By Bill DeBaun, Senior Director, Data and Strategic Initiatives
Reading time: Three minutes
Earlier this month, Louisiana’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education voted to remove Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion as a high school graduation requirement, starting with the high school class of 2025. The move signals
the end of a policy which has helped Louisiana stay at the top of the FAFSA completion rankings nationwide for the past six graduating classes.
Louisiana’s “universal FAFSA” policy, the first of its kind in the nation, came online for the high school class of 2018. In the implementation year, FAFSA completion rose in the Bayou State by nearly 26%. The performance set Louisiana at the top of the National College Attainment Network's (NCAN) FAFSA
Tracker on June 30 of that year, a title it would retain for five of the past six years as the state dueled with Tennessee for the distinction of having the highest percentage of seniors completing.
Inside Higher Education (IHE)reported various
stated reasons for the policy change. Concerns about steering students away from non-college pathways, students and families not understanding the FAFSA process, and the form being too “long, invasive, and…unnecessary” all make appearances.
NCAN CEO Kim Cook told IHE in the same article, “Louisiana’s decision to drop its FAFSA completion requirement will primarily hurt students of color and students living with low incomes in their pursuit of education after high school. This change will inevitably reverse Louisiana’s impressive gains in FAFSA completion and the state’s number-one status in the nation for FAFSA completion among high school seniors.”
The big gains Louisiana realized for its class of 2018 also spurred interest in universal FAFSA policies across the country. More than a dozen states have now implemented or passed similar policies.
"The repeal of this policy is not a good thing. Don't be fooled," advised Mia Gonzales
Washington, Director of the New Orleans College and Career Attainment Network, an NCAN member. "Louisiana has consistently been #1 in the nation for FAFSA completions by eligible high school seniors, and we have left billions of dollars *less* on
the table than states that don’t have a universal FAFSA policy. Once students realize that postsecondary education can be affordable after they’ve qualified for different types of aid (a lot of it being free money), they’re more likely to enroll in
a degree or credential program, which helps the entire community and economy in the long run."
Louisiana’s version of the policy set a high bar with thoughtful and thorough support provided to districts and schools via the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Aid (LOSFA). For example, LOSFA hosts FAFSA completion workshops across the state, runs
FAFSA completion community events an block parties, administers a Complete to Compete Portal so that districts and schools can monitor their progress, developed a near-peer FAFSA ambassadors program for high school students, and leads a statewide
communications campaign for students and families, among other strategies.
Louisiana’s policy also included an element that has appeared in every other implementation or passage: the ability for a student to waive out of the graduation requirement.
Universal FAFSA policies have demonstrated the ability to drive big gains in FAFSA completion in the states that implement them.
Postsecondary enrollment impacts have been more elusive to measure (especially because of the confounding effects of the COVID-19 pandemic), but data from LOSFA show that first-time college students increased following implementation of universal
FAFSA (excepting the classes of 2020-22) and graduates for the state’s TOPS scholarships have also increased.
Louisiana currently sits 14th nationally in terms of its percentage of seniors submitting a FAFSA for the 2024-25 award year. Time will tell if the state’s seniors can climb back up to the lofty heights reached by their predecessors and if
future classes will be able to do the same absent a universal FAFSA requirement.
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