HLS 16RS-650 ORIGINAL
2016 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 279
BY REPRESENTATIVE BROADWATER
STUDENT/LOANS-SCHOLARSHP: Provides for differential Taylor Opportunity Program
for Students award amounts for certain students based on their classification level
1 AN ACT
2To amend and reenact R.S. 17:5002(B) and (D)(1)(introductory paragraph) and (2) and to
3 enact R.S. 17:5002.1, relative to the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students; to
4 provide for differential program award amounts for certain students according to
5 their classification level; to provide relative to award payments for certain students
6 who elect to defer receipt of their awards; to provide with respect to funding for the
7 Louisiana GO Grant program; to provide for effectiveness; and to provide for related
8 matters.
9Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
10 Section 1. 17:5002(B) and (D)(1)(introductory paragraph) and (2) are hereby
11amended and reenacted and R.S. 17:5002.1 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
12 §5002. Awards and amounts
13 * * *
14 B.(1) Any Except as provided in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, any
15 student who is eligible for an Opportunity, Performance, or Honors Award pursuant
16 to this Chapter and who has enrolled:
17 (1)(a) In any public college or university in this state, shall be awarded by
18 the state an amount determined by the administering agency to equal the tuition
19 charged by the public college or university.
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1 (2)(b) At any regionally accredited independent college or university in the
2 state which is a member of the Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges and
3 Universities to pursue an academic undergraduate degree, shall be awarded by the
4 state an amount to be determined by the administering agency to equal the weighted
5 average of amounts paid under this Section for students attending public colleges and
6 universities that offer academic undergraduate degrees at the baccalaureate level.
7 (3)(c) In a school that has a valid and current certificate of registration issued
8 by the Louisiana State Board of Cosmetology in accordance with law and that is
9 accredited by an accrediting organization recognized by the United States
10 Department of Education or in any proprietary school that has a valid and current
11 license issued by the Board of Regents in accordance with law and that is accredited
12 by an accrediting organization recognized by the United States Department of
13 Education, shall be awarded by the state an amount determined by the administering
14 agency to equal the weighted average of amounts paid under this Section for students
15 attending public colleges and universities who are enrolled in the permitted skill or
16 occupational training, as may be applicable.
17 (4)(d) In an out-of-state college or university that is specifically designed to
18 accommodate deaf and hard-of-hearing students under R.S. 17:5027(C), shall be
19 awarded an amount determined by the administering agency to equal the weighted
20 average of amounts paid under this Section for students attending Louisiana public
21 colleges and universities that offer academic undergraduate degrees.
22 (2)(a) The award amount for a student classified as a freshman shall be
23 eighty percent of the amount otherwise provided by Paragraph (1) of this Subsection,
24 and the award amount for a student classified as a sophomore shall be ninety percent
25 of the amount otherwise provided by Paragraph (1) of this Subsection.
26 (b) Notwithstanding Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph, if a freshman or
27 sophomore defers receipt of the award until the end of the award year, and, at the end
28 of the award year, he has a grade point average of not less than 3.00 calculated on
29 a 4.00 scale for the award year, the award amount shall be as provided in Paragraph
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HB NO. 279
1 (1) of this Subsection. If such a student does not meet this grade point average
2 requirement but otherwise maintains award eligibility, his award amount shall be as
3 provided in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph. No award shall be paid to or for a
4 student who defers receipt of the award but fails to maintain award eligibility.
5 Notwithstanding the provisions of this Chapter regarding payment of awards, an
6 award for a student who defers receipt of an award until the end of the award year
7 and who, at the end of the award year, has maintained eligibility for future awards
8 shall be paid to the student.
9 * * *
10 D.(1) Except as otherwise provided in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, a
11 student who is eligible for a TOPS-Tech Award pursuant to this Chapter and who is
12 enrolled:
13 * * *
14 (2) A student who graduated prior to the 2016-2017 school year, who is
15 eligible for a TOPS-Tech Award pursuant to this Chapter, and who is enrolled:
16 (a) In an eligible college or university that does not offer an academic
17 undergraduate degree at the baccalaureate level shall be awarded by the state an
18 amount determined by the administering agency to equal the tuition charged by the
19 college or university.
20 (b) In an eligible college or university other than as provided for in
21 Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph shall be awarded by the state an amount
22 determined by the administering agency to equal the weighted average of amounts
23 paid to students attending an eligible public college or university that does not offer
24 an academic undergraduate degree at the baccalaureate level.
25 (2)(a) The award amount for a student who has completed fewer than twelve
26 credit hours shall be eighty percent of the amount otherwise provided by Paragraph
27 (1) of this Subsection, and the award amount for a student who has completed at least
28 twelve credit hours but fewer than twenty-four credit hours shall be ninety percent
29 of the amount otherwise provided by Paragraph (1) of this Subsection.
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1 (b) Notwithstanding Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph, if a student who has
2 completed fewer than twenty-four hours of credit defers receipt of the award until
3 the end of the award year and, at the end of the award year, he has a grade point
4 average of not less than 3.00 calculated on a 4.00 scale for the award year, the award
5 amount shall be as otherwise provided in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection; however,
6 if he does not meet this grade point average requirement but otherwise maintains
7 award eligibility, his award amount shall be as provided in Subparagraph (a) of this
8 Paragraph. No award shall be paid to or for a student who defers receipt of the
9 award but fails to maintain award eligibility. Notwithstanding the provisions of this
10 Chapter regarding payment of awards, an award for a student who defers receipt of
11 an award until the end of the award year and who, at the end of the award year, has
12 maintained eligibility for future awards shall be paid to the student.
