Frequently Asked Questions

Each public high school student shall complete and submit the US Department of Education’s FAFSA prior to graduating, except if:

1. A parent or legal guardian of or a person standing in loco parentis to such student signs and submits the appropriate form prescribed by the Commissioner of Education…indicating that such parent, legal guardian, or person standing in loco parentis authorizes such student to decline to complete and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
2.  A student who is 19 years of age or older or is an emancipated minor signs and submits the appropriate form prescribed by the Commissioner of Education…stating that such student declines to complete and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
3. The school principal or the school principal’s designee signs and submits the appropriate form prescribed by the Commissioner of Education…authorizing such student to decline to complete and submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for good cause as determined by the school principal or the school principal designee. 

Nebraska public school districts are to use these forms or use them as an example for their own local forms.  Altering the design of the form while keeping the context aligned to the original content of the text, is allowable.

Nebraska public school districts may digitize these forms to fit within their own data collection needs.

ENGLISH – FAFSA Opt-Out Form

SPANISH – FAFSA Opt-Out Form

The law indicates that a school principal or their designee can opt a student out for “good cause as determined by the school principal.”

A Social Security Number is necessary to complete the FAFSA form. Many undocumented students are not eligible for social security numbers and therefore cannot complete FAFSA. For more information: https://studentaid.gov/apply-for-aid/fafsa/filling-out/undocumented-students

If a student does not comply, (i.e. they do not complete and submit the FAFSA or get opted-out for any of the reasons,) they should not graduate. You can see the graduation requirements including this one in the statute, and it would be analogous to a student not doing taking the requisite courses in math.

Each school should develop a process whereby they collect and maintain opt-out forms. Statute is explicit – these forms should not be submitted to the NDE. Each principal is responsible for maintaining a list of all students who opt-out.

NDE has FAFSA opt-out forms available in English and Spanish.  These may be digitized, customized to the local school district, however the context  and alignment to the content of the text should remain the same.

Yes. The state requirement is independent of FAFSA processes. A student could opt out and then choose to fill out FAFSA at a later time.

Signing and submitting an opt-out form for the Nebraska graduation requirement, does not prohibit a student from completing and submitting a FAFSA at any time, now or in the future to be considered for student-aid.

The NDE is hosting this webpage plus, partnering with statewide entities including the Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education, EducationQuest Foundation, Buffett Foundation, professional education associations and NE higher education institutions including community colleges, colleges and universities.  This group will help inform and provide strategies to implement the FAFSA graduation requirement for public schools.

Education Quest

• EducationQuest Foundation is a nonprofit with a mission to improve access to higher education in Nebraska through free college planning services.
• Access helpful information about applying for financial aid and free tools to assist in completing the FAFSA, including a video tutorial.
• Contact Education Quest with questions or to schedule an appointment.

Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education (CCPE)

• FAFSA Completion Project provides a method to monitor FAFSA submissions of local graduates.
• If your high school is interested in participating, contact Ritchie Morrow at ritchie.morrow@nebraska.gov or 402-471-0032.

• Individual Student Compliance Data:
  • Compliance = The student completed or opted-out for any reason
  • Non-Compliance = The student did not complete and submit FAFSA and was not opted-out for any reason
• Aggregate Data:
  • Number of Students Completing FAFSA
  • Number of Students Opting-Out (total for whatever reason)
  • Number of Students that are Non-Compliant (no submission of FAFSA and no opt-out)

Statute assigns each school building principal or their designees to provide compliance information to the school district and to the NDE.  Separately, the school principal or designee is also responsible for providing aggregate data to the Nebraska Department of Education.

• Compliance Data:
  • A FAFSA indicator will be in ADVISOR this fall, but the data is not due until submission of the Year-End Window (June 2025)
  • This data should be completed at the same time as enrollment record showing the student graduated is submitted.
• Aggregate Data:
  • Submitted via the Portal
  • Estimated opening date is September 1, 2025

ADVISER is the primary system for collecting student data from schools. ADVISER connects to each district’s student information system (SIS), like PowerSchool or Infinite Campus, and pulls data. ADVISER will be used to collect student compliance data. More information can be found here: https://www.education.ne.gov/dataservices/adviser-resources/

• Aggregate Data will be collected on the NDE Portal:
  • how many students completed and submitted FAFSA
  • how many students opted-out by any option
  • how many students were non-compliant = no completed and submitted FAFSA and did not opt-out through any option

If you are not familiar with data reporting for your school district, please contact your local school building’s Data Steward.

Students with disabilities can attend and achieve postsecondary education.  All students are encouraged to plan ahead  to transitions toward education and career goals.

The requirement is for all students to complete and submit FAFSA to graduate or opt-out.  The FAFSA application for financial aid is used by postsecondary institution in the year the student intends to enroll.  However once a student is compliant with the requirement (either submits FAFSA or opts-out) anytime before they graduate, then they have fulfilled the graduation requirement.

A student with a disability may have a longer educational journey than a student without disabilities as they should be afforded a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) through their 21st birthday.  Thus it is recommended, an IEP team should convene in the last year of a student’s high school career and determine through the transition planning if the student should complete the FAFSA as they plan to embark on post-secondary experiences.

Careful consideration with the student and families along with IEP planning helps to inform postsecondary education plans for SPED students.  SPED students like all other students may complete and submit a FAFSA or opt-out of this requirement.

For some SPED students trying to determine postsecondary appropriateness considering the severity of the disability. An assessment called the “ability to benefit” is offered by the US Department of Education will be additional information for consideration.

Yes.

An effective and accurate way to have a direct accounting of FAFSA completion is data for your students is through the Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education’s FAFSA Completion Initiative. It provides school leaders who support college advisement with notification of student FAFSA completions updated weekly. The CCPE is Nebraska’s sole partner agency with the US Department of Education to receive direct student FAFSA data on completion. Schools may participate by signing-up with CCPE to receive weekly updates on their local students.

Contact Ritchie Morrow, Financial Aid Officer at ritchie.morrow@nebraska.gov

Yes.

Local school districts will determine the method which is best for them in collecting and keeping track of student FAFSA opt-out forms. Paper forms can be used or they can be digitized to adapt to other current methods of obtaining student or parent forms for the district.  Student FAFSA opt-out forms can be submitted by parents or legal guardians, a student themselves if 19 years old or an emancipated minor and by the school principal or principal’s designee.

Consider participating in the Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education’s (CCPE) FAFSA Completion Initiative.

• The CCPE is the sole partner agency with the US Department of Education to receive direct student data on completion
• The initiative provides public school leaders who support college advisement with notifications of student FAFSA completions updated weekly.

A school may also consider collecting alternate means for verifying student completion. For example, when students/families submit FAFSA, they receive a confirmation email.

Like other data collections, this submission will be periodically reviewed and NDE may follow up if any inconsistencies or anomalies are encountered.

No.

Military enlistment or apprenticeships do not require federal student aid.  A student may opt-out of the FAFSA graduation requirement when postsecondary plans do not include a need for federal student aid.

Every student must complete the FAFSA to graduate. However, student’s pathways to graduation are different. Especially for students who are chronically absent and/or off track for graduating on time, additional supports should be considered. Check additional resources with the following links provided:

• Nebraska Chronic Absenteeism Resources
• AttendanceWorks – National non-profit leader in addressing chronic absenteeism.