TITLE 17. EDUCATION

CHAPTER 20-B-3. LOUISIANA HONORS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

17:3042.32     Louisiana Honors Scholarship Program; creation; definitions; scholarship amounts and duration; limitations; exceptions

A. The Louisiana Honors Scholarship Program is hereby created.

B. (1) Subject to the appropriation of funds for this purpose and to the extent that such funds are provided, all students meeting the minimum academic requirements specified in Section 3042.34(A), and who are in the top five percent of the graduating class in each public and state-approved nonpublic high school and students enrolled in a state-approved home study program who score in the upper five percent in the state on the National Merit Examination shall be awarded a scholarship as provided by this Chapter. In calculating the number of award winners, any fraction shall be rounded up to the next whole number.

(2)(a) Each scholarship shall be redeemable by the recipient at the Louisiana public or independent college or university or public post-secondary technical institute attended for the total cost of tuition of the public institution or, if attending an independent institution, for an amount equal to the highest tuition charged at a Louisiana public college or university or the actual tuition of the independent institution, whichever is less. Tuition shall not include any fees charged by the college or university or public post-secondary technical institute that are in addition to the basic course enrollment charge.

(b) For the purposes of this Chapter, "independent college or university" means any regionally accredited member institution of the Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

(3)(a) For attendance at a public or independent college or university, the scholarship shall cover the cost of tuition, as provided in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, for full-time attendance for not more than a total of ten semesters or, if applicable, fifteen quarters within a period of not more than seven years from the month following the month in which the scholarship recipient graduates from high school. Tuition for attendance at any summer session shall be included in the scholarship; however, each such summer session shall be counted as a full semester or quarter.

(b) For the purposes of this Chapter, "full-time attendance" at a public or independent college or university means registering for not less than twelve semester hours per semester or eight semester hours per quarter or six semester hours per summer session or the minimum number of hours required by the institution for full-time standing in a specified course of study or the required number of hours needed to complete the undergraduate program during that term.

(c) For attendance at a public post-secondary technical institute, the scholarship shall cover the cost of tuition, as provided in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, for full-time attendance. The limitation on the duration of the scholarship for attendance at a public post-secondary technical institute and the definition of full-time attendance at such an institute shall be established by rule of the administering agency, but shall be comparable to the time periods and definitions established by this Chapter for attendance at a public or independent college or university.

C. Except as specified herein, this Chapter shall not be construed to affect in any way the T.H. Harris Scholarship Program or any other publicly funded scholarship or financial assistance program.

D. A scholarship awarded pursuant to this Chapter shall be applied to cover the cost of tuition except when the recipient of the scholarship is also a beneficiary of a Louisiana Student Tuition Assistance and Revenue Trust Program account as provided in R.S. 17:3091 through 3099.2. The scholarship may be combined with a disbursement from a Louisiana Student Tuition Assistance and Revenue Trust Program account to pay the student's tuition, and any portion of the scholarship which is offset by such a disbursement shall then be expended in payment of current year educational expenses as defined by the administering agency and billed to the student by the institution. Any remaining balance of the scholarship award may then be expended by the student in payment of room and board.

Added by Acts 1992, No. 1085, §1, eff. July 14, 1992. Amended by Acts 1993, No. 255, §1, eff. June 2, 1993; Acts 1995, No. 714, §1; Acts 1997, No. 307, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1283, §1 eff. July 15, 1997.