New Guidance on ‘Ability to Benefit’

The Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015 helped reopen the door to opportunity in postsecondary education by changing the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), to partially restore the “ability to benefit (ATB) alternatives.” The new law went into effect on Dec. 16, 2014, and changed the HEA to allow a students who did not receive a high school diploma (or its recognized equivalent), or who did not complete a secondary school education in a home-school setting, to be eligible for Title IV financial aid. This can now be done through a combination of ATB alternatives and enrollment in an eligible career pathway program.