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American Dental Education Association


Volume 3, No. 26, January 17, 2024

U.S. Department of Education Launches New FAFSA Form
 
After many delays, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) finally released the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) [ [link removed] ] at the end of December. ED began a phased implementation of the FAFSA changes in the 2021-22 award year by removing selective service and drug conviction requirements for federal aid eligibility. The following year, the department made it easier for homeless and foster youth to apply for money and ended the ban on Pell Grants for incarcerated people. However, the biggest updates to the FAFSA will take effect this year.
 
Among them is the length of the form: some applicants now will have to answer as few as 18 questions. This is compared to the possible 103 questions on the 2022-23 FAFSA. Another change is the transition to the Student Aid Index, or SAI [ [link removed] ] — a figure used to determine a student’s ability to pay for college and the amount of aid they receive. An applicant’s SAI is calculated using a new need analysis set out in one the FAFSA Simplification Act. It replaces the Expected Family Contribution used in previous years.
 
The SAI still represents an estimate of what families can pay for college, since it considers certain factors such as income and assets. But whereas the lowest estimated contribution in the EFC was zero, the index can produce a negative number. Also new: the index calculation will no longer consider the number of children enrolled in college, which places families paying multiple tuition bills at a disadvantage for getting more aid. Families must also now report the value of their family farm or small business.
 
However, an increased share of a student and family’s income will be protected from the formula used to calculate how much they should contribute to their college costs. The amount protected will increase by 20 percent for parents, 35 percent for dependent students and almost 60 percent for students with children of their own, with all figures adjusted annually for inflation. This change will make more students eligible for the federal Pell Grant. In addition, students whose household income is below the poverty threshold will automatically get the maximum Pell Grant. Students with children of their own will qualify if they earn less than 225 percent of the federal poverty line for their family size, while students who are dependents will qualify if their parents earn less than 175 percent. More than 5.2 million students could now be eligible for a full Pell Grant—an increase of approximately 1.5 million students, according to ED.
 
The FAFSA is still in the soft launch phase. The agency will not begin transmitting results to schools until late January. The deadline to submit the 2024-25 FAFSA is June 30, 2025.

House and Senate Leaders Reach Agreement to Complete the FY 2024 Appropriations Bills
 
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) reached an agreement on final topline budget numbers that will allow Congress to complete action on the 12 appropriations bills for the current fiscal year, FY 2024. The White House has expressed its support for the compromise.
 
The agreement does not change the statutory caps for defense and non-defense discretionary (NDD) spending that were enacted in the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), which reduced overall NDD spending by about $40 billion, or 5.7%. Defense discretionary spending increased by nearly $28 billion, or 3.2%. However, as part of the FRA, there were “side agreements” – or, in essence, handshake agreements – that certain budget management mechanisms would be used as they are every year. These tools often lead to savings in one area that allow funds to be provided in another.
 
This most recent agreement renegotiates those “side agreements,” reducing the number of budgetary mechanisms that will be used to fund other areas. However, since programs that fund dental, medical, and nursing education and training programs were generally not cut below the FY 2023 level (they were not increased either as we had requested), but fared better than most other non-health care workforce programs, we would expect those programs to remain flat funded in FY 2024 at the FY 2023 level.
 
This is not the best news, but it is preferrable to an agreement that included deeper cuts than those already anticipated, which was the goal of some House Republican members. This Schumer/Johnson deal is not home free, as several House Republicans have expressed opposition. But the Democratic members and Republican moderates believe this is the best opportunity to avoid a government shutdown and will likely support it.

Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact Proposed in 12 States
Legislation adopting the dentist and dental hygienist compact is off to a strong start in 2024. As of Jan. 11, legislation to adopt the compact is active in 12 states [ [link removed] ] .
 
