SLS 18RS-2207 ORIGINAL
2018 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 113
BY SENATOR MORRISH
COMMUNITY TECH SYSTEM. Requests the Louisiana Community and Technical
College System to develop a pilot scholarship program for certain adults.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To urge and request the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, in
3 coordination with the Board of Regents and the Louisiana Office of Student
4 Financial Assistance, to develop a pilot program to provide public postsecondary
5 scholarships to Louisiana's working-age citizens who have earned an alternative high
6 school diploma and who have scored at least a seventeen on the ACT test for use in
7 programs aligned with high-demand, high-pay occupations.
8 WHEREAS, current data and occupational forecasts indicate that the majority of
9 high-demand, high-pay occupations will require more than a high school education; and
10 WHEREAS, half of Louisiana's working-age adults have a high school diploma or
11 less, and are lacking the skills and education needed to fully participate in the economy; and
12 WHEREAS, every effort must be made to provide greater access to postsecondary
13 education to those adults in order to transition them from the rolls of the underemployed or
14 unemployed to the rolls of a skilled workforce who are prepared to meet the current and
15 future workforce needs of the state and who are capable of self-sufficiency; and
16 WHEREAS, current law provides for the TOPS-Tech program, a merit-based
17 scholarship program for recent high school graduates seeking degrees and credentials that
18 are closely aligned to the needs of business and industry; and
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SLS 18RS-2207 ORIGINAL
1 WHEREAS, a scholarship program for adults similar to the TOPS-Tech program
2 may attract and engage more of the working-age population in public postsecondary
3 education; and
4 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Community and Technical College System has
5 demonstrated success in outreach to the business community through programs administered
6 through the WISE Fund and success in outreach to adults through the Work Ready-U
7 program; and
8 WHEREAS, more fully developing a well-educated, highly skilled, and productive
9 workforce is paramount to the economic growth of this state.
10 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
11 does hereby urge and request the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, in
12 coordination with the Board of Regents and the Louisiana Office of Student Financial
13 Assistance, to develop a pilot program to provide public postsecondary scholarships to
14 Louisiana's working-age citizens who have earned an alternative high school diploma and
15 who have scored at least a seventeen on the ACT test for use in programs aligned with high-
16 demand, high-pay occupations.
17 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that no additional legislative appropriation shall be
18 requested or provided for the administration of the pilot program, and such program shall
19 be administered utilizing private contributions solicited and collected by Louisiana
20 Community and Technical College system member institutions and foundations, or through
21 the realignment of existing financial aid and scholarship programs.
22 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana Community and Technical
23 College System shall submit a written report of its findings regarding development and
24 implementation of the pilot program, including any recommendations for related legislation,
25 to the Senate Committee on Education not later than sixty days prior to the beginning of the
26 2020 Regular Session of the Legislature of Louisiana.
27 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
28 president of the Community and Technical College System, the commissioner of higher
29 education, and the executive director of the Louisiana Office of Student Financial
30 Assistance.
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SLS 18RS-2207 ORIGINAL
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Cheryl Serrett.
DIGEST
SR 113 Original 2018 Regular Session Morrish
Requests the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, in coordination with the
Board of Regents and the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance, to develop a
pilot program to provide public postsecondary scholarships to Louisiana's working-age
citizens who have earned an alternative high school diploma and who have scored at least
a seventeen on the ACT test for use in programs aligned with high-demand, high-pay
occupations.
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