releases: https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/senator-booker-introduces-legislation-aimed-at-preserving-and-expanding-access-to-federal-student-aid
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/senator-booker-introduces-legislation-aimed-at-preserving-and-expanding-access-to-federal-student-aid | Senator Booker Introduces Legislation Aimed at Preserving and Expanding Access to Federal Student Aid | 2020-12-18 | 2020 | 2020-12 | Democrat | House | NJ | Cory Booker | B001288 | www.booker.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced legislation that willpreserve and expandaccess to federal student aidforcollege students.Specifically,the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Reset and Reform Act of 2020willrestore federal aid eligibilityforstudentswho had previously failed to meet existing requirements needed to receive financial assistance. Congress found thatexistingSatisfactory Academic Progress or SAP requirementsforfederal student aid programs, suchascompleting a certain number of credits or courses andmeeting a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 2.0, have become increasingly strict and inflexibleforstudents over the last 40 years. A recent study focused on three Minnesota community colleges byHigher Learning Advocatesfound that 29 percent of students in 2019 did not maintain SAP requirements. Similarly, approximately 40 percent of first-year Pell Grant recipients are at risk of losing aid due to their inability to meet SAP criteria'scourse credit component. CurrentSAP policies disproportionately harm communities of color, specifically students of Black, Latino, and Native American descent.Forthe2015-2016 school year, 57 percent of black students, 47 percent of Latino students, and 51 percent of Native American students relied on Pell Grants compared to 39 percent of all undergraduate students. Allowing students' SAP requirements to be reset serves as a second chanceforstudents to earn a degree and helps move higher education institutions towards more equitable education policies and practices. "Forso many, pursuing a college degree is a path to economic opportunity, but as the costs of higher education continue to rise drastically year after year, we should be working to ensure thatmore students, not less, are eligible and have access to federal student aid,"said Senator Booker. "Creating more flexibility in student federal aid eligibility requirements will enable more hardworking students to continue to pursue their path towards a degree regardless of circumstance or ability to pay. TheSatisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Reset and Reform Actamends the Higher Education Act of 1965 in the following ways: oApply to students in all categories (full-time, part-time, undergrad, graduate, etc.) and has the same strictness level as the policy applied to students not receiving financial assistance oCredit hours from another institution that are accepted towards a student's educational program count as both attempted and completed hours oStudents with previous ineligibility or failure to meet SAP requirements who have not been enrolled in schoolfortwo years are eligiblefora SAP reset. The legislation also outlines changes to the frequency of SAP evaluations and communications: oEach institution of higher education that enrolls students receiving grants, loans, or work assistance will review SAP progress at the end of each payment period those institutions that run on payment periods shorter than the semester system will review student progress on a semester-like period of 12-18 weeks. oHigher education institutions are required to send a financial aid warning at the end of each semester-based payment period to students failing to meet the SAP's GPA requirements to inform students of their risk of losing grant or loan eligibility. oStudents unable to meet SAP requirements that receive this warning can still receive financial aidforone payment period after the notice is issued The full text of the legislation can be viewedhere. ### | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |