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The Detroit school district is considering requiring students to apply for federal student aid for higher education in order to graduate.
Doing so would open the Detroit Public Schools Community District up for state grants to pay for initiatives that help students get into college or work-study programs.
The district’s proposal is intended to get more students to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as the FAFSA. However, there would be several exemptions for students who don’t fill out the form, including for those with privacy concerns.
“We want to ensure that it’s not putting a barrier for our students,” said board President LaTrice McClendon when the policy was introduced during a committee meeting last month.
The board has not yet voted on the proposed policy.
The FAFSA helps determine student eligibility for federal grants, loans, and work-study scholarships. In some cases, it’s used to decide whether students qualify for state and private aid, as well as Michigan universities’ tuition assistance programs.
In 2024, the Michigan legislature proposed making FAFSA completion mandatory for all districts. But, at the time, DPSCD board members said they were opposed to such a policy. Advocates and community members expressed concerns to lawmakers during hearings for the bills about forcing vulnerable student populations to provide personal information, including immigration status and gender identity. Some Michigan school administrators also said it would not be possible to achieve with a shortage of college counselors.
Others said they didn’t want the requirement to hinder DPSCD students from graduating. The district has made significant gains in its graduation rate in recent years.
The state effort also failed in part due to the rocky rollout of the new FAFSA process in 2024. If the legislation passed, Michigan would have been the 13th state to have the requirement.
The issue was revisited at December DPSCD board and committee meetings after members expressed interest in a state grant that offers millions of dollars to local districts each year if they make FAFSA completion a graduation requirement.
“This grant is over a million dollars,” said board member Ida Short during the December board meeting.
The grant dollars can be used by districts to pay for “activities that are known to drive FAFSA completion,” including financial incentives for students, guest speakers, and seminars. The money can pay the salaries of the staff and administrative costs needed to run the initiative.
Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said during the December board meeting he agreed that not applying for the state grant left “a lot of money on the table.” The grant was not pursued since it began two years ago because of the previous board’s position, he added.
If the proposed policy is approved, the change would be implemented for the class of 2027 and DPSCD could apply for the next school year’s grant.
Under the district’s proposed policy, students who don’t want to fill out the FAFSA may complete a waiver with a parent or guardian. The waiver acknowledges that the student understands the purpose of FAFSA but does not want to participate.
The district must confirm a good-faith effort was made by schools to help students who don’t complete the FAFSA or turn in a waiver. In those cases, students can be exempt from doing either if their parent or legal guardian is unresponsive or refuses to sign.
More than 43% of Michigan high school seniors completed the FAFSA by March 9, according to the Michigan College Access Network tracker, slightly up from the 39.5% that had at the same time last year.
Hannah Dellinger covers Detroit schools for Chalkbeat Detroit. You can reach her at hdellinger@chalkbeat.org.
