OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — There's a new law in Oklahoma that requires high school graduates at public high schools to submit a free FAFSA application and learn about federal funding for college.
While there is an option to opt out, students must file one or the other before graduating.
"I could see how hard students in Oklahoma were working to get qualified to go to college and to get accepted to college. But a lot of times their families didn't know how to pay for it," said Senator Mary Boren (D-Norman).
The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education explains each school district will have a school employee in charge of collecting information regarding student compliance before graduation.
"I could also see that a lot of families just didn't know how to navigate the financing of it. And they weren't aware that how important the FAFSA was to opening up those doors of funding for college," said Senator Boren.
Counselor Josh Bottomly said last year only 38% of FAFSA applications were completed.
"As a result, you know, fewer students were able to access money that was available for them to be able to cover some of the cost of college," said Josh Bottomly, the Associate Director of College Counseling at Casady School.
Senator Boren is a co-sponsor of the bill. She said a lot of families also may not be aware of how important FAFSA could be for student futures.
"To help those families, I thought that the school really needed to have an expectation that they approached the families with the option of filling out that FAFSA," said Senator Boren.
While it is a requirement to graduate, there's still an option if you don't want to apply with specific guidelines as to who can fill out the form.
The student's parent or guardian, if the student is 18 and over, or a school counselor can fill out the nonparticipation form.
As students do start to apply, Bottomly said last year there were a lot of glitches with filling out FAFSA.
"As a result, a number of students and families that just gave up in the process," said Bottomly.
So he's hoping this year, those issues will be fixed and more students can get access to higher education funding opportunities.
Several metro school districts confirmed their counselors are actively talking with students about the requirement to graduate.
Just a reminder, even if you plan to opt out, it's still a graduation requirement to say you won't be applying for FAFSA.
The FAFSA form for graduating students officially opens December first.
For more questions on the mandate, click here.
