§ 17:5068 — Miscellaneous

§5068. Miscellaneous
A. Each student who initially qualifies for more than one award under the provisions
of this Chapter shall receive the award requiring the most rigorous eligibility criteria.
B. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter to the contrary, any public
or private entity, including any nonprofit organization, may make a directed donation to any
eligible postsecondary institution for a student who is a recipient of a Louisiana Taylor
Opportunity Program for Students award.
C. Annually, the administering agency shall, with the cooperation and assistance of
the state's institutions of postsecondary education, query each first-time recipient of a Taylor
Opportunity Program for Students award to determine the extent to which receiving the
award influenced the decision of the student to attend a Louisiana college or university.
D.(1) Recognizing the success and growth of the Taylor Opportunity Program for
Students and in order to maintain the long-term financial stability of such program, private
businesses, industry, foundations, charities, and other individuals or groups may,
notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, ask the division of administration for
authority to create scholarship programs to make payments to eligible colleges and
universities on behalf of individual students. If the division of administration authorizes a
private scholarship program, scholarship funds received by an eligible college or university
from such private scholarship program on behalf of a student shall cause a reduction in the
dollar amount of any award pursuant to this Chapter associated with that student to an
amount that is equal to the dollar amount that the award would have been if no such private
scholarship funds had been received less the amount of private scholarship funds received
by the eligible college or university.
(2) This Subsection shall in no way be interpreted in such a manner that a student
could receive less benefits from a combination of the award pursuant to this Chapter and the
private scholarship funded on his behalf than he would have received solely from the award
pursuant to this Chapter if there had been no private scholarship funded on his behalf.
Therefore, to the extent that any privately funded scholarship funds provided for in this
Subsection made to an eligible college or university on behalf of a qualified student are for
an amount less than the amount a given student would have otherwise received if no such
private scholarship funds had been paid as an award pursuant to this Chapter, then the
eligible college or university shall receive that difference on behalf of the student as the
student's award from the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students.
(3) As provided in this Subsection, if an eligible college or university receives
privately funded scholarship funds on behalf of a student, the state funds for the Taylor
Opportunity Program for Students shall be reduced by the amount of the private scholarship
program funds so received. A reduction shall not affect the estimated nature of the Taylor
Opportunity Program for Students appropriation as provided in the Act or Acts that contain
such appropriations. The commissioner of administration shall determine and specify the
amount of the reduction from the source of the funds to provide the maximum benefit to the
state from the privately funded scholarship program. The state treasurer shall deposit the
amount of such reduction as specified by the commissioner of administration into the
Overcollections Fund created in R.S. 39:100.21 and credit the deposit to an account within
the fund hereby established and created to be known as the "Program Participation Savings
Account".
E. Notwithstanding any rule by the administering agency to the contrary, no student
who graduates from high school in less than four years and who receives an award under this
Chapter shall be restricted or otherwise delayed as to the date the award may be first used at
an eligible institution due to the student having graduated from high school in less than four
years.

Legislative History

Acts 2015, No. 227, §1; Acts 2017, No. 97, §1.