Perhaps lost in the higher profile and controversial legislation drawing attention this week is the passage of a Chamber priority that will have meaningful impact on Indiana’s students.
Senate Bill 167, authored by Sen. Jean Leising (R-Oldenburg), passed the House on Tuesday with an 84-9 vote, bringing a five-year struggle to put more students on the path to earning postsecondary credentials aligned with workforce need to a close. A longtime policy priority championed by the Chamber and a growing coalition of advocates, SB 167 will require high school seniors to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) unless opted out by the student’s parent, school counselor or principal. The measure aims to increase student access to the wide range of grants and scholarships available to pay for postsecondary education and training that has become essential in a talent-driven economy.
Despite some improvement in recent years, Indiana ranks 37th nationally in education attainment, and the state’s college-going rate has dropped to its lowest point in years with only 53% of recent high school grads continuing their education. By making the FAFSA an “opt out” rather than an “opt in,” Indiana can begin to reverse this trend and strengthen its talent pipeline of skilled workers.
With SB 167 now headed to the Governor’s desk for signature, Indiana will join eight other states (Louisiana, Texas, Illinois, California, Alabama, Colorado, New Hampshire and Maryland) that have passed similar policies to boost postsecondary participation and completion rates.
Louisiana, the first state to adopt the FAFSA policy, went from worst to first in the nation in FAFSA filing rates, which also contributed to improvements in other key metrics, including high school graduation, college-going and completion rates. Combined with a related push this session to auto-enroll eligible students in the state’s 21st Century Scholars program (House Bill 1449), Indiana is well-positioned to make critical gains in postsecondary attainment that are key to improving the state’s economic development prospects while also disrupting the cycle of generational poverty.
