Starting next year, high school seniors will not have to apply for FAFSA to graduate. Teiko Foxx has more…
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A bill to require health insurers to provide mental health coverage for victims of rape has been filed for the upcoming session. Brooke Thorington explains.
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BESE has removed the requirement for high school seniors to complete FAFSA in order to graduate. The new policy goes into effect next school year. The board believes requiring a student to apply for federal aid for college is an unnecessary burden on parents. And BESE President Ronnie Morris says some families do not want to give out their tax and income information.
Students are required to complete the FAFSA to determine college financial aid. But Morris says some students can sign a waiver approved by the state to receive a diploma. He says points out the form is simply not necessary to graduate.
Louisiana claims top ranking for the highest number of high school seniors who’ve completed FAFSA. And Morris says schools will continue to assist student and families in applying for federal grants and scholarships.
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Should there be term limits on all statewide elected offices? Marrero Representative Kyle Green has filed legislation seeking to change the state’s constitution so that lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer, ag and insurance commissioner are all limited to two terms.
When it comes to statewide offices, only the governor is limited to two consecutive terms. Green says he wants to level the playing field.
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The legislation will be heard in the regular session. Since it’s a proposed a constitutional amendment, it will needs two-thirds approval from the legislature and a majority of voters will also have to approve.
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AAA is rolling out new technology that sends alerts to drivers they are approaching a stranded motorist on the side of the road. Spokesperson Don Redman says motorists who use Waze or Apple Maps will receive the alerts when AAA member requests assistance
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The alert will automatically update motorists when the tow truck arrives at the location to help the stranded driver. Redman says this give motorists more time to slow down or move over. And provides a safeguard for those responding to provide assistance to stranded motorists.
Redman says this is the first time the alerts will be used in the field to protect disabled motorists and technicians who service them.
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New Orleans Representative Delisha Boyd wants health insurers to provide mental health coverage for victims of rape. The legislation is personal for Boyd because her mother was raped at the age of 15. Boyd says her mother had psychological issues.
The bill also requires coverage for at least one year of postpartum psychosis screenings for victims of rape who conceived and birth a child as a result.
Boyd says victims of rape, no matter their age, deserve mental health services and when the perpetrator is someone, they trust it’s another layer of difficulty.
Boyd says if someone had only intervened and helped her mother deal with the trauma of being raped and post-partum psychosis, she might be alive today.
According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, one in six women and 1 in 33 men are victims, of rape or an attempted rape in their lifetime. House Bill 302 is pending to be heard in the House Insurance Committee.