Notice2026-10115
Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program
Primary source
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Published
May 20, 2026
Issuing agencies
Education Department
Abstract
Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended by the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988 and the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Amendments of 1990 (Privacy Act), and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance on the conduct of matching programs, notice is hereby given of the re-establishment of the matching program between the U.S. Department of Education (Department or ED) (recipient agency) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) (source agency). The current 18-month Computer Matching Agreement (CMA) between ED and VA was recertified for an additional 12 months on June 27, 2025, and will automatically expire on June 26, 2026. The matching program allows ED to receive information from VA to assist the Secretary of Education (Secretary) in the Secretary's obligation to verify the status of applicants for financial assistance under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, who claim to be veterans.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 97 (Wednesday, May 20, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 97 (Wednesday, May 20, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29471-29472]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-10115]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[Docket ID ED-2026-FSA-1618]
Privacy Act of 1974; Matching Program
AGENCY: Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of a new matching program.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended by the
Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988 and the Computer
Matching and Privacy Protection Amendments of 1990 (Privacy Act), and
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance on the conduct of
matching programs, notice is hereby given of the re-establishment of
the matching program between the U.S. Department of Education
(Department or ED) (recipient agency) and the U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) (source agency). The current 18-month Computer
Matching Agreement (CMA) between ED and VA was recertified for an
additional 12 months on June 27, 2025, and will automatically expire on
June 26, 2026. The matching program allows ED to receive information
from VA to assist the Secretary of Education (Secretary) in the
Secretary's obligation to verify the status of applicants for financial
assistance under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as
amended, who claim to be veterans.
DATES: Submit your comments on the proposed re-establishment of the
matching program on or before June 22, 2026.
The matching program will become effective on the later of the
following two dates: (1) June 27, 2026, or (2) 30 days after the
publication of this notice, on May 20, 2026, unless comments have been
received from interested members of the public requiring modification
and republication of the notice. The matching program will continue for
18 months after the effective date and may be renewed for up to an
additional 12 months if, within 3 months prior to the expiration of the
18 months, the respective Data Integrity Boards of the Department and
the VA determine that the conditions specified in 5 U.S.C.
552a(o)(2)(D) have been met.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking
Portal at <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a>. However, if you require an accommodation or
cannot otherwise submit your comments via <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a>, please
contact the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT. The Department will not accept comments submitted by fax or by
email, or comments submitted after the comment period. To ensure that
the Department does not receive duplicate copies, please submit your
comments only once. In addition, please include the Docket ID at the
top of your comments.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> to submit
your comments electronically. Information on using Regulations.gov,
including instructions for accessing agency documents, submitting
comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site under the
``FAQ'' tab.
Privacy Note: The Department's policy is to make all comments
received from members of the public available for public viewing in
their entirety on the Federal eRulemaking Portal at
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>. Therefore, commenters should be careful to include
in their comments only
[[Page 29472]]
information that they wish to make publicly available.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Corinne Sauri, Management and Program
Analyst, Office of Operations and Governance, Federal Student Aid, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202.
Telephone: (202) 245-5612.
If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and
wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974,
as amended (Privacy Act) (5 U.S.C. 552a); Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) Final Guidance Interpreting the Provisions of Public Law
100-503, the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988,
published in the Federal Register on June 19, 1989 (54 FR 25818); and
OMB Circular No. A-108, notice is hereby provided of the re-
establishment of the matching program between the Department and VA.
Participating Agencies
The U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs.
Authority for Conducting the Matching Program
The Department's legal authority to enter into the matching program
and to disclose information thereunder is sections 480(c)(1) and
480(d)(4) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA) (20
U.S.C. 1087vv(c)(1) and (d)(4)). VA's legal authority to enter into
this matching program is 38 U.S.C. 523.
Purpose(s)
The purpose of this matching program is to assist the Secretary of
Education (the Secretary) with verification of a veteran's status
during the processing and review of applications for financial
assistance under title IV of the HEA.
The Secretary is authorized by the HEA to administer programs under
title IV of the HEA and to enforce the terms and conditions of the HEA.
Section 480(c)(1) of the HEA defines the term ``veteran'' to mean
``any individual who--(A) has engaged in the active duty in the United
States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, or Coast Guard; and (B) was
released under a condition other than dishonorable.'' 20 U.S.C.
1087vv(c)(1). Under section 480(d)(1)(D) of the HEA, an applicant who
is a veteran (as defined in section 480(c)(1) of the HEA) is considered
an independent student for purposes of title IV, HEA program assistance
eligibility, and, therefore, does not have to provide parental income
and asset information to apply for title IV, HEA program assistance. 20
U.S.C. 1087vv(d)(1)(D).
Categories of Individuals
This matching program covers Individuals who have completed the
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA[supreg]) and have
indicated that they are veterans.
Categories of Records
ED will disclose to the VA the Social Security number (SSN), first
and last name, and date of birth (DOB) of each applicant for financial
assistance under title IV of the HEA who indicates veteran status in
their application.
VA will compare these data elements against the first and last
name, SSN, and DOB of veterans. As a result of the match, VA will
assign one of four values to the applicant records: (1) veteran status
confirmed; (2) record found on database, but not a qualifying veteran;
(3) record not found on database; or (4) record found on database, but
applicant on active duty. VA then will transmit applicant records back
to ED.
System(s) of Records
VA will use the VA system of records entitled ``Compensation,
Pension, Education, and Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment
Records--VA'' (58VA21/22/28), last published in full in the Federal
Register on September 15, 2025 (90 FR 44464). VA has determined that
routine use 34 in the foregoing system of records is compatible with
the purpose for which the information is collected and contains
appropriate Privacy Act disclosure authority.
ED will disclose data from records in the FPS, which are covered by
the system of records notice (SORN) entitled ``Aid Awareness and
Application Processing'' (18-11-21), which was most recently published
in the Federal Register on April 22, 2026 (91 FR 91245). ED has
determined that Routine Use 1(a) in the cited SORN permits the
disclosure of information for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of
veteran status information maintained in ED records.
Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with disabilities
can obtain this document in an accessible format. The Department will
provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich
Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file,
braille, large print, audiotape, compact disc, or other accessible
format.
Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of
Federal Regulations at <a href="http://www.govinfo.gov">www.govinfo.gov</a>. At this site you can view this
document, as well as all other documents of this Department published
in the Federal Register, in text or Portable Document Format (PDF). To
use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at
the site.
You may also access documents of the Department published in the
Federal Register by using the article search feature at
<a href="http://www.federalregister.gov">www.federalregister.gov</a>. Specifically, through the advanced search
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published
by the Department.
Richard Lucas,
Acting Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid.
[FR Doc. 2026-10115 Filed 5-19-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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