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HR2521119th CongressWALLET

American Family FAFSA Opportunity Act of 2025

Sponsored By: Representative Smith (NJ)

Introduced

Summary

Counts college-enrolled siblings in the FAFSA family-size calculation to reduce the federal "sibling penalty." This bill would change the Higher Education Act's need-analysis formula so the assessment is divided by the number of family members, excluding the student's parents, who are enrolled at least half-time. The result may not be less than zero and the change applies to the 2025-2026 award year and later.

Show full summary
  • Families with multiple children in college will face smaller penalties in federal aid calculations, which could increase need-based aid for those households. The change takes effect for the 2025-2026 award year.
  • Individual students from larger families may become eligible for more federal student aid or larger need-based awards because the family assessment is spread across enrolled siblings.
  • Offices that administer federal student aid will use the revised denominator in need analyses, changing how awards are calculated for affected students.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.

More aid for students with siblings

This bill would change how federal student aid is figured for dependent students. Your parents’ assessed contribution would be divided by the number of your family members, not counting your parents, who are in college at least half-time during the award year. This includes siblings who are enrolled or accepted for enrollment at eligible colleges. The per-person amount could not go below $0. If enacted, it would apply starting with the 2025–2026 award year and later.

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Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Smith (NJ)

NJ • R

Cosponsors

There are no cosponsors for this bill.

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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