60D Comment Response

1845-NEW-FAFSA Form Demographic Survey - ICR 60D Comment Response Table 20220817.pdf

FAFSA Form Demographic Survey

60D Comment Response

OMB: 1845-0166

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ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
60D Comment Response Table

8/17/2022

Comment #

Commenter

Comment

FSA Response

ED-2022-SCC0082-0004

Daphne
Reichard

The questions on gender/race/ethnicity considered for the
"FAFSA Simplification Act" are not simplifying the FAFSA,
they are adding more complication to it. Maybe those
questions should not be in the FAFSA at all. They are not
needed for determining need-based aid.

Thank you for your comment.

ED-2022-SCC0082-0005

Charlene
Bedillion

In regards to ED-2022-SCC-0082, I am NOT an advocate of
adding the gender and race questions as a mandatory field
on the FAFSA. For one, there is already too much talk in the
higher education arena about discriminatory recruiting
practices. This is just an avenue for institutions to continue
to inequitably award institutional financial aid. The pursuit
of a college degree, and financial aid awarding practices,
should be an equal opportunity process for all students.
There should not be judgment of a student's race or gender
coming into play when awarding financial aid. The FAFSA
application should be a neutral application.

Thank you for your comment.

The FAFSA Simplification Act passed as part of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260)
amends the Higher Education Act of 1965, Title IV, Sec 483
(B)(ii)(VII) to add sex and race or ethnicity as information
required to be provided by the applicant on the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. They are
included as a voluntary post-application survey for the 20232024 application cycle. Responses are being collected for
research purposes only and will not be used to determine
aid eligibility. For 2023-2024, responses will not be shared
with institutions or other agencies.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
60D Comment Response Table
ED-2022-SCC0082-0006

Desiree Fritz

According to LBGTfunders.org collecting sexual orientation
and gender identity data helps in identifying key "disparities
in economic status, health, and other outcomes". So, it is my
opinion that if collecting this data will assist in identifying
these red flags, and is used to eliminate certain FA practices
(ie income verification) it will be useful. It is my professional
opinion that most students selected for V1 (at my
institution) often are students who are living below the
poverty lines and are more often than not brown/ and or
black.

8/17/2022
Thank you for your comment.
Responses are being collected for research purposes only
and will not be used to determine aid eligibility. Each
question includes an option to “Decline to answer”. We will
share your suggestion with the appropriate office for
consideration in future FAFSA application cycles.

I also believe that gathering pronouns for students and their
families can help decrease bias by challenging institutions to
address students by their chosen gender identities and
hopefully someday in the future their chosen names. At first
glance, this legislation seems intrusive but I can see how it
can help decrease bias and increase inclusion.
I also want to note that I believe that students should have
the option to select "I prefer not to answer" just to keep
their privacy intact.
Ref: https://lgbtfunders.org/resources/best-practices-forfoundations-on-collecting-data-on-sexual-orientation-andgender-identity/
ED-2022-SCC0082-0007

Beck Gusler

Strongly suggest allowing schools to receive the new gender,
ethnicity, and race information as we already request much
of this information from students and the feds are asking for
this information on other surveys like IPEDS. This would be a
boon to schools to better assist student populations by
being able to report internally on information.

Thank you for your comment.
Responses are being collected for research purposes only
and will not be used to determine aid eligibility. For 20232024, responses will not be shared with institutions or other
agencies. We will share your suggestion with the
appropriate office for consideration in future FAFSA
application cycles.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
60D Comment Response Table
ED-2022-SCC0082-0008

Anonymous

ED-2022-SCC0082-0009

Anonymous

ED-2022-SCC0082-0010

Jennifer Byrd

8/17/2022

I suggest including an "other" category where people can
enter the race and/or ethnicity if theirs is not listed. Though
ED has not indicated precisely what they wish to do with the
information, I'm not sure I understand the benefit of not
allowing someone to enter their own.

Thank you for your comment.

Is there some reason the listed answers aren't alphabetical?
I would suggest this change.

Thank you for comment.

Although the data person in me loves the idea of having this
type of demographic data available on the FAFSA, the
Financial Aid professional side worries about this. I have
worked in financial aid for over 25 years and have frequently
had to reassure students that their federal eligibility is not
impacted by their race or ethnicity, as it has previously not
even been on the FAFSA. My concern with adding this data
is that then students may assume their are being penalized
or impacted by their race or ethnicity.

Thank you for your comment.

The FAFSA Simplification Act passed as part of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260)
amends the Higher Education Act of 1965, Title IV, Sec 483
(B)(ii)(VII) to add sex and race or ethnicity as information
required to be provided by the applicant on the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. As
required, the Department of Education developed
categories in consultation with the Bureau of the Census and
the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences that, to
the greatest extent practicable, separately capture the racial
groups specified in the American Community Survey of the
Bureau of the Census. Participants may select all categories
that apply or select “Decline to answer”. We will share your
suggestion with the appropriate office for consideration in
future FAFSA application cycles.

We will share your suggestion with the appropriate office
for consideration in future FAFSA application cycles.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
60D Comment Response Table
ED-2022-SCC0082-0011

David
Ritterband

Anecdotally, based on Student questions I've been asked,
there is a perception (especially among White Student
population) that Federal Student Aid (FSA), and financial aid
generally, is at least partially based on Race, and in their
minds may be an impediment to applying for aid. I think
adding demographic questions to the FAFSA may contribute
to this misperception. However, I understand the
importance of gathering this data from a demography and
policy-making perspective. I would suggest that if these
questions are added to the FAFSA, it is made VERY CLEAR to
applicants that providing this information is for research
purposes only and that it WILL NOT have any affect on their
Needs Analysis and financial aid eligibility. Or perhaps a
voluntary demographic questionnaire (survey) electronically
sent to all FAFSA applicants that is SEPARATE from the
FAFSA itself may be a better solution.

8/17/2022
Thank you for your comment.
The FAFSA Simplification Act passed as part of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260)
amends the Higher Education Act of 1965, Title IV, Sec 483
(B)(ii)(VII) to add sex and race or ethnicity as information
required to be provided by the applicant on the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. They are
included as a voluntary post-application survey for the 20232024 application cycle. Responses are being collected for
research purposes only and will not be used to determine
aid eligibility. For 2023-2024, responses will not be shared
with institutions or other agencies.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
60D Comment Response Table
ED-2022-SCC0082-0012

Alyssa Dalton

ED-2022-SCC0082-0013

Susan
Richman

8/17/2022

If applicants will be advised that their answers to these
questions will not affect their eligibility for federal student
aid, and schools will not receive this information, then why
ask? I feel as though students as well as parents are going to
be confused as to why it matters. Some students/parents
might not be comfortable sharing that. If these questions
are required, then there should at least be a drop down
option of "I'd rather not say" or "Prefer not to answer". If a
student is filling out FAFSA with their parents, and haven't
told them their sexuality or gender, their answers might not
be accurate. For example, let's say a student uses they/them
pronouns and identifies as non-binary, but they haven't told
their parents this decision. If that student is filling out FAFSA
with a parent, they aren't going to choose the correct
answer, making the data incorrect. I believe that it should be
left out of FAFSA altogether, or at least give them the option
of choosing not to answer, so it doesn't feel forced. If their
eligiblity won't be affected, then why does it matter? I guess
I'm having a difficult time viewing the other side of this..

Thank you for your comment.

Including a questionnaire inviting responses about one’s
gender identity is an invasive and discriminatory action. It
would only serve to segregate persons based upon sexual
orientation and could potentially create disparities in
preference or favor of heterosexual vs
homosexuality/transgenderism. The data obtained from the
voluntary questions could be used inappropriately to
suggest disparity among sexual preferences by the student.
The sexual preference of the student is the private decision
of the student and should not be a proviso of Federal
student aid authorization. All requests for student aid should
be processed regardless of racial, heredity and sexual
orientation.

Thank you for your comments.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
60D Comment Response Table
ED-2022-SCC0082-0014

Mark
Kantrowitz

The demographic survey includes questions about gender,
transgender, Hispanic/Latino ethnicity and race.
The organization of the ethnicity and race questions may be
confusing for some applicants, since Hispanic/Ethnicity does
not appear among the list of possible races. The detailed
breakouts for specific Asian subgroups may also be
confusing.
Instead, I suggest including Hispanic/Latino and Asian in the
Race question, which will be shown first. If the applicant
selects Hispanic/Latino, the form should dynamically add the
four options for Hispanic/Latino. Likewise, if the applicant
selects Asian, the form should dynamically add a question
about the Asian subgroups.
If it is not possible to have the additional survey questions
appear dynamically, then include them with text like "If you
selected Hispanic/Latino, please answer this question" or
something similar.

8/17/2022
Thank you for your comment.
The FAFSA Simplification Act passed as part of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260)
amends the Higher Education Act of 1965, Title IV, Sec 483
(B)(ii)(VII) to add sex and race or ethnicity as information
required to be provided by the applicant on the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. As
required, the Department of Education developed
categories in consultation with the Bureau of the Census and
the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences that, to
the greatest extent practicable, separately capture the racial
groups specified in the American Community Survey of the
Bureau of the Census. Participants may select all categories
that apply or select “Decline to answer”.
We will share your suggestion with the appropriate office
for consideration in future FAFSA application cycles.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
60D Comment Response Table
ED-2022-SCC0082-0015

Wesley
Armstrong

While these may not seem like a heavy burden. The FAFSA is
already overwhelming to many low-income and first
generation students. Adding any questions only lengths the
time required to complete the FAFSA. I know from
experience that the longer the form takes the more likely a
student is to get up and walk away because "this is
overwhelming and I don't have any more time for this".
Some students we can get to sit down to finish however
students that are by themselves we cannot help. If
numerous other questions are removed then this is not that
big of a deal. However, don't we already have this
information from other sources like SSA.
My campus does not need this information from the FAFSA,
and I'm not sure how it would impact the awarding of
federal aid since race and gender do not play a role in
eligibility. Some families have expressed concern that we
give preference based on race. The race question could add
to the suspicions that we plan on using that for the awarding
of all aid. My institution does not use race for deciding our
awarding packages.
Lastly, “sex” is a very sensitive topic with our student
population. We will most likely receive questions about is
this “sex at birth” or “how I identify”. We will also receive
questions about “I do not feel comfortable telling anyone
how I identify”, many 18 year-olds are still figuring out life
and what they want to share. As I mentioned these do not
seem like a heavy burden but I do think these simple
questions carry a lot of weight.

