2018 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 113
BY SENATOR MORRISH
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request 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.
WHEREAS, current data and occupational forecasts indicate that the majority of
high-demand, high-pay occupations will require more than a high school education; and
WHEREAS, half of Louisiana's working-age adults have a high school diploma or
less, and are lacking the skills and education needed to fully participate in the economy; and
WHEREAS, every effort must be made to provide greater access to postsecondary
education to those adults in order to transition them from the rolls of the underemployed or
unemployed to the rolls of a skilled workforce who are prepared to meet the current and
future workforce needs of the state and who are capable of self-sufficiency; and
WHEREAS, current law provides for the TOPS-Tech program, a merit-based
scholarship program for recent high school graduates seeking degrees and credentials that
are closely aligned to the needs of business and industry; and
WHEREAS, a scholarship program for adults similar to the TOPS-Tech program
may attract and engage more of the working-age population in public postsecondary
education; and
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Community and Technical College System has
demonstrated success in outreach to the business community through programs administered
through the WISE Fund and success in outreach to adults through the Work Ready-U
program; and
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WHEREAS, more fully developing a well-educated, highly skilled, and productive
workforce is paramount to the economic growth of this state.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby urge and request 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.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that no additional legislative appropriation shall be
requested or provided for the administration of the pilot program, and such program shall
be administered utilizing private contributions solicited and collected by Louisiana
Community and Technical College system member institutions and foundations, or through
the realignment of existing financial aid and scholarship programs.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana Community and Technical
College System shall submit a written report of its findings regarding development and
implementation of the pilot program, including any recommendations for related legislation,
to the Senate Committee on Education not later than sixty days prior to the beginning of the
2020 Regular Session of the Legislature of Louisiana.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
president of the Community and Technical College System, the commissioner of higher
education, and the executive director of the Louisiana Office of Student Financial
Assistance.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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