Once enacted by seven states, the compact will create a pathway to licensure portability for dentists and dental hygienists who are licensed in member states. Licensees who live in states that are compact members can apply for a “compact privilege” that will allow them to practice in another member state. Under the model compact [ [link removed] ] that was written by The Council for State Governments, license holders will be granted the opportunity to apply for compact privilege if they do the following:
 • Hold a license as a dentist or dental hygienist;
 • Graduate from a Commission on Dental Accreditation-accredited program;
 • Successfully complete a clinical assessment for licensure, with “clinical assessment” currently defined as an examination or process required for licensure as a dentist or dental hygienist, as applicable, that provides evidence of clinical competence in dentistry or dental hygiene;
 • Have passed a National Board Examination of the Joint Commission on National Dental Examinations or another examination accepted, by rule, as a requirement for licensure;
 • Meet any jurisprudence requirements;
 • Complete a criminal background check;
 • Submit an application and pay applicable fees; and
 • Comply with requirements to submit specified information for administrative purposes.

On Apr. 27, Iowa [ [link removed] ] became the first state to join the compact. Washington [ [link removed] ] state and Tennessee [ [link removed] ] became the second and third states, respectively.

Oklahoma Gov. Signs Executive Order Prohibiting State Funds from Being Used for DEI Initiatives
 
In December, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed an executive order [ [link removed] ] that prohibits state resources from supporting various diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Under the order, state resources may not be used to:
 • Support DEI positions, departments, activities, procedures, or programs to the extent they grant preferential treatment based on one person's race, color, ethnicity, or national origin over another's;
 • Mandate any person to participate in training or programming if said activities grant preferences based on one person's r race, color, sex, ethnicity, or national origin over another's;
 • Mandate any person to swear, certify, or agree to any oath that favors or prefers one race, color, sex, ethnicity, or national origin over another;
 • Mandate any person to certify or declare agreement with, recognition of, or adherence to any particular political, philosophical, religious, or other ideological viewpoint;
 • Mandate any applicant for employment to provide a DEI statement or give any applicant for employment preferential consideration based on the provision of such an inclusion statement; or
 • Mandate any person to disclose their pronouns.

The order clarifies that it does not extend to policies or procedures necessary to comply with federal or state law or regulations, scholarly research, academic course instruction, activities of student organizations, guest speakers, academic support that does not consider race, sex, national origin, color or ethnicity, data collection, and specified financial aid programs.
 
Numerous anti-DEI policies have been proposed [ [link removed] ] across the country, with five states having already adopted them. Laws in Florida and Texas place the strongest restrictions on DEI initiative funding. Additionally, the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents recently voted to accept a deal [ [link removed] ] made with Wisconsin state legislature Republican leadership to cut back DEI initiatives in exchange for more than $800 million in funding that was being withheld by the legislature.

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ADEA Advocacy in Action
This appears weekly in the ADEA Advocate to summarize and provide direct links to recent advocacy actions taken by ADEA. Please let us know what you think and how we might improve its usefulness.
 
Issues and Resources
 • ADEA report [ [link removed] ] on teledentistry
 • ADEA report [ [link removed] ] on the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on U.S. Dental Schools
 • ADEA policy brief [ [link removed] ] regarding overprescription of antibiotics
 • For a full list of ADEA memos, briefs and letters click here [ [link removed] ] .

Key Federal Issues [ [link removed] ]

ADEA U.S. Interactive Legislative and Regulatory Tracking Map [ [link removed] ]

Key State Issues [ [link removed] ]

The ADEA Advocate [ [link removed] ] is published weekly. Its purpose is to keep ADEA members abreast of federal and state issues and events of interest to the academic dentistry and the dental and research communities.
 
©2023
American Dental Education Association
655 K Street, NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20001
Tel: 202-289-7201
Website: www.adea.org [ [link removed] ]

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B. Timothy Leeth, CPA
ADEA Chief Advocacy Officer
 
Bridgette DeHart, J.D.
ADEA Director of Federal Relations and Advocacy
 
Phillip Mauller, M.P.S.
ADEA Director of State Relations and Advocacy
 
Varsha Menon
ADEA Program Manager for Advocacy and Government Relations
 
Contact Us:
[email protected] [ mailto:[email protected] ]

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