8/17/2022
Thank you for your comments.
The FAFSA Simplification Act passed as part of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260)
amends the Higher Education Act of 1965, Title IV, Sec 483
(B)(ii)(VII) to add sex and race or ethnicity as information
required to be provided by the applicant on the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. They are
included as a voluntary post-application survey for the 20232024 application cycle. Responses are being collected for
research purposes only and will not be used to determine
aid eligibility. For 2023-2024, responses will not be shared
with institutions or other agencies. Each question includes
an option to “Decline to answer”.
We will share your suggestion with the appropriate office
for consideration in future FAFSA application cycles.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
60D Comment Response Table
ED-2022-SCC0082-0016

Cindy Barr

My institution already collects this information at the time
of admission. It is redundant for the students to provide it
more than once. The longer a form is the less likely they are
to complete it. I believe the FAFSA should focus on collecting
information that insitutions do not already have access to
especially given that we have enough information to match
records. I do not believe having race nad "sex" information
would provide any benefit in the awarding of federal aid
since race and gender do not play a role in eligibility. Given
that some families already have concerns that preference
for aid may be based on race, adding the race question
could add to the suspicions that we plan on using that for
the awarding of all aid. My institution does not use race
when developing student aid packages.
Asking students for their “sex” is a complicated with our
student population. I anticipate questions from students and
families asking whether we are asking about “sex at birth” or
“gender identity.” I would be very concerned if we are only
asking about a gender binary. We also have some students
who prefer not to disclose that information especially if they
do not see their gender identity reflected in the options
provided. We know that gender is fluid and many young
people may identify in one way in October and another by
the time they enroll the following August. While these
questions are not necessarily a heavy administrative burden,
they do not provide intuitions with any added benefit.
Asking about race and "sex" on the FAFSA could create
suspicion and undermine confidence in the award process.

8/17/2022
Thank you for your comment.
The FAFSA Simplification Act passed as part of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260)
amends the Higher Education Act of 1965, Title IV, Sec 483
(B)(ii)(VII) to add sex and race or ethnicity as information
required to be provided by the applicant on the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. They are
included as a voluntary post-application survey for the 20232024 application cycle. Responses are being collected for
research purposes only and will not be used to determine
aid eligibility. Each question includes an option to “Decline
to answer”.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
60D Comment Response Table
I am offering feedback based on my many years of
ED-2022-SCC- Anonymous
experience in the college access field, as well as my Masters
0082-0017
in Social Work education. I have several deep concerns
about this demographic survey.
1. I question the need for this survey outright. Are these
questions necessary to assess financial need? If not, they
should not be on the FAFSA in order to eliminate as many
barriers as possible.
2. I see the blue box at the top indicates that answers will
not affect eligibility. However, there is no explanation of
why they are being asked in the first place. I recommend
being transparent about the purpose and use of these
answers.
3.As for Question 1, I recommend it read “What is your
gender identity?” Second, there should be an “Other”
option.
4. For question 2, it is highly triggering and for many
students, unsafe, to directly ask if they are transgender. I
see absolutely no need for this question, particularly in this
form, for the FAFSA. If anything, it should read, “Do you
identify as transgender?” with an "Other" option.
5. For questions 3 and 4, why are some races and ethnicities
listed out while others are not? Please avoid a situation in
which some students' identities "merit" their own answer
choice, while others are group unceremoniously into a
blanket "Some other" option.
6. For all questions, change "Decline to answer" to "Prefer
not to answer" as it allows students to make a positive
choice about their participation, rather than taking on the
negative connotations of "declining," which could make
them feel like they are doing something wrong.
7. Please note that many students do not complete this form
on their own. It is vulnerable enough to have to share
financial information, which can be very private, in front of
others who are supporting this process (counselors, etc.). To

8/17/2022
Thank you for your comments.
1. The FAFSA Simplification Act passed as part of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law
116-260) amends the Higher Education Act of 1965,
Title IV, Sec 483 (B)(ii)(VII) to add sex and race or
ethnicity as information required to be provided by
the applicant on the Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA) form.
2. We will share your suggestion with the appropriate
office for consideration in future FAFSA application
cycles.
3. We will share your suggestion with the appropriate
office for consideration in future FAFSA application
cycles.
4. We will share your suggestion with the appropriate
office for consideration in future FAFSA application
cycles.
5. As required, the Department of Education
developed categories in consultation with the
Bureau of the Census and the Director of the
Institute of Education Sciences that, to the greatest
extent practicable, separately capture the racial
groups specified in the American Community Survey
of the Bureau of the Census. Participants may select
all categories that apply or select “Decline to
answer”.
6. We will share your suggestion with the appropriate
office for consideration in future FAFSA application
cycles.
7. The FAFSA Simplification Act requires collection of
this information. Applicants do have the option to
select “Decline to Answer” for all questions.
9

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
60D Comment Response Table
also ask these highly personal questions in what students
think is a financial aid form comes out of nowhere. For some
students, this could put them in an unsafe situation. Even if
they are lone, for students who are not comfortable
answering these for whatever reason, they might close the
form as part of a flight response to uncomfortability or
trauma. This form then poses a major barrier to FAFSA
completion, particularly for students who are marginalized
and/or do not have strong supports around them.

8/17/2022

Filling out a FAFSA is already a difficult process and a
tremendous barrier to college access, especially for
underrepresented students. Please consider this feedback
and the suggestions of others to help eliminate barriers are
create a more equitable FAFSA for all students.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
60D Comment Response Table
ED-2022-SCC0082-0018

Sarah Bidgood

For the question on the 6062 Design prototype "what is your
gender" to be more accurate and inclusive, it should look
something like:
Gender: How do you identify?
- Man
- Non-binary
- Women
- Self describe below
If you do not have the option to allow people to self
describe consider just adding an "other" option or if there is
the space you can add a few more options in addition to
"other" such as gender-fluid, agender, and genderqueer.
When you give the options of Male and Female you are
actually referring to a person’s sex not gender.

8/17/2022
Thank you for your comment.
The FAFSA Simplification Act passed as part of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260)
amends the Higher Education Act of 1965, Title IV, Sec 483
(B)(ii)(VII) to add sex and race or ethnicity as information
required to be provided by the applicant on the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. They are
included as a voluntary post-application survey for the 20232024 application cycle. Feedback from this initial pilot survey
will inform the development of questions for future
application cycles. Responses are being collected for
research purposes only and will not be used to determine
aid eligibility. For 2023-2024, responses will not be shared
with institutions or other agencies. Each question includes
an option to “Decline to answer”.

Sex: A person’s sex is typically based on certain biological
factors, such as their reproductive organs, genes, and
hormones.
Like gender, sex is not binary. A person may have the genes
that people may associate with being male or female, but
their reproductive organs, genitals, or both may look
different.
This is called differences in sex development. People may
also refer to differences in sex development as intersex.
People typically use the terms “male,” “female,” or
“intersex” to refer to a person’s sex.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
60D Comment Response Table
ED-2022-SCC0082-0019

Anonymous

I have concern about questions asked on the FAFSA that are
not in any way to determine aid eligibility. While the blue
box states that the answers are not used to determine
eligibility, it does not explain why the questions are being
asked, or how the answers will be used. As the law may
require these questions to be used in 24-25, an explanation
of how the data will be used should be included.
The questions pertaining to gender are confusing. The first
question seems to be asking about sex, not gender. If the
desired outcome is information regarding a student’s
chosen gender identity, the questions could be combined
into one question which asks about gender identity (male,
female, nonbinary, other). Again, I question why these
questions are even being asked. For an application that is
already considered highly invasive by asking personal
financial questions, asking a student to divulge this type of
personal information (often in front of a parent or
counselor) could be devastating. Please do not put
unnecessary obstacles in place for students who need
financial assistance.

For questions 3 and 4, the options of “some other race” or
“some other ethnicity” make those races and ethnicities
sound less important. Why are some called out specifically
while others are lumped into “some other”?
If these questions must be asked, the option of “I prefer not
to answer” should be an option in all cases.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
60D Comment Response Table
ED-2022-SCC0082-0020

Jessica Lake

In my opinion, FAFSA should not ask demographic questions.
I think it would be most people concern of how the
information will be used and if it would determine their
award amount. I believe asking demographic information
would allow FAFSA the ability to sort and separate
applicants according to their answer. Asking demographic
information could potentially open the door to
discrimination. If this infomation is needed, FAFSA should
assure that the reported information will not be used
against you. FAFSA should inform applicants how the
information will be used and how it will not affect
applicant's award amounts. It should be optional to provide
information such as an applicant's gender, race, sexual
orientation and living area. All of these identifications may
allow separation of applicants based on their response. In
my opinion, FAFSA should remain the same without asking
personal questions.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
60D Comment Response Table
ED-2022-SCC0082-0021
(Intro)

National
College
Attainment
Network

On behalf of the National College Attainment Network, we
would like to provide the following comment on the
Demographic Survey to be included in the 2023-24 FAFSA
and to inform its full implementation for the 2024-2025
FAFSA.
The National College Attainment Network (NCAN) is a
membership organization of 540 college access
organizations access the country. Our members work
directly with two million students each year to support them
on their journey to and through college. Over NCAN’s 27year history, we have helped many millions of students
through the federal financial aid process. We have seen how
the complexity of the FAFSA can dissuade students from
completing it, and we have advocated for policies,
strategies, and practices that simplify the process and
increase the FAFSA completion rate, a leading indicator of
college enrollment.

