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January 31, 2024 View this email in a browser

This is Kalyn and Erica from the national desk. Today we’re bringing you a story about a FAFSA glitch that hasn’t gotten as much attention as other issues — but is affecting potentially tens of thousands of high schoolers from immigrant families.

The big story

The rollout of the new federal application for student aid has been something of a disaster.

The form came out months later than usual, the website worked sporadically at first, and now federal officials say colleges won’t get students’ information until mid-March. 

That’s a significant delay that will have colleges scrambling to assemble aid packages. School counselors and college access organizations worry that students will make big financial decisions without enough information.

And on top of that, there is still no way for parents without Social Security numbers to enter their financial information on the FAFSA — a glitch that’s blocking many students from submitting their requests for financial aid.

Federal officials say they’re working to resolve the problem, but can’t say how long that will take.

In the meantime, thousands of students like 18-year-old Jocelyn are in limbo. The high school senior in Chicago finished her portion of the FAFSA in around an hour. But she can’t send off the form because her mom doesn’t have a Social Security number. When Jocelyn met with her school’s college coach recently, the advice was to sit tight and wait for the federal government to fix it.

“I know that my other friends have turned it in already, and I feel like I’m a little behind,” she said.

Advocates say the federal government needs to work with more urgency to fix the problem. Some hope the newly announced delay in transmitting student information to colleges will give federal officials more time to fix the Social Security number issue so affected students get on an even playing field with their peers. 

Read the full story here.

Se puede leer en español aquí.

Also from the national desk

A new federal education technology plan calls for school systems to move beyond passive use and make technology part of active learning. The plan comes after virtual learning and federal pandemic aid contributed to widespread adoption of 1:1 devices in American schools. Yet in surveys, students say the most common way they use technology is taking tests and quizzes online. Even as the plan highlights dozens of inspiring examples of how schools are using technology, some teachers told us they’re still fighting for the basics, like affordable home internet. Read more.

A trip to Auschwitz changed how English teacher Nikia Garland teaches her students about the Holocaust. The story of Anne Frank deeply moved Garland when she first read the girl’s diary in sixth grade. Decades later, she now teaches a unit on the Holocaust, but she still was unprepared for the feeling of walking through the death camp’s gates. Read this First Person essay.

Local stories to watch

Photo by Kalyn Belsha / Chalkbeat

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