Department Of Education 'Comes Out' On College Aid For Students Of Gay Parents
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The US Department of Education “came out” last week with changes to its Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) that are clearly aimed at the LGBT community. The changes serve more to
recognize this community than to produce results in the form of college aid eligibility for students. Instead, students with parents who are not married will now have to report both parent’s incomes, decreasing their aid eligibility substantially.
The announcement stated that the 2014-2015 Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, will provide a new option for dependent applicants to describe their parents’ marital status as “unmarried and both parents living together.” Additionally, where appropriate, the new FAFSA form will also use terms like “Parent 1 (father/mother/stepparent)” and “Parent 2 (father/mother/stepparent)” instead of gender-specific terms like