8/17/2022
Thank you for your comment.
The FAFSA Simplification Act passed as part of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260)
amends the Higher Education Act of 1965, Title IV, Sec 483
(B)(ii)(VII) to add sex and race or ethnicity as information
required to be provided by the applicant on the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. They are
included as a voluntary post-application survey for the 20232024 application cycle. Feedback from this initial pilot survey
will inform the development of questions for future
application cycles. Responses are being collected for
research purposes only and will not be used to determine
aid eligibility. For 2023-2024, responses will not be shared
with institutions or other agencies.
We will share your suggestion with the appropriate office
for consideration in future FAFSA application cycles.

We appreciate the opportunity to comment on the
Demographic Survey proposed by Federal Student Aid (FSA).
This instrument will collect important information that will
help policymakers, researchers, and advocates to better
understand trends and disparities in federal funding for
postsecondary education. But in order to gather the most
accurate and complete data possible, it is critical that the
questions be worded neutrally and sensitively, informed by
the politicized context surrounding issues of race and
gender today.
In order to respond to this request for comment we
surveyed our members and consulted with our partners who
work with students to complete the FAFSA. Their feedback
was consistent. Many expressed concern that applicants
would not answer the questions out of fear that their
answers would adversely impact them. As a result, we
respectfully request that FSA make the following changes,
14

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
60D Comment Response Table
which are aimed at maximizing the likelihood of students
completing the form, and FSA gathering the most
comprehensive data picture possible.
ED-2022-SCC0082-0021 (1)

National
College
Attainment
Network

1. Remove the transgender question. Universally, our
members expressed serious concern about the question:
“Are you transgender?” This question garnered the
most feedback from our members and partners, and
universally, they expressed serious reservations about
asking the question at all. They predict students who are
transgender will feel singled out since the survey does
not ask about any other LGBTQ+ identities. Some said
students will fear that there will be repercussions for
answering yes due to anti-transgender bills that have
been championed in states around the country. Many
of our members and partners said asking the question
will make students feel “threatened or discriminated
against.” Others said students will worry that they won’t
be admitted to college or receive financial aid if they
respond in the affirmative. While the survey says that
the data will not affect financial aid determinations, our
members and partners did not think students would
accept that on face value. We would further note that
The FAFSA Simplification Act (FSA; Title VII, Division FF
of P.L. 116-260) does not list “transgender” as a data
point to be collected on the FAFSA. It adds only race,
sex, and ethnicity. As a result,

8/17/2022

See comment above.

We recommend that the transgender question be dropped
from the survey entirely.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
60D Comment Response Table
ED-2022-SCC0082-0021 (2)

National
College
Attainment
Network

2. Explain that the demographic data will be used for
research purposes only. Throughout the survey, it
says that the answers to the survey questions will not
affect eligibility for aid. It does not, however, say how
the data will be used. Our members anticipate that
students would want to know why the questions are
being asked and who will have access to the answers.
They expect that students will assume that
institutions will have access to this information when
making decisions about financial aid and college
admittance. They also believe that students will be
skeptical of the disclaimer and disinclined to answer
the questions without a clearer explanation of who
will receive the information and how it will be used.
Our members also anticipate that students will be
concerned that the information will not remain
private.

8/17/2022
See comment above.

We recommend adding language to the box at the top of
the survey that states clearly that the information collected
will be used for research purposes only and will not affect
admission decisions, whether a student receives financial aid
or how much financial aid a student receives.
We also recommend that the Department update the
Federal Student Aid Data Center to disaggregate the data
currently posted there by the categories of race and gender
contained in this survey. For research and transparency
purposes, this data will be valuable to the general public.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
60D Comment Response Table
ED-2022-SCC0082-0021 (3)

National
College
Attainment
Network

3. Align the race and ethnicity options with other federal
surveys, such as the U.S. Census. Many of our members
were confused by the race and ethnicity questions. They
did not understand the distinction between some of
the race and ethnicity categories and wondered why
some categories were included and others were left
out. One respondent said simply, “there must be better
models for capturing race and ethnicity.” We
understand that it is challenging to strike a balance
between offering applicants' sufficient options that
they see their identity reflected in the answers and
keeping the options simple and straightforward
enough to not add considerably to the length of the
survey. As a result, we recommend modeling the
questions after other federal surveys, such as the 2020
U.S. Census.
•

The Department of Education developed categories in
consultation with the Bureau of the Census and the Director
of the Institute of Education Sciences that, to the greatest
extent practicable, separately capture the racial groups
specified in the American Community Survey of the Bureau
of the Census. Participants may select all categories that
apply or select “Decline to answer”.
We will share your suggestion with the appropriate office
for consideration in future FAFSA application cycles.

With respect to ethnicity, this approach offers the
following two options: No, not of Hispanic, Latino,
or Spanish origin and Yes, Hispanic, Latino, or
Spanish Origin. Those who select Yes are invited to
select from the following options:
o
o
o
o
o
o

•

8/17/2022

Spanish descent, Mexican, Mexican
American, or Chicano descent
Cuban descent
Puerto Rican descent
Central American descent
South American descent
Other Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin

With respect to race, this approach offers the
following categories: White, Black or African
American, American Indian or Alaska Native,
Asian, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander,
or Other. Those who select Asian are invited to
17

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chose from the following options:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o

8/17/2022

Chinese
Vietnamese
Filipino
Korean
Asian Indian
Japanese
Other Asian

Those who select Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific
Islander are invited to select from the following
categories:
o
o
o
o
ED-2022-SCC0082-0021 (4)

National
College
Attainment
Network

ED-2022-SCC0082-0021
(Conc)

National
College
Attainment
Network

Native Hawaiian
Guamanian or Chamorro
Samoan
Other Pacific Islander.

4. Change the response option “Decline to answer” to
“Prefer not to answer” throughout the survey. Several
of our members suggested that “Prefer not to answer”
or “Do not wish to specify” would be a more neutral,
respectful, and inviting way to phrase the option than
“Decline to answer.”
On behalf of our members across the country and the
students they serve, we hope you will implement these
recommendations. Thank you for the opportunity to
provide input into this important issue.

Thank you for your comment.
We will share your suggestion with the appropriate office
for consideration in future FAFSA application cycles.

Concluding remarks. No response necessary.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
60D Comment Response Table
ED-2022-SCC0082-0022
(Intro)

National
Women’s Law
Center

The National Women’s Law Center and the undersigned
education and civil rights organizations appreciate the
opportunity to comment on the Department of Education’s
(“the Department”) FAFSA Form Demographic Survey (“the
Survey”). The Survey will collect sex and race/ethnicity
demographic data, as required by the Consolidated
Appropriations Act of 2021, which will help researchers
identify critical information about sex and race/ethnicity
disparities in higher education.
This letter outlines the importance of inclusive collection of
demographic data in identifying financial barriers to
education. These financial barriers not only
disproportionately impact women and girls, but LGBTQI+
people as well, who are more likely to have federal student
loans than non-LGBTQ+ adults, with over half of
transgender adults, almost half of LGB cisgender women,
and over a quarter of LGB cisgender men having federal
student loans. As such, we applaud the Department for
furthering the goal of identifying economic barriers to
education by construing the sex demographic measure to
include collecting data on the number of transgender and
nonbinary students applying for federal financial aid.

8/17/2022
Thank you for your comment.
The FAFSA Simplification Act passed as part of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260)
amends the Higher Education Act of 1965, Title IV, Sec 483
(B)(ii)(VII) to add sex and race or ethnicity as information
required to be provided by the applicant on the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. They are
included as a voluntary post-application survey for the 20232024 application cycle. Feedback from this initial pilot survey
will inform the development of questions for future
application cycles. Responses are being collected for
research purposes only and will not be used to determine
aid eligibility. For 2023-2024, responses will not be shared
with institutions or other agencies.
We will share your suggestion with the appropriate office
for consideration in future FAFSA application cycles.

At the same time, we recognize that there are still steps
that must be taken to improve the utility of the Survey and
ensure it is inclusive of all LGBTQI+ applicants by including
measures of sexual orientation and intersex status.
Accordingly, we offer current best practices on how to ask
these questions. Finally, we urge the Department to take
every possible precaution to protect the privacy of LGBTQI+
students completing the Survey, especially at a time when
their rights are under attack across the country. Thus, we
make the following recommendations to the Department:

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
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ED-2022-SCC0082-0022 (1)

National
Women’s Law
Center

The Department should, after continued testing,
implement and make permanent the proposed two-step
approach to asking about gender and transgender status.

8/17/2022
See comment above.

