Something to Think About
Andi Schreibman
Financial Aid Director
Las Positas College
[email protected]
Jacque Bradley
Asst. Dean, FA and EOPs
Mendocino College
[email protected]
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Lesbian
Gay
Bi-sexual
Transgender
Queer
Questioning
Intersex
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Once we were told the facts and presented with some
real-life horror stories, FA Directors and staff jumped
on the Foster Youth cause and became advocates.
There is another group that needs our support and
understanding
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89% of gay respondents experienced some form of
harassment or discrimination
Derogatory remarks were most common
On campus in a public place was the common location
where harassment occurred
94% of reacted passively, 70% said they were angry,
29% said they became afraid
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1 in 5 respondents feared for their personal safety on
campus because of their sexual orientation or gender
identity and half concealed this aspect of their identity
to avoid harassment
30% of LGBQ respondents feel uncomfortable on
campus
Well, that depends.
According to the Department of Education:
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA 1996) explicitly
defines marriage for Federal purposes as the union of two
individuals of opposite sex. It also blocks state reciprocity
for same-sex marriage, meaning that each state is free to
decide whether it will honor a same-sex marriage from
another state.
California has Domestic Partners AND some Same-sex
Married couples.
Other states that allow Same Sex Marriages:
 Connecticut
 Iowa
 Massachusetts
 New Hampshire
 Vermont
 New York
 Washington DC and the Coquille Indian Tribe in Oregon.
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Delaware
Vermont
New Hampshire
New Jersey
Connecticut
Hawaii
Illinois
All have Civil Unions
These states all have registered domestic
partnership laws:
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California
Oregon
Washington
Maine
Hawaii
District of Columbia
Nevada
Wisconsin
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Sadly, as is all too often the case, LGBT students
encounter some of their toughest opponents within
their own families. A 2007 National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force report showed that 26 percent of gay teens
were kicked out of their homes after coming out to
their parents.
Have you discussed LGBTQQI with ALL FA staff?
Are there allies in your office? Do you identify them?
How do you identify safe spaces?
Have you worked through scenarios so everyone is on
the same page?
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If the LGBT students who responded to the Campus
Climate Survey don’t feel comfortable coming out on
campus—so, that doesn’t mean they aren’t on your
campus.
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How do you identify them?
How do you let them know it is safe in your office?
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Since 1996, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) has
defined the word 'marriage' as a legal union between a
man and a woman and the word 'spouse' as the
husband or wife in such a union. This means that a
same-sex couple is not considered married for federal
student aid purposes, regardless of whether they are
married under state law. This affects applicants for
federal student aid who are children of same-sex
couples as well as applicants who have a same-sex
spouse.
How do LGBT students access financial aid if the are
estranged from parents or guardians?
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Would you consider PJ? Under what circumstances?
What would the LGBTQQI student need to provide?
MORE IMPORTANTLY: How do you let them know
there is a process for them?
What about students under 24 who are in a legal
same-sex marriage, domestic partnership or civil
union?
The federal government is clear, that just because
someone who identifies as LGBTQQI is in a legal samesex marriage or in a domestic partnership or civil
union—that does not mean they can be automatically
considered Independent.
HOW DO YOU COUNT THE SPOUSE?
If the federal government does not recognize the marriage—
what does that do to the number in household?
What does that do to the spouse’s income?
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What about a dependant student whose parents are in
a registered domestic partnership? (This could
dramatically lower the calculated EFC or raise the EFC if
you do not count all members in household)
How do you count the household size or the income?
Is it different for Pell, Cal Grant and/or BOG Fee
Waivers?
Dear Colleage Letter GEN-05-16 addresses the issue of samesex marriage and eligibility for federal student aid.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) questions
and same-sex marriage.
 Q8. May an individual who is a member of a same-sex
union report his or her marital status on the FAFSA as
"married?"
 A8. No. According to the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996,
"...the word 'marriage'means only a legal union between
one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the
word 'spouse'
Dear Colleage Letter GEN-05-16
 Q9. If an individual is a dependent student and his or her parents are
living together as a couple, but are not married, whose information
must the individual report on the FAFSA? What if the individual's
parents are of the same sex and living together as a couple?
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A9. A dependent applicant whose parents are living together as a
couple but are not married (regardless of whether the parents are a
same-sex couple or not) must provide information for the parent with
whom he or she lived with more during the 12 months preceding the
date the FAFSA is signed. If the individual did not live with one parent
more than the other, the individual must provide information for the
parent who provided more financial support during the 12 months
preceding the date the FAFSA is signed, or during the most recent year
that the individual received support from a parent.
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would you handle a student
born male who is now a female who
did not register for selective
service?
 What about a student born a female
who is now a male? Is she required
to register with selective service?
(from Q&A on the Selective Service website)
How does the Military Selective Service Act apply to
individuals who have had a sex change? Individuals
who are born female and have a sex change are not
required to register. U.S. citizens or immigrants who
are born male and have a sex change are still
required to register. In the event of a resumption of
the draft, males who have had a sex change can file a
claim for an exemption from military service if they
receive an order to report for examination or
induction.
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The applicant's name on the FAFSA must match the
name associated with the applicant's Social Security
number. If the two names do not match, as often
happens with transgendered individuals, the FAFSA will
be rejected. Even the use of a nickname will be
rejected. The name on the FAFSA must be the
applicant's full legal name.
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If a transgendered individual's FAFSA has been rejected
because of a Social Security Administration mismatch, the
most pragmatic solution is to submit the FAFSA with the
applicant's current legal name. (The name on the college's
records may then need to be changed as well, as most
administrative software systems used by colleges are not
set up to handle an individual having two different sets of
given names.) A legal name change can take time, which
would result in a delay in filing the FAFSA and a possible
loss of eligibility for state grants and other forms of
financial aid which may be awarded on a first-come, firstserved basis.
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Let’s report out on the scenarios and what you thought
were challenges
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http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/08/24/center_
for_american_progress_report_finds_fafsa_and_federal_la
w_skew_financial_aid_for_same_sex_couple_families#ixzz1
fpUR76CY
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http://www.finaid.org/otheraid/gay.phtml
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Guide to Completing the FAFSA for LGBT Families:
http://www.finaid.org/fafsa/lgbtfafsa.phtml
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http://www.campusprogress.org/articles/a_patchwork_of_
protections
•
http://www.campuspride.org/
•
http://www.stophate.org/
•
http://www.glsen.org/cgibin/iowa/all/home/index.html
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Maya’s two mothers (Jane and Rose) divorced when she was a child and
have since remarried two other women (Amy and Dawn), each of whom
had children of their own from previous relationships. This means that
Maya has two sets of parents—two women and two step mothers—as
well as one sibling (Kathy) and four step-siblings (Jose, Felix, Brandy and
Gwen). All four parents contribute financially to their families’ livelihood.
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Whose income would you count for Maya’s FAFSA Verification?
How would you count the number in household?
What do you do on your campus to make sure Maya and her family know
their options?
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Isabella and Alison are a legally married couple who have three
children and whose household income amounts to $75,000$50,000 from Alison’s earnings and $25,000 from Isabella. Their
oldest son Sam has applied to college and is completing the FAFSA.
Isabella is the birth mother. Alison has never taken legal steps to
adopt Sam.
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How many people in household?
What income does he put down?
How would it affect his aid if the other two children were Alison’s?
How would it affect his application if Alison were the birth mother?
George and Jose are in a Domestic Partnership. They are
raising the two young children of Jose’s sister, Penny and Tony.
Jose is their legal guardian. George makes $90,000 a year.
Jose is a stay-at-home dad.
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Now that Penny and Tony are in grade school, Jose has
decided to go to college.
How many people in household?
What income does Jose put down?
How would it affect his aid if the other two children were
George’s?
Merry and Violet are both students at your college. They are both under 24.
Merry did not receive aid last year because she was selected for
verification and never provided her parents tax information. Violet
received aid after asking for a dependency override because she was
estranged from her family.
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Over the summer, the two flew to New York and were married.
Does either of them need their parents’ information? Are they
independent?
How many people in household?
How do students on your campus know they have an option for PJ or a
dependency override? What documentation would you require for an
LGBTQQI student who says they were kicked out when they came out?
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Geraldine (Geri) is meeting with you to discuss her options. Her FAFSA has been
selected for verification. She is a Transgender woman whose FAFSA has been
flagged because she did not file for Selective Service and there is a data mismatch
because of her gender. Geri slowly explains that she used to be Jerry and was
already in trans-therapy when she turned 18. She didn’t think she needed to
register with selective service, because she did not see herself as male. She will
have to drop her classes if she can’t get her financial aid in place for the fall
semester.
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She also explains that she cannot get her parents information, since her dad beat
her up and kicked her out of the house when she came out at 17.
What will you tell Geri?
How can you help Geri resolve the Selective Service issue? Would you override?
Or do you think it was willful avoidance?
What can you do to help with the data mismatch?
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