California attempts to increase access to state financial aid for students as FAFSA problems persist

By Srishti Prabha | OBSERVER Staff Writer At the start of this year, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, underwent updates aimed at broadening its accessibility to students from low-income and undocumented backgrounds. But the National College Attainment Network reported a 36% decrease in FAFSA applications in California following several technical difficulties with the online portal. California legislators and public colleges have taken a multi-layered approach to secure financial aid for all students applying to college, both giving students more time and in some cases opening new ways to apply for aid.& Last month, the state Legislature passed Assembly Bill 1887, authored by Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes, to extend the FAFSA deadline from April 2 to May 2.  Soon after extending the FAFSA deadline, the California State University, University of California, and community colleges systems have also postponed their acceptance date from May 1 to May 15 due to ongoing issues with the FAFSA portal. Shelveen Ratnam from the California Student Aid Commission — a state agency delivering financial aid — said the most impacted group was those with mixed-citizenship status where one parent may not have a social security number. “Students from mixed-status families have encountered specific...