We commend the Department for developing a question
that measures transgender and nonbinary status, which is
essential to capture the financial obstacles to education
these communities experience. We also support the
Department’s two-step approach to the gender identity
question, which will produce a more accurate count of the
number of transgender applicants by allowing them to
indicate both their gender and transgender status.
This particular two-step approach also allows nonbinary
people to indicate whether they describe themselves as
transgender. “Nonbinary” is an umbrella term to describe
those whose gender identity is not exclusively female or
male; “transgender” is used to describe someone whose
gender is different from what was presumed at birth. Many
nonbinary people identify with the term transgender and
thus also describe themselves as such. However, there are
also many nonbinary people who do not. The two-step
approach avoids automatically counting nonbinary people
as transgender and avoids forcing them to choose between
transgender and nonbinary as mutually exclusive options in
describing themselves— yielding a more accurate measure
of transgender and nonbinary applicants. We urge the
Department, after continued testing, to implement and
make permanent this two-step approach.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
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ED-2022-SCC0082-0022 (2)

National
Women’s Law
Center

The Department should test the gender and transgender
status questions with definitions to avoid applicants
misidentifying themselves.
We urge the Department to define the terms transgender
and nonbinary on the FAFSA form. Including these
definitions will ensure that applicants have agency in the
response option they select. It will also improve the utility of
the Survey by preventing applicants who are not nonbinary
and/or transgender from erroneously selecting those
options—which could drastically skew the data.

8/17/2022
Thank you for comment.
We will share your suggestion with the appropriate office
for consideration in future FAFSA application cycles.

Specifically, we urge the Department to continue testing
the two-step gender question accompanied by the
following definitions clarifying the terms transgender and
nonbinary:
•

What is your gender?
o Male
o Female
o Nonbinary (Meaning your gender is neither
male nor female)
o Decline to answer

•

Are you transgender? (Meaning your gender is
different from the sex assigned to you at birth)
o
o
o

Yes
No
Decline to answer

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
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ED-2022-SCC0082-0022 (3)

National
Women’s Law
Center

The Department should test a question that separately
measures intersex status.
We urge the Department to advance development and
testing of a standalone question to identify people with
innate variations in their physical sex characteristics—also
known as intersex people. There is little demographic data
on intersex people, creating a gap in identifying the
educational barriers they face. The data that does exist
suggests socioeconomic disparities that pose obstacles to
educational attainment: in one study, nearly half of
intersex respondents reported often worrying about
meeting expenses, and over one-quarter had an annual
household income of less than $20,000; another survey
found that, compared to non-intersex LGBTQ+
respondents, LGBTQ+ respondents who were also intersex
reported more frequently that discrimination impacted
their ability to keep their jobs and their overall financial
wellbeing. While intersex people experience discrimination
that overlaps with the experiences of others in the LGBTQ+
community, these experiences and their impacts cannot
be assumed to be equivalent, as this data shows. Thus, it is
essential to collect demographic information about the
number of intersex people applying for federal financial aid
to understand the nature and extent of the economic
barriers they face to accessing higher education.

8/17/2022
Thank you for comment.
We will share your suggestion with the appropriate office
for consideration in future FAFSA application cycles.

Although anti-intersex discrimination is often rooted in the
same biases as transphobia, being intersex is not the same
as being transgender or nonbinary, as it is not a gender
identity. Some intersex people are also transgender or
nonbinary; some are cisgender women or men. Because
intersex status refers to having innate variations in sex
characteristics, questions that measure gender or
transgender status are not appropriate mechanisms to
capture intersex respondents. And, since not all people
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with intersex traits will identify with the term “intersex,”
or even be familiar with it, it is considered best practice to
ask whether people have intersex traits, include
synonymous phrases like “variations in sex
characteristics,” and offer a descriptive definition.
Accordingly, the National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) recommends using a
standalone question to measure intersex status with
careful wording to reflect this reality. Thus, we urge the
Department to test an intersex question with the following
wording:
•

8/17/2022

Were you born with variations in your sex
characteristics (also known as “intersex” traits), or did
you develop such traits later in life? (Meaning you
were born with or naturally developed genitals,
chromosomes, hormone function, and/or internal
organs that may be perceived as not fitting binary
definitions of male or female)
o
o
o

Yes
No
Decline to answer

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
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ED-2022-SCC0082-0022 (4)

National
Women’s Law
Center

The Department should test a question that measures
sexual orientation.
While we applaud the Department for including a question
that measures transgender and nonbinary applicants, we
urge the Department to develop and test a question that
measures applicants’ sexual orientation. As stated above,
not only do transgender, nonbinary, and intersex
individuals face significant financial barriers to education,
but so do LGBQ students. Moreover, because the term
“sex” in federal civil rights statutes has been interpreted to
bar discrimination on the basis of both gender identity and
sexual orientation, it seems self-evident that the
Department should construe the sex demographic
question to necessitate collecting data from both
transgender, nonbinary, and intersex applicants and LGBQ
applicants to help identify the economic obstacles to
higher education faced by the entire LGBTQI+ community.

8/17/2022
Thank you for comment.
We will share your suggestion with the appropriate office
for consideration in future FAFSA application cycles.

Sexual orientation measures have long been included on
surveys and administrative forms and have undergone
extensive cognitive interview and testing. For example,
these questions have been included in the CDC’s National
Health Interview Survey since 2013. As such, we recommend
the Department adopt a separate question to capture
demographic data about the number of LGBQ students
applying for financial aid to help identify and dismantle the
financial barriers to education they face.
We ask the Department to test this question in the
following formulation:
•

Your sexuality or sexual orientation describes who you
are attracted to. Which of the following best represents
how you think of yourself?
o
o

Lesbian or gay
Straight, that is, not gay or lesbian
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o Bisexual
o Pansexual
o Queer
o Asexual
o Other
o Decline to answer

8/17/2022

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
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ED-2022-SCC0082-0022 (5)

National
Women’s Law
Center

The Department should clarify how to protect LGBTQI+
applicants’ privacy.
Finally, in addition to ensuring the Survey accurately
measures LGBTQI+ applicants, we urge the Department to
issue informal guidance or technical assistance that
outlines how to safeguard their privacy. While we
acknowledge that there is a “decline to answer” response
that LGBTQI+ applicants may select, we still urge the
Department to consider implementing additional privacy
protections to both improve the utility of the Survey and
incentivize applicants to complete it accurately and safely.

8/17/2022
Responses are being collected for research purposes only
and will not be used to determine aid eligibility. For 20232024, responses will not be shared with institutions or other
agencies.

Finally, in crafting this guidance, we urge the Department to
take into account the vastly different safety concerns
LGBTQI+ applicants (many of whom are minors) must
contend with based on the school they attend or the state
they live in—especially if they live in a state with laws
requiring faculty to out LGBTQI+ students to their parents.
To that end, the Department should ensure that any privacy
measures it implements are appropriate for any student, in
any jurisdiction. Our recommendations are as follows:
Consider safety measures and website security settings
to protect LGBTQI+ applicants’ privacy.
To protect LGBTQI+ applicants who might share
computers with family members, the Department should
consider providing informal guidance or technical
assistance that instructs high schools to provide students
with school time to complete their FAFSA applications
individually in a private location, like a guidance
counselor’s office.
Also, because many schools may not be safe spaces to
complete the Survey in, we urge the Department to ensure
the FAFSA application website has the following security
settings: a setting that prevents keystrokes from being
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captured; a setting that prevents a subsequent user from
reloading the previous page to see a prior user’s
application; and a fast exit button that directs the user to a
neutral website, such as a search engine.

8/17/2022

Finally, even with these privacy measures, many applicants
will have to show their FAFSA applications to their parents
in order to fulfill the parental signature requirement and
to input their parents’ financial information. We urge the
Department to consider how these requirements will
endanger LGBTQI+ youth living with family members who
may be unsafe to disclose their LGBTQI+ status to. As such,
we recommend the Department equip the FAFSA
application website with a setting that prevents parents
from viewing demographic information when signing the
form or filling out their income information.
This setting should hide all demographic information to
avoid raising parental suspicion as to why the only
answers hidden are the ones selected in response to the
gender identity, sexual orientation, and intersex
demographic questions.
Limit the extent to which LGBTQI+ demographic data is
shared
When sharing demographic data for research purposes, we
urge the Department to consider limiting the extent to
which it is shared. Federal Student Aid’s Privacy Policy
explains that one of the ways the Department routinely
uses an applicant’s data may include sending their
“information to other federal agencies through computer
matching programs to...minimize and prevent waste, fraud,
and abuse in the federal student aid programs.” The
Department’s Supporting Statement for the FAFSA Form’s
Demographic Survey explains that these agencies include
“law enforcement agencies, the Office of Management and
Budget, the Department of Justice, the Government
27

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Accountability Office, Congress, and other entities.” We
urge the Department to consider limiting the way this
statement applies to an applicants’ demographic data. We
believe that no demographic data should be shared with
law enforcement agencies, as the sharing of this data is
unnecessary to prevent fraud or abuse in the Federal
Student Aid program.

8/17/2022

In addition, transparency of the uses and non-uses of
demographic data could be enhanced by expanding the
information box appearing on the Survey (which states that
an applicant’s answers will not be used for aid calculations)
to also stipulate why this data is being collected. That is,
the Department should explain that it is collecting
demographic data to ascertain the nature and extent of sex
and race/ethnicity disparities in higher education, as well
as the financial barriers to education experienced by these
populations.
Finally, to enhance the quality and utility of the
demographic data collected, we urge the Department to
open another comment period after the 2023-2024 pilot of
the Survey to obtain feedback about the effectiveness of
these privacy measures before the Survey is fully
implemented for the 2024-2025 award year.
ED-2022-SCC0082-0022
(Conc)

National
Women’s Law
Center

Inclusive data collection is the first step towards identifying
and breaking down the economic obstacles LGBTQI+ people
face to accessing education. Thank you for considering our
recommendations to make the Survey reflective of the
experiences of LGBTQI+ applicants. If you have questions
about this comment, please contact Sarah Javaid
([email protected]) or Hunter F. Iannucci
([email protected]).