13 * * *
14 §5002.1. Awards and amounts; exceptions
15 A. The following provisions shall not be applicable to students who graduate
16 from high school prior to the 2019-2020 school year:
17 (1) R.S. 17:5002(B)(2).
18 (2) R.S. 17:5002(D)(2).
19 B. Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 17:5002(D), a student who
20 graduates from high school prior to the 2016-2017 school year, who is eligible for
21 a TOPS-Tech Award pursuant to this Chapter, and who is enrolled:
22 (1) In an eligible college or university that does not offer an academic
23 undergraduate degree at the baccalaureate level shall be awarded by the state an
24 amount determined by the administering agency to equal the tuition charged by the
25 college or university.
26 (2) In an eligible college or university other than as provided for in
27 Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall be awarded by the state an amount determined
28 by the administering agency to equal the weighted average of amounts aid to
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1 students attending an eligible public college or university that does not offer an
2 academic undergraduate degree at the baccalaureate level.
3 * * *
4 Section 2.(A) Beginning with the 2019-2020 fiscal year, the legislature shall
5appropriate twenty-five percent of any savings attributable to the implementation of Section
61 of this Act for the purpose of increasing funding for the Louisiana GO Grant program.
7 (B) Beginning in 2019, the Legislative Fiscal Office shall issue a fiscal and
8economic impact statement on December first of each year documenting the projected
9savings as provided in Subsection (A) of this Section for the ensuing fiscal year. The
10legislative fiscal officer shall forward this annual statement to the commissioner of
11administration for use in developing the budgets for the Taylor Opportunity Program for
12Students and the Louisiana GO Grant program.
13 (C) The monies appropriated by the legislature for the Louisiana GO Grant program
14pursuant to this Section shall not displace, replace, or supplant the average amount of the
15monies appropriated by the legislature for the program for the three most recent fiscal years.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HB 279 Original 2016 Regular Session Broadwater
Abstract: Provides for differential TOPS award amounts based on a student's classification
level and requires that a percentage of generated savings be appropriated for the La.
GO Grant program.
Present law provides for the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) as a program
of merit scholarships for students attending certain postsecondary education institutions who
meet specific initial eligibility requirements, including academic requirements pertaining to
grade point average, ACT score, and core curricula. Provides for Opportunity, Performance,
and Honors Awards and the TOPS-Tech Award and that award amounts vary depending on
the award and the type of college or university in which a student enrolls.
Present law provides, relative to award amounts for Opportunity, Performance, or Honors
Awards, that at a La. public institution, the award amount is equal to the tuition charged by
the institution, and at a La. nonpublic institution, the award amount is equal to the weighted
average of amounts paid for students attending La. institutions that offer academic
undergraduate degrees at the baccalaureate level.
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Proposed law retains present law for students graduating from high school prior to the 2019-
2020 school year, but, applicable to students graduating during or after that school year,
provides differential award amounts for freshmen and sophomores, as follows:
(1)For freshmen, 80% of present law award amount.
(2)For sophomores, 90% of present law award amount.
Present law provides, relative to TOPS-Tech Award amounts, that at a public institution that
does not offer an academic undergraduate degree at the baccalaureate level, the amount is
equal to the tuition charged by the institution. For other eligible institutions, the amount is
equal to the weighted average of amounts paid to students attending an eligible public
institution that does not offer an academic undergraduate degree at the baccalaureate level.
Proposed law retains present law for students graduating from high school prior to the 2019-
2020 school year, but, applicable to students graduating during or after that school year,
provides differential award amounts for students who have completed fewer than 24 credit
hours, as follows:
(1)For students who have completed fewer than 12 credit hours, 80% of present law
award amount.
(2)For students who have completed at least 12 but fewer than 24 credit hours, 90% of
present law award amount.
Proposed law, notwithstanding the differential award amounts provided in proposed law,
grants freshman and sophomore recipients of Opportunity, Performance, or Honors Awards
and TOPS-Tech recipients who have completed fewer than 24 hours the option of deferring
receipt of their awards. If such a student maintains TOPS eligibility, the award amount shall
be paid to him at the end of the award year, and the award amount shall be as follows:
(1) If he maintains a 3.00 GPA, the amount shall be as otherwise provided in present
law.
(2)If he fails to maintain a 3.00 GPA, the amount shall be the percentage based on his
classification as provided in proposed law.
Proposed law further requires, beginning with the 2019-2020 fiscal year, the legislature to
appropriate 25% of any savings attributable to proposed law implementation for the purpose
of increasing funding for the La. GO Grant program. Requires, beginning in 2019, the
Legislative Fiscal Office annually to issue a fiscal and economic impact statement on Dec.
1st documenting the projected savings for the ensuing fiscal year. Requires the Legislative
Fiscal Officer to forward this annual statement to the commissioner of administration for use
in developing the budgets for TOPS and the La. GO Grant program. Provides that the
monies appropriated for the La. GO Grant program pursuant to proposed law shall not
displace, replace, or supplant the average amount of the monies appropriated for the program
for the three most recent fiscal years.
(Amends R.S. 17:5002(B) and (D)(1)(intro. para.) and (2); Adds R.S. 17:5002.1)
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