Assembly Bill A2470 would permanently require New Jersey public and charter school students to complete a FAFSA or state financial aid application before graduating unless they obtain a waiver.
TRENTON, NJ — Completing a financial aid application could become a permanent requirement for graduating from a New Jersey public high school under legislation moving through Trenton. If you don’t fill out an application, you’re not going to get your diploma, even if you’re not going to go to college.
Assembly Bill A2470 would remove the expiration date from the state’s existing financial aid application mandate, requiring future graduating classes to complete and submit an approved application before receiving a diploma unless the student qualifies for an exemption.
Under current state rules, students in the graduating classes of 2026 and 2027 must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly known as FAFSA, or the New Jersey Alternative Financial Aid Application, unless they submit a waiver.
Bill would make temporary requirement permanent
New Jersey originally created the graduation requirement under a 2023 law as a limited program covering several graduating classes.
A2470 would eliminate the time limit and make the financial aid application requirement an ongoing condition for receiving a public high school or charter school diploma.
Students would not necessarily be required to apply for or accept college financial aid. They would only have to complete the application process or formally opt out through the waiver procedure.
The measure is sponsored by Assemblywomen Tennille McCoy of Mercer and Middlesex counties and Carmen Theresa Morales of Essex County.
Parents and adult students could opt out
The legislation retains an exemption process.
A parent or guardian could sign a waiver requesting that the student be excused from completing the financial aid application. Students who are at least 18 years old could sign the waiver themselves.
If a student is younger than 18 and obtaining a signed form from a parent or guardian is not reasonably possible, a school counselor could authorize the exemption under rules established by the State Board of Education.
Schools would be prohibited from taking adverse action against a student simply because the student received an exemption.
Schools would have to notify families annually
Each school district and charter school would have to notify students and their parents or guardians every year about the requirement.
The Higher Education Student Assistance Authority would also continue providing instructions, webinars, presentations and other resources explaining how to complete financial aid applications.
The legislation specifically states that school counselors and other employees would not be required to personally complete the applications for students.
FAFSA requirement already applies to current students
New Jersey’s current graduation policy requires affected students to complete either FAFSA or the state alternative application, with the waiver option available to families that do not want to participate.
The New Jersey Department of Education says the requirement currently applies to the graduating classes of 2026 and 2027.
The policy is intended to expose more graduating seniors to federal and state financial aid programs they might otherwise overlook while preserving an opt-out for families that do not want to submit an application.
Measure continues through Legislature
A2470 was scheduled for consideration by the Assembly Higher Education Committee in September as lawmakers returned to work after the summer recess.
If enacted in its current form, the bill would take effect immediately and remove the sunset from New Jersey’s financial aid application graduation requirement.
That would leave future high school students with two paths: complete the required financial aid application or submit a waiver before receiving a diploma.