Concluding remarks. No response necessary.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
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ED-2022-SCC0082-0023
(Intro)

National
Association of
Student
Financial Aid
Administrators

On behalf of the National Association of Student Financial
Aid Administrators (NASFAA) and our 3,000 member
institutions, we respectfully submit to the U.S. Department
of Education (ED) our comments on the 2023-2024 FAFSA
Form Demographic Survey, Docket No.: ED-2022-SCC-0082.
NASFAA represents nearly 20,000 financial aid professionals
who serve 16 million students each year at colleges and
universities in all sectors throughout the country. NASFAA
member institutions serve nine out of every ten
undergraduates in the U.S.
We appreciate ED’s stated intention to use these survey
questions to inform the creation of the two new statutorily
required questions on race and sex for the 2024-25
application cycle. Race, ethnicitiy, sex, and gender are highly
sensitive topics that get to the heart of persistent
discrimination and equity issues in this country. While these
data points are essential to the research necessary for
creating a fair and equitable federal student aid system,
applicants may rightly fear answering such questions out of
concern that their responses could be used against them in
the future. Asking these questions correctly and letting
applicants know exactly how their data will be used is critical
to ensuring that ED has the demographic information it
needs to assess FAFSA filing trends and address inequities in
the federal student aid system while reassuring applicants
that this data will be used appropriately and only as
specified in federal law.

8/17/2022
Thank you for your comment.
The FAFSA Simplification Act passed as part of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260)
amends the Higher Education Act of 1965, Title IV, Sec 483
(B)(ii)(VII) to add sex and race or ethnicity as information
required to be provided by the applicant on the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. They are
included as a voluntary post-application survey for the 20232024 application cycle. Feedback from this initial pilot survey
will inform the development of questions for future
application cycles. Responses are being collected for
research purposes only and will not be used to determine
aid eligibility. For 2023-2024, responses will not be shared
with institutions or other agencies.
We will share your suggestion with the appropriate office
for consideration in future FAFSA application cycles.

We continue to disagree with ED’s decision not to include a
sex or gender question on the 2023-24 application, as we
noted in our FAFSA comments on April 25, 2022. The
presence of the “Are you male or female?” question on
previous years’ FAFSAs, despite its intended use for
Selective Service registration confirmation purposes, served
as proxy for a question on the applicant’s sex. Leaving that
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or a replacement question out of the 2023-24 FAFSA leaves
a one-year gap in data and forces many institutions to alter
existing practices if they use that question as a student
identifier in order to match ISIRs to student records in their
financial aid management systems.

8/17/2022

Given ED’s decision to use a survey to ask the race and sex
questions on the 2023-24 FAFSA, we offer the following
comments.
ED-2022-SCC0082-0023 (1)

National
Association of
Student
Financial Aid
Administrators

The survey includes a prominent box with informational text
that advises applicants that the four survey questions will
not affect their aid eligibility. While this is useful
information, we recommend that ED add to the information
box that the institutions where they send their FAFSA will
not have access to their answers to these questions.
Without such assurances, applicants may fear that this
information could be used as a factor in their admission to
certain colleges, or used as a criteria for institutional
financial aid. Similarly, applicants should be made aware
that state agencies will also not have access to this
information.

See comment above.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
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8/17/2022

ED-2022-SCC0082-0023 (2)

National
Association of
Student
Financial Aid
Administrators

Related, NASFAA institutions are split on whether they
would like to receive gender, race, and ethnicity data. Some
feel strongly that institutions share ED’s goals to examine
and remove the structural inequities that are reinforced by
our current systems, and that this data would help them do
so. Others are concerned that having access to this data,
even if not used at all in the admissions process or financial
aid awarding process, could still be perceived as having
influenced those decisions and, as such, do not want this
data. Understanding that the decision is likely already
finalized at this point in the 2023-24 FAFSA cycle, we urge
ED to consider seriously the implications of sharing or not
sharing gender, ethnicity, and race data with institutions
and/or states in the 2024-25 FAFSA cycle when these
questions become a part of the FAFSA. NASFAA would be
happy to convene additional schools as ED weighs the
benefits and risks of such a decision.

Responses are being collected for research purposes only
and will not be used to determine aid eligibility. For 20232024, responses will not be shared with institutions or other
agencies.

ED-2022-SCC0082-0023 (3)

National
Association of
Student
Financial Aid
Administrators

We also recommend that ED add text explaining how they
will use the data collected from this survey. Knowing that
this data will not affect eligibility is helpful, but applicants
should know more about why they are being asked these
questions.

See comment above.

ED-2022-SCC0082-0023 (4)

National
Association of
Student
Financial Aid
Administrators

The Department indicated in its supporting statements that
ED does not plan to publish the results of this data
collection. We believe these data would be useful to the
public and recommend that ED update the FSA data center
to disaggregate currently published data by applicants’
responses to these new questions.

See comment above.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
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8/17/2022

ED-2022-SCC0082-0023 (5)

National
Association of
Student
Financial Aid
Administrators

We urge ED to change the language in the two questions
about the student’s gender from “What is your gender?”
and “Are you transgender?” to “With which gender do you
identify?” and “Do you identify as transgender?” Because
the FAFSA is an official government form with penalties for
providing false information, students in the process of
transitioning or who have transitioned but live in states that
limit or ban changes to gender markers on birth certificates
may be confused about whether they must provide their
legal gender or the gender with which they identify.
Clarifying that they should provide the gender with which
they identify will confirm to applicants that answering with
their true gender won’t put them at risk for penalties for
providing false information, and will give ED more accurate
information.

Thank you for comment.

ED-2022-SCC0082-0023 (6)

National
Association of
Student
Financial Aid
Administrators

For the gender questions as well as the questions on
ethnicity and race, we commend ED for including the option
for each of these four questions for applicants to provide a
response of “Decline to answer.” While Congress required
the addition of these questions, it does not require them to
be answered by applicants. This information is not necessary
to apply for or determine eligibility for federal student aid.
As such, applicants should have control over whether and
how they share their demographic information.

No response necessary.

We will share your suggestion with the appropriate office
for consideration in future FAFSA application cycles.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
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8/17/2022

ED-2022-SCC0082-0023 (7)

National
Association of
Student
Financial Aid
Administrators

We are interested in how ED arrived at the categories of
responses for these questions. It is essential that the FAFSA
gender, race, and ethnicity questions include sufficient
options such that no applicant is forced to choose a category
that is merely a close match to their gender, ethnicity, or
race. We recognize as well that consistency of gender, race,
and ethnicity categories allows for the simplest data
comparison across federal and state agencies, even if that
limits the number of categories offered. We would like to
know if ED worked within any federal guidelines in
developing the gender, race, and ethnicity categories, as
well as whether ED consulted with states or other entities to
ensure consistency among the categories offered to ensure
accurate data comparisons.

ED-2022-SCC0082-0023 (8)

National
Association of
Student
Financial Aid
Administrators

Finally, given that these questions are not technically part of
the FAFSA, we would like to know whether students will
have the opportunity to correct their answers to these
questions through the FAFSA correction process.

For the 2023-2024 application cycle, the demographic
questions are presented as a post-application survey. Since
they are not a part of the FAFSA form, applicants will not be
presented with the option to correct or update their
answers during the FAFSA correction process in 2023-24.

ED-2022-SCC0082-0023
(Conc)

National
Association of
Student
Financial Aid
Administrators

We appreciate the opportunity to comment on this
proposed data collection. If you have any questions
regarding these comments, please contact us or NASFAA
Senior Policy Analyst Jill Desjean at [email protected].

Concluding remarks. No response necessary.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
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ED-2022-SCC0082-0024
(Intro)

Postsecondary
Data
Collaborative

This letter is submitted on behalf of the 11 undersigned
members and partners of the Postsecondary Data
Collaborative (PostsecData) in response to a call for
comments on the Demographic Survey portion of the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). PostsecData is a
nonpartisan coalition of organizations committed to the use
of high-quality postsecondary data to improve student
success and advance educational equity. This letter offers
several recommendations for how ED can best capture
race/ethnicity and gender information using the
Demographic Survey in the upcoming 2023-24 aid year, in
order to pilot test question wording for use on the main
form in future years.
Along with suggestions on how FAFSA can best structure
questions pertaining to applicants’ race/ethnicity and
gender, this letter also includes recommendations for
revisions to the main form regarding students’ caregiver
status and previous postsecondary experience. Carefully
implementing these changes is critical to maintaining a
streamlined and inclusive aid application for students and to
identifying and addressing inequities in access to and
affordability of higher education.

8/17/2022
Thank you for your comment.
The FAFSA Simplification Act passed as part of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260)
amends the Higher Education Act of 1965, Title IV, Sec 483
(B)(ii)(VII) to add sex and race or ethnicity as information
required to be provided by the applicant on the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. They are
included as a voluntary post-application survey for the 20232024 application cycle. Feedback from this initial pilot survey
will inform the development of questions for future
application cycles. Responses are being collected for
research purposes only and will not be used to determine
aid eligibility. For 2023-2024, responses will not be shared
with institutions or other agencies.
We will share your suggestion with the appropriate office
for consideration in future FAFSA application cycles.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
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ED-2022-SCC0082-0024 (1)

Postsecondary
Data
Collaborative

The Demographic Survey Should Include the following
Categories for Race/Ethnicity and Revise the Proposed
Gender Categories
Race/Ethnicity
While the FAFSA does not currently include a question on
race/ethnicity, new requirements in the Consolidated
Appropriations Act of 2021 require the inclusion of these
questions, starting in aid year 2024-25. For the 2023-24 aid
year, ED proposed the use of an optional demographic
survey to pilot test question wording and gain preliminary
data on applicants’ race/ethnicity and gender. To maintain
cohesion between data sources and disaggregate to a level
sufficient to examine variations and inequities within larger
subgroups (e.g., within the larger Asian American Pacific
Islander group), PostsecData suggests aligning both the
proposed demographic survey and any long-term changes to
the FAFSA form with the data standards used by the U.S.
Census Bureau in administering the American Community
Survey. PostsecData commends ED for the currently
proposed options for the race and ethnicity portion of the
survey. Also, we encourage the addition of several ethnicity
categories including Guamanian or Chamorro, Samoan,
Central American, and South American, which is in line with
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
recommended standards.

