, such an electronic version
shall not require a signature to be collected at the time such
version is submitted, if a signature is subsequently submitted by
the applicant. The Secretary shall prescribe such version not
later than 120 days after October 7, 1998.
(B) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the
use of the form developed by the Secretary pursuant to
subparagraph (A) by an eligible institution, eligible lender,
guaranty agency, State grant agency, private computer software
providers, a consortium thereof, or such other entities as the
Secretary may designate.
(C) No fee shall be charged to students in connection with the
use of the electronic version of the form, or of any other
electronic forms used in conjunction with such form in applying
for Federal or State student financial assistance.
(D) The Secretary shall ensure that data collection complies
with section 552a of title 5 and that any entity using the
electronic version of the form developed by the Secretary
pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall maintain reasonable and
appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to
ensure the integrity and confidentiality of the information, and
to protect against security threats, or unauthorized uses or
disclosures of the information provided on the electronic version
of the form. Data collected by such version of the form shall be
used only for the application, award, and administration of aid
awarded under this subchapter and part C of subchapter I of
chapter 34 of title 42, State aid, or aid awarded by eligible
institutions or such entities as the Secretary may designate. No
data collected by such version of the form shall be used for
making final aid awards under this subchapter and part C of
subchapter I of chapter 34 of title 42 until such data have been
processed by the Secretary or a contractor or designee of the
Secretary.
(6) Third party servicers and private software providers
To the extent practicable and in a timely manner, the Secretary
shall provide, to private organizations and consortia that
develop software used by eligible institutions for the
administration of funds under this subchapter and part C of
subchapter I of chapter 34 of title 42, all the necessary
specifications that the organizations and consortia must meet for
the software the organizations and consortia develop, produce,
and distribute (including any diskette, modem, or network
communications) which are so used. The specifications shall
contain record layouts for required data. The Secretary shall
develop in advance of each processing cycle an annual schedule
for providing such specifications. The Secretary, to the extent
practicable, shall use means of providing such specifications,
including conferences and other meetings, outreach, and technical
support mechanisms (such as training and printed reference
materials). The Secretary shall, from time to time, solicit from
such organizations and consortia means of improving the support
provided by the Secretary.
(7) Parent's social security number and birth date
The Secretary is authorized to include on the form developed
under this subsection space for the social security number and
birth date of parents of dependent students seeking financial
assistance under this subchapter and part C of subchapter I of
chapter 34 of title 42.
(b) Streamlined reapplication process
(1) The Secretary shall develop a streamlined reapplication form
and process, including electronic reapplication process, consistent
with the requirements of subsection (a) of this section, for those
recipients who apply for financial aid funds under this subchapter
and part C of subchapter I of chapter 34 of title 42 in the next
succeeding academic year subsequent to the initial year in which
such recipients apply.
(2) The Secretary shall develop appropriate mechanisms to support
reapplication.
(3) The Secretary shall determine, in cooperation with States,
institutions of higher education, agencies and organizations
involved in student financial assistance, the data elements that
can be updated from the previous academic year's application.
(4) Nothing in this subchapter and part C of subchapter I of
chapter 34 of title 42 shall be interpreted as limiting the
authority of the Secretary to reduce the number of data elements
required of reapplicants.
(5) Individuals determined to have a zero family contribution
pursuant to section 1087ss of this title shall not be required to
provide any financial data, except that which is necessary to
determine eligibility under that section.
(c) Information to committees of Congress
Copies of all rules, regulations, guidelines, instructions, and
application forms published or promulgated pursuant to this
subchapter and part C of subchapter I of chapter 34 of title 42
shall be provided to the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of
the Senate and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the
House of Representatives at least 45 days prior to their effective
date.
(d) Toll-free information
The Secretary shall contract for, or establish, and publicize a
toll-free telephone service to provide timely and accurate
information to the general public. The information provided shall
include specific instructions on completing the application form
for assistance under this subchapter and part C of subchapter I of
chapter 34 of title 42. Such service shall also include a service
accessible by telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDD's) and
shall, in addition to the services provided for in the previous
sentence, refer such students to the national clearinghouse on
postsecondary education that is authorized under section
1485(d)(2)(C) of this title.
(e) Preparer
Any financial aid application required to be made under this
subchapter and part C of subchapter I of chapter 34 of title 42
shall include the name, signature, address or employer's address,
social security number or employer identification number, and
organizational affiliation of the preparer of such financial aid
application.