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In order to graduate from high school in Louisiana, students will soon be required to apply for federal financial aid for college.The state's Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approved the new graduation prerequisite earlier this month, and the new policy will go into effect beginning with the class of 2018.The move makes the Pelican State the first in the country to require students to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, also known as the FAFSA, in order to receive a high school diploma.[READ: States Didn't Invest Federal Education Dollars on New Teacher Evaluations]The form allows students to tap all kinds of federal student aid, including direct loans and Pell grants, the latter of which students do not need to pay back.“It’s good and sends the signal to get people to do it, and that’s important,” says Ben Miller, senior director for postsecondary education at the Center for American Progress. “Filling out the form by itself isn’t going to solve our college access challenges, but it is definitely a start. You don’t get any of the money you don’t apply for.”Louisiana’s FAFSA completion rate for the 2012-2013 school year was 50 percent, but when non-public schools were removed from the calculation, that rate fell to about 44 percent.Most students are eligible to receive some form of financial aid, and that’s especially true in Louisiana, which was ranked 44th in the nation for median household income in 2013 and 49th in the nation for percentage of residents living below the poverty line in 2012
“It’s good and sends the signal to get people to do it, and that’s important,” says Ben Miller, senior director for postsecondary education at the Center for American Progress. “Filling out the form by itself isn’t going to solve our college access challenges, but it is definitely a start. You don’t get any of the money you don’t apply for.”
Plus it lets you collect all kinds of information on people who you wouldn't ordinarily collect it on...
What if they don't go on to college? Why should they apply for something they're not going to use—and deny them a basic diploma because of it?