8/17/2022
The Department of Education developed categories in
consultation with the Bureau of the Census and the Director
of the Institute of Education Sciences that, to the greatest
extent practicable, separately capture the racial groups
specified in the American Community Survey of the Bureau
of the Census. Participants may select all categories that
apply or select “Decline to answer”.
We will share your suggestion with the appropriate office
for consideration in future FAFSA application cycles.

Further, in pursuit of a streamlined application, we suggest
using skip logic to allow some users to skip portions of
questions that are not applicable. This model allows
applicants to first select the overarching categories and
then, depending on what is selected, they may be prompted
with a follow up for a deeper disaggregation.
PostsecData recommends that ED adopt the following
structure in assessing FAFSA-filers' race and ethnicity:
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What is the applicant’s race? Select all that apply.
•
•
•
•

•

8/17/2022

White
Black or African American
American Indian or Alaska Native
Asian (if selected the applicant would be diverted to a
new page with the following choices)
o Chinese
o Vietnamese
o Filipino
o Korean
o Asian Indian
o Japanese
o Asian, not specified above
Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander (if selected the
applicant would be diverted to a new page with the
following choices)
o Native Hawaiian
o Guamanian or Chamorro
o Samoan
o Pacific Islander, not specified above
Another race

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ED-2022-SCC0082-0024 (2)

Postsecondary
Data
Collaborative

PostsecData also recommends that the FAFSA ask about
ethnicity as a separate question, aligning with the Census
ACS standard, government data sources, and best
practices.

8/17/2022
See comment above.

Is the applicant of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin?
•
•

No, not of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin
Yes, Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish Origin (if selected the
applicant would be diverted to a new page with the
following choices)
o Spanish descent
o Mexican, Mexican American, or Chicano
descent
o Cuban descent
o Puerto Rican descent
o Central American descent
o South American descent
o Another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin
ethnicity

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ED-2022-SCC0082-0024 (3)

Postsecondary
Data
Collaborative

Gender

8/17/2022
Thank you for comment.

With the removal of the question on selective service, ED We will share your suggestion with the appropriate office
for consideration in future FAFSA application cycles.
also removed the question about the sex or gender of
applicants. As stated in a previous letter, we strongly
suggested restoring the question that asks about legal sex
to the main portion of the FAFSA form, rather than
including this in the optional demographic survey, to
ensure continuity of this information. However, we
support ED’s proposed wording of the gender question on
this survey, and we appreciate the inclusion of
“nonbinary” categories to reflect students’ gender more
accurately. We suggest deleting the option to opt out of
answering this question and instead include “Another
Gender” as a possible answer. If many students decline to
answer, the resulting data quality could be limited, while
adding the option to select “Another Gender” will help to
assess how best to address this measurement challenge
in future years.

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ED-2022-SCC0082-0024 (4)

Postsecondary
Data
Collaborative

Add Questions to the FAFSA Form on Student Caregivers
and Transfer Pathways

8/17/2022
Thank you for your comment. This is beyond the scope of
this comment request.

Caregiving Status
Currently, the FAFSA form queries applicants about
whether they have children and/or other dependents. To
fully understand the caregiving/parental status of
students, we suggest a sub-question that gathers
information on the number of dependents and whether
those dependents are 17 years old or younger. During the
COVID-19 pandemic, more of the population had to take
over caregiving duties, increasing the caregiving burden.
There has also been an increase in the number of
dependents per household. In many cases, caregiving
duties now include adult children, elderly parents, or
other non-traditional circumstances. Adding this subquestion will help to fully capture the economic situation
of FAFSA applicants and ensure that financial aid is
awarded effectively and equitably based on the entirety
of a students’ circumstances.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
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ED-2022-SCC0082-0024 (5)

Postsecondary
Data
Collaborative

Educational History
At present, the FAFSA includes a question on prior
bachelor's degrees and general educational history. We
suggest enhancing the collection of data on educational
history by including options for previous occupational and
professional certificates and associate degrees. These
additional options—which do not require an additional
question—would help to identify students with different
educational pathways and prior experiences. This
information, for example, could be useful in identifying
transfer students and understanding complex patterns of
enrollment and credential receipt.

8/17/2022
Thank you for your comment. This is beyond the scope of
this comment request.

Further, the form should include a question about the
intention to matriculate from a two-year college into a
four-year college. This data will help to identify student
educational pathways, as many students do not follow a
linear postsecondary path. Data about intention to
transfer would help contextualize transfer rates among
those who intend to transfer versus all students who
enroll, allowing the results to better reflect institutional
outcomes.

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ED-2022-SCC0082-0024
(Conc)

Postsecondary
Data
Collaborative

The undersigned thank ED for efforts to improve the
utility of FAFSA data while reducing the burden it places
on students and their families. We urge ED to continue
the path to better, more complete data that would allow
institutions and policymakers to implement data-driven
strategies to address inequities in access to and
affordability of higher education.

8/17/2022
Concluding remarks. No additional response needed.

If you have any questions, please contact Mamie Voight,
President at the Institute for Higher Education Policy
([email protected]).
Sincerely,
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

AccuRounds
Achieving the Dream
Corporation for a Skilled Workforce
Georgetown University Center on Education and the
Workforce
Guild Education
Higher Learning Advocates
Institute for Higher Education Policy
NCHEMS
Nexus Research and Policy center
The Education Trust
The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS)

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ED-2022-SCC0082-0025
(Intro/1)

National
LGBTQ Task
Force

Thank you for this opportunity. At the request of the
Department of Education (ED) and Federal Student Aid
(FSA), the National LGBTQ Task Force respectfully submits
this comment on the FAFSA Form Demographic Survey;
Docket No. ED-2022-SCC-0082.
We applaud and commend ED and FSA for using a two-step
question that is inclusive and validating of transgender and
nonbinary people and ensures an accurate count. We
request that the ED and FSA take privacy concerns into
account when releasing information to state governments
about transgender and nonbinary students. We also ask that
ED and FSA make the race and ethnicity demographic
questions equally as inclusive and validating as the gender
and gender identity questions by listening to requests from
people living in the U.S. with Middle Eastern and North
African, Southeast Asian, and South Asian heritage, using
clear and concise language, and making sure all language is
as inclusive and welcoming as possible.

8/17/2022
Thank you for your comment.
The FAFSA Simplification Act passed as part of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260)
amends the Higher Education Act of 1965, Title IV, Sec 483
(B)(ii)(VII) to add sex and race or ethnicity as information
required to be provided by the applicant on the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. They are
included as a voluntary post-application survey for the 20232024 application cycle. Feedback from this initial pilot survey
will inform the development of questions for future
application cycles. Responses are being collected for
research purposes only and will not be used to determine
aid eligibility. For 2023-2024, responses will not be shared
with institutions or other agencies.
We will share your suggestion with the appropriate office
for consideration in future FAFSA application cycles.

1. Task Force History
The National LGBTQ Task Force advances freedom, justice
and equality for LGBTQ people. We are building a future
where everyone can be free to be their entire selves in every
aspect of their lives. Today, despite all the progress we have
made to end discrimination, millions of LGBTQ people face
barriers in every aspect of their lives: in education, housing,
employment, healthcare, retirement, and basic human
rights. We commend ED on collecting gender identity data
and including transgender and nonbinary options and offer
our recommendations to ensure that this data collection is
as inclusive and accurate as possible.

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ED-2022-SCC0082-0025 (2)

National
LGBTQ Task
Force

2. Appreciation of Proposed Gender Identity Question
Structure and Options

8/17/2022
No response necessary.

Over 19 million people fill out the Free Application for
Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form each year, and with the
new requirement to collect demographic data it is important
that people see themselves represented in the answer
choices to these questions. According to Pew Research
Center, 2% of US adults under age 30 identify as a
transgender man or transgender woman and 3% identify as
nonbinary. Additionally, 1.6% of those ages 30-49 and 0.3%
of those age 49+ identify as transgender or nonbinary. The
proposed FAFSA questions to assess gender identity would
help ensure that the data collected on this sizable and
growing population is accurate and inclusive. Both GLSEN
(formerly the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network)
and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and
Medicine (NASEM) report recommend further study on the
use of nonbinary and the use of two step gender identity
questions in getting an accurate count of the transgender
and gender. At the Task Force, we value inclusivity and
recognize the importance of accurately counting all
members of the diverse LGBTQ community. Therefore, we
are in support of the FAFSA’s gender and gender identity
measures and subsequent review of those measures after a
trial year. We applaud ED and FSA on the structure of these
questions and the inclusion of transgender and nonbinary
options. We also ask that ED and FSA continue to research
and examine how to best collect accurate and inclusive data
in this area in their future work.

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ED-2022-SCC0082-0025 (3)

National
LGBTQ Task
Force

3. Privacy Concerns for Transgender and Nonbinary
Students
The inclusion of gender identity questions has many positive
impacts on the LGBTQ and national communities. At the
same time, we do have privacy concerns because of the
current political climate and the sensitivity of this data. Due
to the rising amount of scrutiny and discriminatory actions
that right-wing extremists are forcing schools to place on
LGBTQ schoolchildren, particularly on transgender and
nonbinary youth, we are deeply concerned about the
sharing of identifiable data with state governments. We all
are familiar with the alarming rise in state legislation and
policies targeting transgender and nonbinary youth and
their educational institutions in states such as Florida,
Alabama, and Texas. For this reason, we recommend that no
federally-gathered data that could be used to identify
transgender and nonbinary youth or their educational
institutions be shared with the states.

