§ 17:5102 — Continuing eligibility for program awards; students displaced by certain natural

§5102. Continuing eligibility for program awards; students displaced by certain natural
disasters; waivers and exceptions; limitations
A.(1) The legislature finds that due to the effects of natural disasters declared by the
governor on August 26, 2005, relative to Hurricane Katrina, and on September 20, 2005,
relative to Hurricane Rita, it is in the best interest for the education of the people of the state
that continuing eligibility requirements established in Part I of this Chapter for awards
pursuant to the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students be modified as provided by this
Section for the 2005-2006 academic year for students displaced as a result of either, or both,
of the disasters.
(2) For the purposes of this Section, the phrase "a student displaced as a result of
either, or both, of the disasters", hereinafter referred to in this Section as a "displaced
student", shall mean a person who meets any of the following conditions:
(a) The person, on August 26, 2005, was eligible for or had a program award and had
a home of record in Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Tammany,
Tangipahoa, or Washington Parish.
(b) The person, on September 20, 2005, was eligible for or had a program award and
had a home of record in Acadia, Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia, Jefferson
Davis, St. Mary, Terrebonne, or Vermilion Parish.
(c) The person, on August 26, 2005, was eligible for or had a program award and was
enrolled in an eligible Louisiana institution listed below:
(i) Delgado Community College
(ii) Dillard University
(iii) Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center at New Orleans
(iv) Louisiana Technical College: Jefferson, Sidney N. Collier, Slidell, Sullivan, and
West Jefferson campuses
(v) Loyola University
(vi) New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
(vii) Nunez Community College
(viii) Our Lady of Holy Cross College
(ix) St. Joseph Seminary College
(x) Southern University at New Orleans
(xi) Tulane University
(xii) University of New Orleans
(xiii) Xavier University
(d) The person, on September 20, 2005, was eligible for or had a program award and
was enrolled in McNeese State University or Sowela Technical Community College.
(3) For the purposes of Subparagraphs (2)(a) and (b) of this Subsection, "home of
record" for a dependent student shall mean the domiciliary address of the student's parent or
court-ordered custodian and for an independent student shall mean the domiciliary address
of such student.
B.(1) Relative to continuing eligibility requirements for a Taylor Opportunity
Program for Students award applicable for the 2005-2006 academic year to a student
displaced during the 2005-2006 academic year, the administering agency, in accordance with
the Administrative Procedure Act, shall provide by rule as follows:
(a)(i) The provisions of R.S. 17:5043 permitting a student qualified for a program
award who enrolls as a first-time freshman in an eligible out-of-state college or university
to subsequently use the award at an eligible Louisiana college or university shall apply to a
displaced student except that the time period of award eligibility shall not be reduced due to
the student's attendance at an eligible out-of-state institution during the 2005-2006 academic
year.
(ii) Relative to a displaced student having a suspended program award due to the
student not meeting a requirement relative to having a specified grade point average or
making steady academic progress, the respective time periods provided in Part I of this
Chapter for the student to meet such requirement or lose program eligibility shall be
extended on a one-for-one basis for each semester or other term in which the student does
not enroll on a full-time basis in an eligible college or university during the 2005-2006
academic year.
(iii) The program award for a displaced student shall not be canceled if the student
enrolls during the 2005-2006 academic year in an eligible out-of-state institution subsequent
to use of a program award at an eligible Louisiana college or university. Additionally, the
periods of time provided in Part I of this Chapter for use by eligible recipients of program
awards shall not be reduced for those semesters or terms such displaced student was enrolled
in an eligible out-of-state institution during the 2005-2006 academic year and the unused
period of time shall remain available to the displaced student for use at an eligible Louisiana
college or university.
(iv) In addition to the provisions of Part I of this Chapter permitting a recipient to
use a TOPS-Tech Award at an eligible Louisiana college or university to pursue skill or
occupational training, as defined by the administering agency, including a vocational or
technical education certificate or diploma program or a nonacademic degree, a TOPS-Tech
Award also may be used during the 2005-2006 academic year by a displaced student to enroll
on a full-time basis at an eligible Louisiana college or university granting academic
undergraduate degrees to take courses that contribute to the pursuit of a skill or occupation.
In such case, the award amount paid by the state on behalf of the student shall be at the
Opportunity Award level.
(2)(a)(i) Relative to continuing eligibility requirements for a Taylor Opportunity
Program for Students award applicable for the 2005-2006 academic year to a student
displaced during the 2005-2006 academic year, the administering agency, in consultation
with the commissioner of higher education and in accordance with the Administrative
Procedure Act, shall by rule waive any provision of Part I of this Chapter that imposes on a
displaced student a program requirement or condition that such student cannot comply with
or meet when it is determined by the administering agency that a failure to comply with the
requirement or meet the condition, more likely than not, is due solely to a consequence of
Hurricane Katrina or Rita, or both.
(ii) Relative to continuing eligibility requirements for a Taylor Opportunity Program
for Students award applicable for the 2005-2006 academic year to any student displaced
during the 2005-2006 academic year as a consequence of a disaster or emergency other than
Hurricane Katrina or Rita and for which the governor declares a state of emergency to exist,
the administering agency, in consultation with the commissioner of higher education and in
accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, shall by rule waive any provision of Part
I of this Chapter that imposes on such student a program requirement or condition that the
student cannot comply with or meet when it is determined by the administering agency that
a failure to comply with the requirement or meet the condition, more likely than not, is due
solely to a consequence of the declared disaster or emergency.
(b) In addition to provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act relative to
oversight by the legislature of the adoption of administering agency rules, the Joint
Legislative Committee on the Budget, in accordance with procedures and threshold amounts
established by the committee, shall have oversight and approval authority over any rule
proposed for adoption pursuant to the provisions of this Paragraph that has a significant
program or other cost, or both, to the state.
C. The administering agency shall take all administrative action necessary to
expedite full implementation of the provisions of this Section. The administering agency
also shall disseminate information to displaced students and others regarding program
changes pursuant to the provisions of this Section in the most timely manner possible.

Legislative History

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