New TOPS award amount approved for high-performing students
The Louisiana Legislature has created a new award level for the state's popular tuition assistance program that will cover the entirety of tuition and fees at public universities for the highest-performing students.
House Bill 77 by Rep. Chris Turner, R-Ruston, creates the TOPS Excellence award, which is available to any student with a 3.5 grade point average and a score of 31 or higher on the ACT or an equivalent score on a similar exam. The scholarship will provide tuition and fees at the Louisiana public university the student chooses or $12,000, whichever is less.
'It's a big win,' Turner said.
Originally, Turner's bill would have created a flat rate for each level of TOPS award rather than a unique allotment for each school. The new rate would have meant students at LSU, its two medical schools and the University of New Orleans would have paid more out of pocket, while students at other Louisiana schools would have paid less.
The provisions drew the criticism of Phyllis Taylor, whose late husband Patrick F. Taylor was responsible for the creation of the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, a merit-based scholarship program for Louisiana students who attend in-state public colleges and universities.
The original proposal was scaled back because it substantially increased the cost of the program.
Instituting just the new TOPS Excellence award level will increase state spending $3 million in the first year, assuming 844 qualified students. The cost will increase over the next four years to a total cost of $12 million, when approximately 3,300 students are predicted to receive the award annually.
Turner's bill also allows students to qualify for any TOPS award level by taking the conservative-backed Classical Learning Test, which evaluates students on math, writing and grammar with an emphasis on classic literature and historic documents. Its supporters frequently tout that the exam emphasizes texts that 'shaped Western culture.'
The Classical Learning Test has been embraced by conservative lawmakers in Oklahoma, Florida and Arkansas. and has the support of the conservative Cato Institute and Heritage Foundation.
Oklahoma lawmakers extensively debated embracing the Classical Learning Test to qualify for their version of TOPS, with Democrats arguing it doesn't meet the same academic rigor and anti-cheating measures as the ACT.
In Louisiana, only Louisiana Christian University accepts the Classical Learning Test for admissions, according to the CLT exam website.
Turner's bill will go into effect unless Gov. Jeff Landry vetoes it.
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