HLS 19RS-2508 ORIGINAL
2019 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 96
BY REPRESENTATIVE FALCONER
HIGHER ED/BD REGENTS: Requests that the Board of Regents study and make
recommendations relative to student debt relief measures
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To urge and request the Board of Regents, in collaboration with the public postsecondary
3 education management boards, to conduct a study of student debt relief measures,
4 nationally and statewide, and to submit a written report of findings and conclusions,
5 including recommendations for legislation relative to debt as a barrier to
6 reenrollment for those who have completed some postsecondary education not later
7 than thirty days prior to the beginning of the 2020 Regular Session of the
8 Legislature.
9 WHEREAS, forty-seven percent of working-age Louisianians, more than one million
10persons, hold a high school diploma or less as their highest level of education, meaning
11nearly half of the state's working-age population is at risk of not meeting the demands of the
12twenty-first century workforce; this often results in Louisianians being unemployed or
13underemployed and in need of new educational opportunities to advance and thrive; and
14 WHEREAS, the Board of Regents has set a goal of doubling the number of adults
15in Louisiana with a meaningful, market-ready postsecondary education credential by the year
162030; doubling the number of annual credential recipients represents reaching an educational
17attainment level of sixty percent and will require Louisiana to move from producing
18approximately forty thousand credentials in 2019 to eighty-five thousand in 2030; and
19 WHEREAS, this goal will demand that the Louisiana postsecondary education
20community and its partners implement new strategies to reach and successfully reengage all
21potential student populations, with an emphasis on working-age adults; and
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HCR NO. 96
1 WHEREAS, student debt is a major barrier to adult student reenrollment and degree
2completion; many students struggle to afford the growing cost of postsecondary education
3and are unable to complete their education because of financial challenges; and
4 WHEREAS, an outstanding balance may lead to registration and transcript holds,
5which can discourage students from remaining on the pathway to degree completion while
6also preventing some students from reenrolling or transferring to another institution to
7complete a degree; and
8 WHEREAS, a decade of disinvestment has radically reduced state support for
9Louisiana's colleges and universities and shifted the funding burden to students and their
10parents; as a result, postsecondary education institutions are more reliant on self-generated
11revenue, including student tuition and fees, to operate; therefore, a reasonable approach to
12minimizing student debt and addressing debt forgiveness for adult students must be
13considered.
14 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
15urge and request the Board of Regents, in collaboration with the public postsecondary
16education management boards, to conduct a study of student debt relief measures, nationally
17and statewide, and to submit a written report of findings and conclusions, including
18recommendations for legislation relative to debt as a barrier to reenrollment for those who
19have completed some postsecondary education not later than thirty days prior to the
20beginning of the 2020 Regular Session of the Legislature.
21 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that such report shall include findings and
22recommendations relative to establishing a student tuition forgiveness and engagement
23program that shall provide for the following:
24 (1) Identification and examination of successful programs nationally and within the
25state, including pertinent background material, data, an inventory of existing programs, and
26recognized best practices that may serve as models for a statewide program in Louisiana,
27including:
28 (a) An analysis of the cost of attendance by institution, state support per student,
29financial aid from nonstate sources, and population-based metrics to better understand
30affordability and student cost options.
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HCR NO. 96
1 (b) A recommendation for policy steps to improve public postsecondary education
2affordability in Louisiana and maximize federal and state financial aid to both traditional and
3nontraditional student populations, including:
4 (i) The development of a method of informing students of their estimated current
5student loan indebtedness for the purposes of planning prior to students incurring additional
6debt for each upcoming academic term.
7 (ii) The development of a proposal related to debt mitigation, debt forgiveness, or
8payment deferrals using the expertise of the office of debt recovery within the Department
9of Revenue, the office of the attorney general, and the public postsecondary education
10management boards and institutions to develop and implement a student tuition forgiveness
11program in Louisiana.
12 (iii) An estimate of costs associated with the implementation of such a program and
13identification of potential funding sources to sustain the program.
14 (2) A plan and timeline for implementation of the recommendations.
15 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
16chairman of the Board of Regents, the commissioner of higher education, and the chairman
17of each public postsecondary education management board.
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)]
HCR 96 Original 2019 Regular Session Falconer
Requests the Bd. of Regents report to the legislature on student debt relief measures not later
than 30 days prior to the 2020 R.S.
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