BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has approved a new policy that will require the state's public school seniors apply for education aid for college.

The Advocate reports the board approved the policy last week which will require the state's 35,000 high school seniors to apply for the aid or submit a signed form indicating that they won't.

About 15,000 seniors currently do not seek federal aid.

State Superintendent of Education John White says the state is leaving tens of millions of dollars on the table every year because students aren't applying for financial aid.

Starting 2018, students will be required to apply for aid through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or the Louisiana Office for Student Financial Assistance. Applications will be required for graduation.

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