2021 Regular Legislative Session Recap
2021 Legislative Session
| Regents One-Pagers | Legislation Link | Author | Summary |
| K12-to-HIED Data Sharing | HB 711 | Jefferson/Garofalo | This bill balances student data privacy demands with the need for longitudinal data analysis to allow for data-driven decision-making with regard to the educational outcomes of Louisiana’s students. |
| Education-to-Workforce Informational Analysis | HB 459 | Freiberg | Securely sharing data promotes transparency and answers questions about program outcomes; resource allocation; the value of different credentials; gaps between the education and skills of individuals and workforce needs; and equitable access to work-based learning opportunities. |
| Truth in Borrowing | HB 42 | Davis | In an effort to minimize student debt, this bill will provide clear consumer information designed to inform student borrowers of the impact of debt including estimated monthly payments and the accumulated debt if only minimum payments are made. The legislation also includes a required easy-to-read letter updating student borrowers annually of their payoff status. |
| Military Friendly Campus Enhancements | SB 27 | Foil | This bill allows the addition of nationally accepted metrics to eligibility measures for Governor’s Military Friendly Campuses designations. It will also allow active-duty students to benefit from the same course articulation arrangements as veteran students; provide for automatic notice of services available to military students; and require institutions to make processes for the acceptance and transfer of military education, training, experience, or prior academic credit. |
| HBCU Advisory Council Updates | HB 119 | Hughes | This bill will further enrich the work of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Advisory Council by adding HBCU students and Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (LAICU) representation to the Council’s membership. It also includes a provision requiring an annual report to the Legislature. |
| Dual Enrollment Task Force Updates | HB 60 | Brass | This bill provides for continuity of the Dual Enrollment Task Force, Legislatively created in 2019, and seeks to build upon the collaborative work achieved thus far by extending the scope and duration of its efforts. |
| TOPS Edits, Updates | SB 99 | Fields | This bill calls for an ACT deadline extension for 2021 graduates due to COVID-19; a technical change to comply with federal regulations regarding accrediting agencies; allowing a July ACT after high school graduation to be a qualifying score for TOPS eligibility, and providing exceptions to the TOPS requirement that students begin homeschooling before 11th grade. |
| Funds Investment Asset Reallocation Bill Set | HB 142 HB 154 |
Thompson Zeringue |
HB142 will allow for investment in more diverse asset types for The Kevin P. Reilly, Sr. Louisiana Education Quality Trust Fund (LEQTF), Millennium Trust, Millennium Leverage Fund, Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge Trust and Protection Fund, Russell Sage or Marsh Island Refuge Fund, and Medicaid Trust Fund for the Elderly, to increase the likelihood of greater earnings, hence providing additional revenues. HB154 enables a Constitutional Amendment vote in November 2021 for the changes laid out in HB142. |
| MJ Foster Promise Program | SB 148 | Cortez | |
| Executive Budget |