HLS 19RS-3199 ORIGINAL
2019 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 226
BY REPRESENTATIVE GLOVER
HIGHER ED/BD REGENTS: Requests that the Board of Regents provide for an updated
study and report relative to the issues addressed in the 2012 report by Eva Klein and
Associates pertaining to postsecondary education in the Shreveport-Bossier region
1 A RESOLUTION
2To urge and request the Board of Regents to provide for an updated study and report relative
3 to the issues addressed in the 2012 report by Eva Klein and Associates, Achieving
4 a Comprehensive Public University in Shreveport-Bossier: Analysis of Alternative
5 Strategies, and issue a status report to the House Committee on Education not later
6 than 90 days prior to the beginning of the 2020 Regular Session of the Legislature.
7 WHEREAS, Article VIII, Section 5(D)(2) of the Constitution of Louisiana provides,
8relative to public institutions of postsecondary education, that it is a power, duty, and
9responsibility of the Board of Regents to approve a proposed degree program, department
10of instruction, division, or similar subdivision; Article VIII, Section 5(D)(3)(a) of the
11constitution further provides that it is a power, duty, and responsibility of the Board of
12Regents to study the need for and feasibility of creating a new institution of postsecondary
13education, which includes establishing a branch of such an institution; and
14 WHEREAS, the Board of Regents, along with several community organizations, co-
15sponsored a study conducted in 2011-2012 by Eva Klein and Associates, the objective of
16which, in part, was to identify options for a more comprehensive public university in
17Shreveport-Bossier, including a possible consolidation of institutions; and
18 WHEREAS, the report issued in February of 2012 as the result of the study made
19several recommendations relative to postsecondary education in the region, one of which
20was the consolidation of Louisiana Tech University and Louisiana State University at
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HR NO. 226
1Shreveport into a single institution operating as Louisiana Tech University with two
2campuses, one in Ruston and one in Shreveport; and
3 WHEREAS, this recommended merger was formally endorsed by the Board of
4Regents in the spring of 2012, and related legislation was filed in the 2012 Regular Session
5of the Legislature in the form of House Bill No. 964, which ultimately did not pass; and
6 WHEREAS, it has been more than seven years since the issuance of the report, and
7there is ongoing debate as to the possible consolidation of these institutions; therefore, it is
8appropriate that the Board of Regents take the necessary measures to provide for an updated
9study of this matter and other issues related to postsecondary education in the Shreveport-
10Bossier region.
11 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
12Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the Board of Regents to provide for
13an updated study and accompanying report relative to the issues addressed in the 2012 report
14by Eva Klein and Associates, Achieving a Comprehensive Public University in
15Shreveport-Bossier: Analysis of Alternative Strategies, and issue a status report to the House
16Committee on Education not later than 90 days prior to the beginning of the 2020 Regular
17Session of the Legislature.
18 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
19chairman of the Board of Regents and the commissioner of higher education.
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)]
HR 226 Original 2019 Regular Session Glover
Requests that the Bd. of Regents provide for an updated study and report on the issues
addressed in the 2012 report by Eva Klein and Associates, Achieving a Comprehensive
Public University in Shreveport-Bossier: Analysis of Alternative Strategies, and issue a
status report to the House Committee on Education by 90 days prior to the beginning of the
2020 RS.
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