To graduate from high school, all seniors in Louisiana public schools will have to apply for college financial aid.
The new policy—likely the first of its kind—begins with the class of 2018. It permits students to opt out of completing applications for financial aid by submitting a form signed by one of their parents.
State schools Superintendent John White said that the students who are most in need of the money are the ones who fail to take steps to get it. Low application rates cost students opportunities, but they also cost colleges and universities tens of millions of dollars in support, he said.