8/17/2022
Responses are being collected for research purposes only
and will not be used to determine aid eligibility. For 20232024, responses will not be shared with institutions or other
agencies.

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ED-2022-SCC0082-0025 (4)

National
LGBTQ Task
Force

8/17/2022

4. Task Force Recommendations to Promote Inclusion

Thank you for comment.

We recommend adding race and ethnicity options and
language beyond that listed in the current proposal.
Specifically, we recommend adding a Middle Eastern and
North African (MENA) option. We also support the
disaggregation of the gathering of Asian and Pacific Islander
data and recommend that ED continue to find ways to
improve these measures. Some suggestions include adding
in an option for South Asians (other than just “Asian
Indians'') to identify, including more options for Southeast
Asian people to identify with, and removing the “some other
Asian” option as it is duplicating the “Asian” option. We also
recommend that instead of putting “some other
(ethnicity/race)” the ED should put “other (ethnicity/race)
not mentioned above in the interest of accuracy and
inclusivity.

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ED-2022-SCC0082-0025
(4a)

National
LGBTQ Task
Force

a. Our Request: Include a Middle Eastern and North
African Option

8/17/2022
See comment above.

There has been a long-term push for adding in a Middle
Eastern and North African (MENA) option by the MENA
community. Community organizations such as the Arab
American Institute, Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian
Americans, and the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination
Committee have pushed to be counted in the decennial
Census under the MENA category and to normalize the
addition of this category in data collection. MENAidentifying people have been told to check white on
government forms, despite not being seen as white in their
day-to-day lives.
Even when MENA is included as an option, data-gathering
documents and reporting often fold MENA in under the
white category. This has the negative effect of erasing
distinct identity as well as the opportunity for people in this
community to fully express what their own racial and ethnic
identity. It is vital to recognize the lived experiences of
MENA community members and listen to their needs. The
collection of accurate and disaggregated demographic data
will enable government to address needs in making
programmatic and funding make decisions. To reiterate, we
recommend that the ED and FSA include a Middle Eastern
and North African category that does not fold into the white
category in order to accurately collect data on this
population.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
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ED-2022-SCC0082-0025
(4b)

National
LGBTQ Task
Force

b. Our Request: Include South Asian and Southeast Asian
Identity Options

8/17/2022
See comment above.

We commend the ED and FSA for having disaggregated data
on the Asian American community. Several leading
organizations including Southeast Asian Freedom Network,
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, ARISE, and Asian
Americans Advancing Justice have pushed for disaggregated
data collection for years in order to accurately capture the
differences and potential disparities between different
ethnic groups within the Asian community. More can and
should be done to increase accuracy and inclusivity with this
disaggregated data. Building data collection categories to
address known socioeconomic disparities within
subpopulations within the South Asian and Southeast Asian
communities in the US will make a difference. By including
distinct countries, people’s experiences could be taken into
account when governmental decisions are made based on
this data collection. Specifically, we request that Southeast
Asian countries are included in the disaggregated data
collection besides just Vietnam and the Philippines or that a
new joint category is created for Southeast populations that
includes the countries of Brunei, East Timor, Indonesia,
Singapore, and Thailand but that Burmese, Hmong,
Cambodian, and Laotian categories are disaggregated due to
the known educational and economic disparities within
these groups. We also ask that other South Asian countries
are included and not just “Asian Indian”. We recommend
that either disaggregated data is collected or that a new
joint category is created for U.S. South Asian populations so
that people may identify as Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri
Lankan, Nepali, Bhutanese, Iranian, Maldivian, and Afghani.
By having such specific categories but failing to include any
South Asian countries other than India and only including
the Southeast Asian countries of Vietnam and the
Philippines, all other South Asian and Southeast populations
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are excluded and just lumped in the “other” category. This
ignores the known educational and economic disparities
within these communities, which should be taken into
account when making decisions based upon this data. For
those reasons, we recommend an option through either
data disaggregation or joint categories that ensures that
these communities are accurately represented.
ED-2022-SCC0082-0025
(4c)

National
LGBTQ Task
Force

c. Our Request: Remove Redundant Options

ED-2022-SCC0082-0025
(4d)

National
LGBTQ Task
Force

d. Our Request: Use More Welcoming and Inclusive
Language

8/17/2022

See comment above.

Respectfully, we recommend that the “some other Asian”
option be removed as there is also an “Asian” option. From
our perspective, these phrases may be seen as repetitive
and could lead to skewed data that has the potential to over
or under count the Asian population. It is important to get
an accurate count in each category, especially if this data is
to be used for funding decisions or any additional research.
Therefore, we recommend that the categories are as concise
as possible and any redundant options, such as “Asian” and
“some other Asian”, are consolidated into one option.
See comment above.

Additionally, instead of using “some other” to describe a
category of race or ethnicity that is not listed, we
recommend the use of “other (insert race/ethnicity)” or
“(race/ethnicity) not listed above” or the name of the
umbrella term. FAFSA also could use drop down menus,
where students could click on an umbrella term and select
additional items that applied to them below. The term
“some other” may be perceived as dismissive in tone, which
we know is not intentional, and the other options we
suggest could be seen potentially as more inclusive. We
understand there may be logistical reasons that this
terminology is used and if there is we respectfully ask that it
is shared with us so that we are aware.
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ED-2022-SCC0082-0025
(5/Conc)

National
LGBTQ Task
Force

5. Summary of Our Request

8/17/2022
Concluding remarks. No additional response needed.

In summary, the National LGBTQ Task Force has a long
history of advocating for the full liberation of the LGBTQ
community and for racial equity, including for inclusive and
accurate data collection on sexual orientation, gender
identity, intersex status, race, and ethnicity. As part of our
continuing advocacy and in support of the Biden-Harris
Administration’s commitments around data collection, we
seek to support positive data collection efforts, such as the
collection of gender identity data by ED an FSA. We
appreciate the work that ED and FSA have put into
formatting these questions, and suggest specific
improvements that we hope you will find helpful. We ask
that ED and FSA take privacy concerns into account when
releasing information to state governments about
transgender and nonbinary students. We also ask that ED
and FSA make the race and ethnicity demographic questions
equally as inclusive and validating as the gender and gender
identity questions by adding in a Middle Eastern and North
African option, adding in additional options for Southeast
and South Asian groups, removing the redundant term
“some other Asian”, and instead of putting “some other
(ethnicity/race)” putting “other (ethnicity/race) not
mentioned above”. These measures will ensure that this
data collection will accurately and inclusively reflect the
experiences and identities of the communities responding,
so that government may do its best work.
We appreciate the opportunity to submit our
recommendations. Thank you for the opportunity to
comment and your consideration of our request. For more
information, please contact Clermon Acklin, Federal
Regulatory Counsel, at [email protected] or 202604-9830.
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ED-2022-SCC0082-0026
(Intro)

The Williams
Institute

We are grateful for the opportunity to provide comments to
the Department of Education (the “Department”) on its
above-captioned information collection request, which
seeks permission to gather demographic information in
conjunction with the Department’s Free Application for
Federal Student Aid (“FAFSA”) form through the proposed
FAFSA Form Demographic Survey (the “proposed survey”).
See 87 Fed. Reg. 35,745 (June 12, 2022).
The undersigned are scholars affiliated with the Williams
Institute at the UCLA School of Law. The Williams Institute is
dedicated to conducting rigorous and independent research
on sexual orientation and gender identity, including on the
demographics of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
(“LGBT”) people. The Williams Institute collects and analyzes
original data, as well as analyzes governmental and private
data, and has long worked with federal agencies to improve
data collection on the U.S. population. These efforts include
producing widely-cited best practices for the collection of
sexual orientation and gender identity information on
population-based surveys.

8/17/2022
Thank you for your comment.
The FAFSA Simplification Act passed as part of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260)
amends the Higher Education Act of 1965, Title IV, Sec 483
(B)(ii)(VII) to add sex and race or ethnicity as information
required to be provided by the applicant on the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. They are
included as a voluntary post-application survey for the 20232024 application cycle. Feedback from this initial pilot survey
will inform the development of questions for future
application cycles. Responses are being collected for
research purposes only and will not be used to determine
aid eligibility. For 2023-2024, responses will not be shared
with institutions or other agencies.
We will share your suggestion with the appropriate office
for consideration in future FAFSA application cycles.

We write in response to the Department’s request for
comments on the proposed survey, specifically to affirm that
this collection is “necessary to the proper functions of the
Department,” on the possible use and utility of the
information to be collected, and on the Department’s
calculation of the burden associated with this information
collection request. In support of our comments, below we
provide a brief review of relevant research on LGBT people,
including on their demographics and observed financial
needs and disparities when compared to non-LGBT people,
in light of the gender identity measures included in the
proposed survey. We also discuss research on methods for
measuring gender identity via surveys and other formats,
including a brief review of existing practices of other federal
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agencies already collecting such information, such as the
U.S. Census Bureau through its Household Pulse Survey.

8/17/2022

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ED-2022-SCC0082-0026 (1)

The Williams
Institute

1. Relevant Research on LGBT People

8/17/2022
See comment above.

