§ 17:5024 — Academic requirements

§5024. Academic requirements
A.(1)(a) Except as otherwise provided by this Subsection, students shall meet the
following minimum grade point average requirements, calculated on a 4.00 scale using only
the grades obtained by the student in completing the core curriculum requirements
established by this Chapter, for the respective awards:
(i) For an Opportunity Award, a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.50.
(ii) For a Performance Award, a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.25.
(iii) For an Honors Award, a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.50.
(iv) For a TOPS-Tech Award, a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.50.
(v) For an Excellence Award, a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.50.
(b) Beginning in the 2024-2025 school year and for subsequent school years
thereafter, each school shall use the ten-point grading scale provided for in R.S. 17:184 for
the purpose of assigning grades used in the calculation of the minimum grade point average
required by Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph regardless of whether the school uses a
different grading scale for other purposes. The provisions of this Subparagraph shall apply
to public schools and nonpublic schools approved in accordance with R.S. 17:11.
(2)(a) For a student who graduated prior to the 2002-2003 school year, the minimum
cumulative grade point average shall be calculated by using the grades obtained by the
student in completing all classes taken.
(b) For a student who graduated prior to the 2007-2008 school year, the minimum
cumulative high school grade point average necessary for such student to be eligible for a
Performance Award or Honors Award shall be 3.50 on a 4.00 scale.
(c)(i) For a student who graduated during or after the 2007-2008 school year but
prior to the 2021-2022 school year, the minimum cumulative high school grade point average
necessary for such student to be eligible for an Opportunity Award shall be 2.50 on a 4.00
scale.
(ii) For a student who graduated during or after the 2007-2008 school year but prior
to the 2021-2022 school year, the minimum cumulative high school grade point average
necessary for such student to be eligible for a Performance Award shall be 3.00 on a 4.00
scale.
(iii) For a student who graduated during or after the 2007-2008 school year but prior
to the 2021-2022 school year, the minimum cumulative high school grade point average
necessary for such student to be eligible for an Honors Award shall be 3.00 on a 4.00 scale.
(3)(a) The calculation of the minimum cumulative grade point average specified in
Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall use a five-point scale for grades earned in certain
Advanced Placement courses, International Baccalaureate courses, gifted and talented
courses, honors courses, articulated courses for college credit, and dual enrollment courses
as approved by the Board of Regents and the State Board of Elementary and Secondary
Education, which may result in a student earning a cumulative grade point average that
exceeds 4.00. For such courses, five quality points shall be assigned to a letter grade of "A",
four quality points shall be assigned to a letter grade of "B", three quality points shall be
assigned to a letter grade of "C", two quality points shall be assigned to a letter grade of "D",
and zero quality points shall be assigned to a letter grade of "F".
(b) The provisions of Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph do not apply to students
who graduated prior to the 2017-2018 school year.
B.(1) Except as otherwise provided by this Subsection, a student shall earn the
following minimum test scores for the respective awards:
(a) For an Opportunity Award, a composite score on the 1990 version of the ACT
which is at least equal to or higher than the state's average composite score, truncated to a
whole number, reported for the prior year but never less than twenty or an equivalent
concordant value on an enhanced or revised version of such test, the SAT, or the Classic
Learning Test.
(b) For a Performance Award, a composite score on the 1990 version of the ACT of
twenty-three or higher or an equivalent concordant value on any enhanced or revised version
of such test, the SAT, or the Classic Learning Test.
(c) For an Honors Award, a score of twenty-seven or higher on the 1990 version of
the ACT or an equivalent concordant value on any enhanced or revised version of such test,
the SAT, or the Classic Learning Test.
(d) For a TOPS-Tech Award, a composite score on the specified ACT of seventeen
or higher or an equivalent concordant value on any enhanced or revised version of such test,
the SAT, or the Classic Learning Test. The student may, as an alternative requirement, have
attained a silver level score on the assessments of the ACT WorkKeys system.
(e) For an Excellence Award, a score of thirty-one or higher on the 1990 version of
the ACT or an equivalent concordant value on any enhanced or revised version of such test,
the SAT, or the Classic Learning Test.
(2)(a) For a student who graduated prior to the 2010-2011 school year, the ACT
WorkKeys system is not an alternative assessment for establishing eligibility for a TOPS-Tech Award.
(b) For a student who graduated prior to the 2000-2001 school year, the minimum
ACT score for a TOPS-Tech Award is nineteen.
C. A student who graduated after the 2002-2003 school year but prior to the 2006-2007 school year is eligible to receive a Performance Award pursuant to this Chapter if he
meets the other requirements of this Chapter and each of the following conditions is met:
(1) The student has a composite score on the 1990 version of the ACT of twenty-four
or higher or an equivalent concordant value on any enhanced or revised version of such test
or on the SAT.
(2) The student achieved a minimum cumulative high school grade point average of
3.00 on a 4.00 scale when calculated in accordance with applicable rules adopted by the
administering agency and such calculation is based on ten or more of the grades being grades
for completion of honors curriculum courses, gifted curriculum courses, or advanced
placement courses, or any combination of such courses, and the high school awards grades
for such courses on a 4.0 scale or higher.

Legislative History

Acts 2015, No. 227, §1; Acts 2016, No. 18, §1, eff. May 9, 2016; Acts 2016, No. 388, §1, eff. June 5, 2016; Acts 2017, No. 97, §1; Acts 2020, No. 346, §1; Acts 2025, No. 347, §1; Acts 2025, No. 356, §1, eff. June 20, 2025.