It’s almost spring in Louisiana. Flowers are blooming, baseball season is underway, festivals are happening and high school seniors are getting ready to graduate. High School Seniors have been working for 12 years or more to reach this important milestone to be awarded a very important document—a high school diploma.  This is an exciting time in a person’s life.

In Louisiana, a 17 or 18 year old high school senior has to do three things to earn his or her high school diploma:  (1) Successfully complete the minimum academic requirements (math, science, English, social studies, etc) as stipulated by the State—known as Carnegie Units; (2) Pass End of Course tests (exit exams) to prove basic proficiency in those subjects; and (3) Surrender the personal and financial information of his or her parents to the United States government via an onerous process known as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

One of those three don’t belong in the list, right?   For those unfamiliar, you did not misread the previous paragraph and no, this is not an article in “The Onion” or “National Lampoon. “ You read it correctly.

About a decade ago, the State of Louisiana decided to add filling out the FAFSA as a requirement to getting out of high school.    They did it for a lot of reasons. The reasons may have been well-intentioned. Folks running the state in those days thought that they needed to make every student and their family aware of aid opportunities out there and available. That may be right; we probably should make all aware, but SHOULD we have made it a graduation requirement to go a step further and FORCE people to fill out an application for federal aid?

What if a student has NO need for or no desire for federal aid?   What if the student’s family is going to pay his or her way through a trade school, a community college or even a university?  What if a student is enlisting in the military?  What if the student is going straight to work?

We’ve been doing this for about a decade and some believe it has helped us go to the top of some lists.  Someone said in the media recently that we are a national leader in getting these forms filled out.

Ok. Got it.

If you have or know anyone who has ever filled out the FAFSA, you KNOW it is a detailed, byzantine process that asks for all sorts of things that are relevant to someone who needs or is seeking federal assistance.   It’s a terribly complex form and is considered invasive by most who fill it out.   But surrendering this level of information to the federal government that ought to know all of this information ANYWAY is both an invasion of privacy and theft of time.

State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley has asked the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) to eliminate the FAFSA from the list of graduation requirements in Louisiana.   In truth, there is a way out and parents CAN OPT OUT of this form if they choose to. But they shouldn’t HAVE TO ASK for permission.     Parents and their seniors need to be made aware of FAFSA and our schools ought to help people who want the people to fill it out.   Seniors and their parents or guardians deserve all the help we can give them in getting this filled out if their kid needs federal aid.  But they should NOT be required to do this.

Somewhere along the line, we also linked the state Taylor Opportunity for Program for Student (TOPS) to filling FAFSA.     I first became aware of this weird connection when my oldest daughter went to college and was in line to receive TOPS.    I was forced to fill out a federal form so my daughter could get a state scholarship.   In my mind, the State scholarship my daughters received was NONE of the business of the Federal government.     It made no sense, but I couldn’t find anyone who would speak up and stop it.

It is stopped now for TOPS.  Parents have a clear route out to avoid FAFSA when filling out applications for TOPS.    We need to do the same thing for graduation requirements.    We don’t need to waste a parent’s time by asking one government (state) to give us permission to NOT fill out a form for another government (federal) for something we probably don’t want or need.     I think it’s insane to force families to fill out forms for federal aid if they don’t (A) Want to; or (B) Need to.

Grateful to Superintendent Brumley and BESE for decoupling these requirements.  I have every confidence that our high school counselors will make our students aware of FAFSA and how it applies to them. I also have every hope that removing this process will eliminate pain both for families and the school administrators.

Chuck Owen, a member of the Louisiana Freedom Caucus, represents District 30 in the Louisiana House of Representatives.