As discussed in greater detail below, the proposed survey
includes measures allowing for the identification of
nonbinary and transgender applicants. Below, we offer a
review of our relevant research on these populations,
largely based on studies of LGBTQ people.
LGBT-identified people comprise approximately 4.5% of the
U.S. adult population. We estimate that approximately 11
million adults in the U.S. identify as LGBT, including
approximately 1.3 million adults who are transgender.5 In
the U.S., younger populations are more likely to identify as
LGBT. We estimate that at least 9.5% of the U.S. youth
population (ages 13–17), or nearly 2 million youth, identifies
as LGBT. We estimate that among youth ages 13–17 in the
U.S., 1.4% (about 300,000 youth) identify as transgender.
The number of youth identifying or perceived by their peers
as gender nonconforming is likely much higher; for example,
a Williams Institute study found that 27% of California
youth—approximately 796,000 students—identify or are
perceived as gender nonconforming.
Similar to the country as a whole, the population of LGBT
adults in the U.S. is demographically diverse. For example,
drawing from Gallup Daily Tracking data collected between
2015 and 2017, we’ve previously estimated that 58% of
LGBT adults are female. Similarly, we estimate that 21% of
LGBT adults identify as Latino/a or Hispanic, 12% as Black,
and 5% as more than one race. And, in a recent study, we
documented evidence consistent with other populationbased samples that Latinx people, American Indian or Alaska
Native people, and biracial/multiracial groups appear more
likely than White people to identify as transgender.
The Williams Institute has previously conducted two large
LGBTQ-specific population-based national surveys through
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the NIH-funded Generations (HD078526) and TransPop
(HD090468) studies on sexual and gender minority people,
respectively. Using data collected through these surveys, we
estimate that 11.1% of LGBTQ adults (ages 18–60) identify
as nonbinary. While nonbinary-identified people are found
among both cisgender and transgender LGBTQ
populations—and some individuals who identify as
nonbinary do not identify as LGBTQ—we find that they
comprise a larger proportion of the transgender population
(32.1%) than of the cisgender LGBQ adult population (7.5%).

8/17/2022

Our research includes analyses of data on individuals’
experiences attending institutions of higher education.
Analyzing data collected through the Access to Higher
Education Survey (“AHES”)—which asked a nationally
representative sample of U.S. adults ages 18–40 to report on
their lifetime experiences in schools—we found that nearly
three in five (58.3%) LGBTQ people ages 18–40 reported
that they had attended four-year college at some point in
their lives, compared to half (49.0%) of non-LGBTQ people.
Likewise, we found that nearly a third (32.7%) of LGBTQ
people ages 18–40 attended community college at some
point in their lives. Using government-collected data, we
estimate that approximately 218,000 students ages 18–40 in
the U.S. are transgender.
Many LGBTQ students rely on financial aid to support their
education. Among respondents to the AHES, 60.3% of
LGBTQ respondents reported having their educational
expenses for four-year college covered by aid which must be
repaid, compared to 51.3% of non-LGBTQ respondents.
Similarly, 34.0% of LGBTQ and 32.3% of non-LGBTQ
respondents who attended community colleges reported
accessing aid which must be repaid. Collected data on the
specific sources of students’ debt indicate that transgender
people are more likely (51.0%) than their cisgender LGBQ
(33.1%) and non-LGBQ counterparts (23.2%) to report
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having federal student loans specifically. Among an
estimated 2.9 million LGBTQ federal student loan holders,
we found that about a third (32.0%) owe less than $10,000,
about half (51.7%) owe between $10,000 to under $50,000,
and the remainder (16.3%) owe $50,000 or more in federal
student loans.

8/17/2022

Likewise, our research on the impact of the COVID-19
pandemic on U.S. adults suggests that LGBT adults,
particularly LGBT people of color and gender minority
people, have been disproportionately experiencing its
negative economic effects— which may in turn influence
current and incoming students’ borrowing needs. For
example, in one study, we found that LGBT respondents
were more likely than their non-LGBT counterparts to be
laid off (12.4% vs. 7.8%) or furloughed (14.1% vs. 9.7%) from
their jobs; to report problems affording basic household
goods (23.5% vs. 16.8%); and to report problems paying
their rent or mortgage (19.9% vs. 11.7%). LGBT people of
color were more than twice as likely to report that their
ability to pay for household goods got worse (28.7% vs.
14.2%) and were over three times as likely to report that
their ability to pay their rent or mortgage (26.3% vs. 8.8%)
got worse as compared to non-LGBT White people. More
than half (63.1%) of LGBT people of color reported being
very concerned about their ability to pay their bills, as
compared to 42.4% of LGBT White and 33.2% of non-LGBT
White people. Similarly, analyzing data collected by the U.S.
Census Bureau through its Household Pulse Survey between
June and October 2021, we found that transgender people
were three times more likely than cisgender people to
report facing food insufficiency during the pandemic.
Indeed, we found that, “[a]cross several indicators of
socioeconomic status, larger proportions of transgender
adults were disadvantaged as compared to their cisgender
counterparts,” including in reported rates of employment,
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poverty, and difficulty in paying for usual household
expenses—including but not limited to student loans.

8/17/2022

Our research suggests that accurately identifying sexual and
gender minority people is critical, as doing so allows for the
study and addressing of disparate needs and outcomes
among those populations when compared to their non-LGBT
counterparts. Specifically, the body of research outlined
here suggests that data on the disparate financial aid needs
of nonbinary and transgender applicants should be collected
by the Department to ensure it, Congress, and other
stakeholders can enable students’ meaningful access to
federal student aid consistent with the purposes of the
FAFSA form. It is our opinion that the value of the
information to be collected would therefore outweigh any
burden associated with the proposed survey.

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
60D Comment Response Table
ED-2022-SCC0082-0026 (2)

The Williams
Institute

2. Research on Measuring Sex and Gender Identity

8/17/2022
See comment above.

As noted by the Department in its proposal, the FAFSA
Simplification Act recently amended existing law to require
that students applying for financial aid through the FAFSA
form provide information on their sex and race or ethnicity,
though the law leaves the term “sex” undefined and
provides no options or other details to inform the
Department’s collection of required data. In its proposal, the
Department indicates it has opted to collect data on sex
through two measures: first, by asking students about their
“gender,” and second, by asking if students identify as
transgender.
Researchers have found that while sex and gender are
interrelated concepts, they are ultimately conceptually
distinct and may differ from each other. Nonetheless,
surveys—including those administered by the federal
government—often conflate the two concepts as “most
people do not recognize a conceptional distinction between
sex terminology and gender terminology.” Gender, like sex,
is a multidimensional concept, meaning single measures are
unlikely to capture the complexity through which
respondents can conceptualize their gender, including along
lines of gender identity, expression, and social status and
norms. While Western cultures often conceptualize gender
along a binary of male and female, many individuals,
including within those cultures, identify outside of this
binary, such as by being nonbinary and/or transgender.
One’s gender identity is not defined by one’s sex traits, and
like gender expression it can be temporally and contextually
fluid. Standard binary measures of sex are therefore often
seen as an “inadequate proxy” for the primary
measurement of gender and sex traits, especially among
sexual and gender minority populations. In light of this
context, a federally-funded, ad hoc panel formed by the
56

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
60D Comment Response Table
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
(the “NASEM Panel”) on methodological issues related to
the measurement of sex, sexual orientation, and gender
identity recently recommended a two-step approach
centering the collection of information on gender identity in
its recent consensus study report. The NASEM Panel
recommended limiting the collection of information on sex
as a biological variable to instances where information
about physiological sex traits is relevant, and highlighted the
relevance of information on gender, “particularly for the
purposes of assessing inclusion . . . .”

8/17/2022

It is our opinion that the Department’s proposal to collect
required data on “sex” specifically through the
measurement of gender identity via a “pilot, voluntary
survey format” is therefore reasonable, given years of
research and investment in the measurement of gender
identity on surveys. While distinct, we note that questions
measuring sexual orientation have been included on federal
surveys for over two decades, including in large-scale,
population-based surveys administered by the U.S. Census
Bureau and by other agencies. Questions used to identify
transgender respondents have been included on state and
investigator-led surveys for some time, with more common
use of both sexual orientation and gender identity
questions, including in federal surveys, over the last decade.
Research on these federal implementations of these
measures suggests that respondents are unlikely to consider
such information to be particularly sensitive, and would
therefore provide such information if asked.
The federal government has long engaged in its own review
of best practices for the measurement of sexual orientation
and gender identity, including through its Federal
Interagency Working Group on Improving Measurement of
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Federal Surveys
organized through the Federal Committee on Statistical
57

ICR Number 1845-NEW – FAFSA Form Demographic Survey
60D Comment Response Table
Methodology. The federal government has also supported
others’ research on this topic, including by funding the
research of the NASEM Panel. The NASEM Panel’s recent
consensus study report offers guidance and best practices
for collecting these data in population-based surveys, as well
as clinical and administrative settings. The NASEM Panel’s
report also provides guiding principles for such data
collection, specifically inclusiveness, precision, respecting
autonomy, collecting only necessary data, and a dedication
to confidentiality.

8/17/2022

As scholars with experience in measurement development
and testing, we would recommend that the Department
assess the performance of its proposed survey and
demographic items, and that it make revisions as needed.
We recommend this include consideration of longstanding
research on gender identity measurement as described
here, alongside the Department’s current proposal to use
collected feedback on the proposed survey to “inform the
development of the questions for full implementation within
the FAFSA form for the 2024–2025 award year.” Likewise,
we note our concern with potential harm to respondents
due to breach of confidentiality and request that the
Department ensure that all data are collected and reported
using all appropriate privacy standards. All entities
responsible for the proposed data collection ought to ensure
the confidentiality of applicants’ information.
ED-2022-SCC0082-0026
(Conc)

The Williams
Institute

3. Conclusion

Concluding remarks. No additional response needed.

Thank you for your consideration. Please direct any
correspondence, including questions, to
[email protected].

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Author	Beth Grebeldinger
File Modified	2022-08-18
File Created	2022-08-18