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Key Points
Now that the fall season is quickly approaching this month (and hopefully the temperatures will catch on soon), parents, teachers, and school personnel can exhale following the busy back-to-school season over the last few weeks.
Junior and senior high school students, however, have additional things on their plate beyond their full load of classes and extracurricular activities: planning for post-graduation life. Whether their plans include attending college (or another form of postsecondary education), getting a job, or joining the Army—this is a crucial time for students to align their long-term goals with an implementation plan that best works for them.
One factor that students will likely consider as part of their plan is the availability of financial resources to fund things like tuition and room and board. On that note, I had the opportunity to learn more about one of those financial resources.
A few weeks ago, I had a meeting with representatives from the Florida College Access Network (FCAN) and Heart of Florida United Way to discuss the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
FAFSA is a form that students (whether attending college, vocational, or graduate school) may submit (at no cost to them) to apply for financial aid consideration, such as federal student loans and the Pell Grant. The form is also used by some states and schools to determine eligibility for their specific grants, scholarships, and loans.
Both FCAN and United Way are organizations that share a common goal of working with communities to help more Floridians obtain either a college degree or career credential to help them make a comfortable living for themselves and their families.
As part of its outreach to encourage more students to complete the FAFSA form, FCAN shared data specific to three high schools in my district from its “Legislative FAFSA Challenge” that started in October 2025 (when the form reopened for the upcoming academic year) and ran through March 31, 2026, an important date for students doing early FAFSA completions: Apopka High School showed a 41.5% completion rate (estimated $955,948 in Pell Grants foregone); Ocoee High School showed a 56% completion rate (estimated $645,179 in Pell Grants foregone); and Legacy High Charter School showed a 41.2% completion rate (estimated Pell Grants foregone could not be determined). Those March estimates totaled $1,601,127.
Students who did not complete a FAFSA form for funding consideration are less likely to join the credentialed workforce in Florida.
Interestingly, additional data through July 24 shared by United Way showed bumps in FAFSA completions for each school: 61.5% for Apopka High; 72.9% for Ocoee High; and 58.8% for Legacy High Charter.
According to FCAN and United Way, students are encouraged to complete the FAFSA form as soon as possible after it opens (for the upcoming academic year they will be enrolling in postsecondary education) to help keep them on track for receiving a financial aid letter at their institution of choice (including Pell Grant eligibility).
Based on these numbers shown, it is clear that there is still more work to be done in helping graduating seniors take advantage of the financial aid resources that are available to them.
If you are the parent or family member of a graduating senior this academic year (or rising senior in the following year), I would encourage you to discuss completing a FAFSA with them. The new FAFSA form for the 2027-2028 academic year will open by Oct. 1, 2026.
United Way also offers assistance and support with the FAFSA through its upliftED Program. Additional information can be found at https://www.hfuw.org/how-to-complete-the-fafsa/.
Regardless of the path they choose to achieve their goals, we can help give the next generation the runway in preparing their next steps.