ENROLLED
ACT No. 306
2016 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 906
BY REPRESENTATIVES ARMES, AMEDEE, BAGLEY, BAGNERIS, BILLIOT, CHAD
BROWN, CARPENTER, GARY CARTER, DAVIS, EDMONDS, GISCLAIR,
GLOVER, GUINN, HILFERTY, HORTON, HOWARD, LEGER, LYONS,
MARCELLE, DUSTIN MILLER, POPE, PRICE, REYNOLDS, RICHARD,
SCHRODER, SMITH, STOKES, THIBAUT, AND WHITE AND SENATOR
WALSWORTH
1 AN ACT
2 To enact Part XIII of Chapter 26 of Title 17 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, to
3 be comprised of R.S. 17:3399.21 through 3399.24, relative to postsecondary
4 education services for homeless youth and foster youth; to require each public
5 postsecondary education institution to designate a homeless and foster student liaison
6 and to provide for his responsibilities; to authorize the institutions to provide for
7 these students with respect to residency status and housing; to provide for
8 definitions; and to provide for related matters.
9 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
10 Section 1. Part XIII of Chapter 26 of Title 17 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of
11 1950, to be comprised of R.S. 17:3399.21 through 3399.24, is hereby enacted to read as
12 follows:
13 PART XIII. HOMELESS AND FOSTER YOUTH
14 §3399.21. Definitions
15 As used in this Part, the following terms shall be defined as follows:
16 (1) "Homeless youth" means any individual under twenty-five years of age
17 who has been verified, at any time during the six years prior to his enrollment in a
18 public postsecondary education institution, as a homeless child or youth as defined
19 in 42 U.S.C. 11434a(2) by at least one of the following:
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1 (a) A governmental or nonprofit agency that receives federal, state, parish,
2 or municipal funding to provide services to homeless persons or that is otherwise
3 sanctioned to provide these services by a homeless continuum of care organization.
4 (b) An attorney appointed by the court to represent the youth.
5 (c) A local education agency liaison for homeless children and youth
6 designated as such pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii) or a school social
7 worker.
8 (d) A human services provider or public social services provider funded by
9 the state to provide services for homeless children and youth, including health
10 services, mental or behavioral health services, substance use disorder services, or
11 public assistance or employment services.
12 (e) A law enforcement officer designated as a liaison to the homeless
13 population by a law enforcement agency or department within the state.
14 (f) The director of a federal TRIO program or his designee.
15 (g) A court-appointed special advocate (CASA) employee or volunteer.
16 (h) A financial aid administrator.
17 (i) An admissions counselor.
18 (2) "Foster youth" means any individual in the care, custody, or guardianship
19 of the Department of Children and Family Services in the foster care program for any
20 six of the seventy-two months immediately prior to his eighteenth birthday.
21 §3399.22. Homeless and foster student liaisons
22 Each public postsecondary education institution shall designate a homeless
23 and foster student liaison within its financial aid office. This liaison shall be
24 responsible for applying the provisions of the federal Higher Education Act
25 pertaining to the independent student status and financial aid eligibility of current
26 and former homeless and foster youth and shall assist these students, both current
27 and prospective, in applying for federal and state financial aid and other assistance
28 for which they may be eligible.
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1 §3399.23. Residency status
2 Notwithstanding any provision of law or policy to the contrary, a public
3 postsecondary education institution may grant resident status to a student who
4 resides in Louisiana and is nineteen years of age or under at the time of enrollment,
5 regardless of how long he has resided in the state, if he is determined to have been
6 homeless at any time during the two years immediately preceding his enrollment.
7 §3399.24. Housing
8 In order to ensure that current and former homeless and foster youth have
9 access to stable housing, a public postsecondary education institution that offers
10 student housing may develop a plan to provide that these students have access to
11 housing resources as needed during and between academic terms. The plan may
12 grant them first priority for housing placement and provide that they be placed in the
13 institution's housing facility that remains open for occupation during the most days
14 in a calendar year.
15 Section 2. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Success for Homeless
16 and Foster Youth in Higher Education Act".
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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