12 2 STA T .3 2 7 7 PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 31 5— AU G .1 4, 200 8ap a id i ncomet a x p r eparer or preparer s er v ice f ort h e primar y p u rpose of fi l in g a F ederal or S tate income tax return may b e used to complete the form prescribed under this section .‘ ‘ (7)RESTRIC TI ON SON U SEO FP IN. —N o person , commercial entity, or other entity may re q uest, obtain, or utili z ean applicant ’ s personal identification number assigned under para - graph ( 3 )( G ) for purposes of submitting a form developed under this subsection on an applicant’s behalf. ‘‘( 8 ) A PP L IC A TION PROCESSIN G C Y CLE.— T he Secretary shall enable students to submit forms developed under this sub- section and initiate the processing of such forms under this subsection, as early as practicable prior to J anuary 1 of the student’s planned year of enrollment. ‘‘( 9 ) E ARLY ESTI M ATES.—The Secretary shall continue to— ‘‘(A) permit applicants to enter data in such forms as described in this subsection in the years prior to enroll- ment in order to obtain a non-binding estimate of the applicant’s family contribution (as defined in section 4 73)
‘‘( B ) permit applicants to update information submitted on forms described in this subsection, w ithout needing to re-enter previously submitted information; ‘‘( C ) develop a means to inform applicants, in the years prior to enrollment, of student aid options for individuals in similar financial situations; ‘‘( D ) develop a means to provide a clear and con- spicuous notice that the applicant’s expected family con- tribution is sub j ect to change and may not reflect the final expected family contribution used to determine Fed- eral student financial aid award amounts under this title; and ‘‘(E) consult with representatives of States, institutions of higher education, and other individuals with experience or expertise in student financial assistance application processes in ma k ing updates to forms used to provide early estimates under this paragraph. ‘‘(1 0 ) DISTRI B UTION OF D ATA.— I nstitutions of higher edu- cation, guaranty agencies, and States shall receive, without charge, the data collected by the Secretary using a form devel- oped under this subsection for the purposes of processing loan applications and determining need and eligibility for institu- tional and State financial aid awards. Entities designated by institutions of higher education, guaranty agencies, or States to receive such data shall be subject to all the requirements of this section, unless such requirements are waived by the Secretary. ‘‘(11) T H IRD PARTY SER V ICERS AND PRIVATE SOFT W ARE PRO- VIDERS.—To the extent practicable and in a timely manner, the Secretary shall provide, to private organizations and con- sortia that develop software used by institutions of higher education for the administration of funds under this title, all the necessary specifications that the organizations and con- sortia must meet for the software the organizations and con- sortia develop, produce, and distribute (including any diskette, modem, or network communications) to be so used. The speci- fications shall contain record layouts for required data. The Secretary shall develop in advance of each processing cycle
�
