§1087uu–2 Special Rules for Independent Students

Summary

Financial aid officers must accept certain kinds of proof when deciding a student is independent because they are an unaccompanied homeless youth, unaccompanied and at risk of homelessness, or self-supporting. If a local homeless liaison, a director of an emergency or youth shelter/outreach/drop-in program, a director of a TRIO or GEAR UP project, or a financial aid officer at another school gives a written statement, a recorded phone note, or a verifiable electronic match, that counts as valid proof unless there is clear conflicting information. If a student cannot get that kind of proof, the officer must decide the case-by-case based on a written statement or a recorded interview with the student that confirms the situation. That decision is separate from other federal rules about independence. If a school requires proof that a student was in foster care at age 13 or older, the school must accept certain items as proof: a court order or official state paper showing foster care support; a phone note, written statement, or electronic match from a state/county/tribal foster care agency, a State Medicaid agency, or a foster placing agency or facility; a phone note or written statement from an attorney, guardian ad litem, or Court Appointed Special Advocate; proof of eligibility for a Chafee education voucher; or a phone note or written statement from another financial aid officer who documented it before. Decisions must be made as soon as possible, can be made as early as the year before the award year, and must be completed no later than 60 days after the student enrolls in the award year they first apply. A student found independent at the same school in a prior year is presumed independent in later years unless the student says things changed or the school has specific conflicting information and tells the student. Schools may rely on earlier documented independence determinations from other schools. Financial aid officers must keep all records of these decisions, including interviews, for at least the length of the student’s enrollment and for any extra time the Secretary requires.