Almost half of Louisiana students are missing out on millions of dollars of federal financial aid that could help them get skills training or college degrees after high school.
Education Superintendent John White said yesterday that only 44 percent of Louisiana's public high school seniors fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
That application is used to determine if students are eligible for Pell grants, work study programs and other types of aid.
White told a joint meeting of the state's top education boards that Louisiana students give up an estimated $54 million in financial aid each year.
The superintendent says he'll be talking to education leaders about ways to improve the application rate. He says in many instances, students simply don't know about the form.
