1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Simplifying Financial Aid for Students Act of 2019 . 2. References; general effective date (a) References Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act there is a reference to, or an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or a repeal of, a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or other provision of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.). (b) General effective date Except as otherwise provided in this Act or the amendments made by this Act, this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall be effective with respect to determinations of need under part F of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1087kk et seq.) for the award year beginning July 1, 2020. 3. Early estimates of available aid Section 483(a) ( 20 U.S.C. 1090(a) ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (13) Evaluation of early estimate tools Not later than the award year beginning July 1, 2020, the Secretary shall— (A) evaluate any early estimate tools authorized under paragraph (9); and (B) identify and implement opportunities to streamline those tools to align with the provisions under part F. . 4. Student aid index (a) Conforming amendments The Act ( 20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is amended— (1) by striking an expected family contribution each place the term appears and inserting a student aid index ; (2) by striking expected family contributions each place the term appears and inserting student aid indexes ; (3) by striking expected family contribution each place the term appears and inserting student aid index ; (4) in section 474— (A) in the section heading, by striking expected family contribution and inserting student aid index ; and (B) in subsection (a), in the heading, by striking expected family contribution and inserting student aid index ; (5) in section 475— (A) in the section heading, by striking Family contribution and inserting Student aid index