Oklahoma Students and Parents Can Opt Out of Early FAFSA Under New Application Changes

TULSA, OKLA. (KTUL) — Federal Application of Student Aid, also known as FAFSA, is making some necessary changes for Oklahoma high school students this coming school year.

Students and parents will be able to access their FAFSA before they graduate high school.

Students can look forward to seeing these changes as soon as Dec. 1 of this year when the 2025-2026 application opens.

FAFSA is a form that lets students apply for federal grants, funding, and student loans.

This new law applies to anyone graduating from a public high school by the Oklahoma State Department of Education.

Students who need to fill out FAFSA forms before they graduate must do so before finishing their final semester of high school.

These changes come after the Department of Education received delays and technical errors last year from FAFSA applications, leading to about 430,000 fewer submissions.

Now it is optional for parents and students to opt out of the early FAFSA application process, and there is a form if they apply under certain requirements.

In a FAFSA webinar for the 2025-2026 updates, Kelli Kelnar from the Oklahoma College Assistance Program says, “The parent or legal guardian of the student can opt their student out, they don’t have to show a reason for that, they just have to sign and fill out the information and get it to the counselor of the school. The student once they turn 18 can also opt themselves out as well.”

Even though there is an opt-out process, the Department of Education hopes these new changes will improve applicant numbers and avoid any other future crisis or diminishing submission numbers.