La. Admin. Code tit. 28 § IV-803

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section IV-803 - Establishing Eligibility

A. To establish eligibility for the TOPS-Tech Award, the student applicant must meet the following criteria:

1. be a United States citizen or an eligible noncitizen as defined in §301;

2. be a resident of Louisiana, as defined in §301; and

3. submit the completed initial free application for federal student aid (FAFSA) or on-line application in accordance with §501 by the applicable state aid deadline in accordance with the applicable requirements of §501 or §505; and

4. initially apply and enroll as a first-time student as defined in §301, unless granted an exception for cause by the board, in an eligible post-secondary college or university defined in §301; and

a. if graduating from an eligible Louisiana or an eligible non-Louisiana high school or from an eligible out of country high school, enroll not later than the semester or term, excluding summer semesters or sessions, immediately following the first anniversary of the date that the student graduated from high school; or

b. if the student joins the United States Armed Forces within one year after graduating from an eligible Louisiana or an eligible non-Louisiana high school or from an eligible out of country high school, enroll not later than the semester, quarter or term excluding summer semesters or sessions, immediately following the one-year anniversary of the student's separation from active-duty service, including all consecutive periods of reenlistment. Reenlistment at any time during the students first enlistment shall be considered to be on or prior to the fifth anniversary of the date that the student graduated from high school; or

c. if the student is eligible under the provisions of §803.A.5 d, enroll not later than the semester or term, excluding summer semesters or sessions, immediately following the first anniversary of the date the student completed the home study program, which is deemed to be May 31; or

d. if the student is eligible under the provisions of §803.A.5.d and has joined and is on active duty with the United States Armed Forces within one year of the date the student completed the home study program, which is deemed to be May 31, enroll not later than the semester, quarter or term, excluding summer semesters or sessions, immediately following the one-year anniversary of the student's separation from active-duty service, including all consecutive periods of reenlistment. Reenlistment at any time during the students first enlistment shall be considered to be on or prior to the fifth anniversary of the date that the student graduated from high school; and

5. graduate from:

a. an eligible public or nonpublic high school or non-Louisiana high school defined in §1701.A.1 and 3; or

b. an out-of-state high school defined in §1701.A 4; or

c. an out of country high school defined in §1701.A 5; or

i. successfully complete at the 12th grade level a home study program approved by BESE; or

ii. if ever was enrolled in a Louisiana public or nonpublic school approved by BESE, successfully completed at least the 11th and 12th grade levels of a home study program approved by BESE; and

iii. if having previously attended an eligible high school defined in §1701.A 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, has provided the board with certification by the previously attended high school that said student was in good standing at the time the student last attended such school;

6. if qualifying under the terms of §803.A.5 a, at the time of high school graduation:

a. have successfully completed one of the following core curriculums:

i. high school course work constituting the TOPS core curriculum for the Opportunity, Performance and Honors Awards as defined in §704 and documented on the student's official transcript as approved by the Louisiana Department of Education;

ii. high school course work documented on the student's official transcript as approved by the Louisiana Department of Education constituting the TOPS-Tech core curriculum for the applicable year as set forth in §804

c. for students in graduating classes prior to 2004, core units may be waived upon sworn affidavit by the principal or headmaster or authorized designee that the course was not available to the student at the school attended;

7. have achieved an ACT score, as defined in §301, of at least:

a. if qualifying under §803.A.5 a, an ACT composite score of at least 17 or beginning with the 2010-2011 academic year, or in the alternative, have attained a silver level score on the assessments of the ACT WorkKeys system; or

i. if qualifying under §803.A.5.b or c and is a Louisiana resident, except as defined in Subparagraph h of the definition of Louisiana resident in §301, an ACT composite of at least 20; or

ii. if qualifying under §803.A.5.b is a Louisiana resident as defined in Subparagraph h of the definition of Louisiana resident in §301, an ACT composite of at least 19; and

c. if qualifying under §803.A.5.d and successfully completing the 12th grade level a home study program approved by BESE during or before the academic year (high school) 2003-2004 or during or after the academic year (high school) 2008-2009, an ACT composite of at least 20; and

d. if qualifying under §803.A.5.d and successfully completing the 12th grade level a home study program approved by BESE during or after the academic year (high school) 2004-2005 or during the academic year (high school) 2007-2008, an ACT composite of at least 19; and

8. if qualifying under §803.A.5 a, have attained a cumulative high school grade point average, based on a 4.00 maximum scale, of at least 2.50; and

9. not have a criminal conviction, except for misdemeanor traffic violations, and if the student has been in the United States Armed Forces and has separated from such service, has received an honorable discharge or general discharge under honorable conditions; and

10. agree that awards will be used exclusively for educational expenses.

B. 2005 Natural Disaster Initial Eligibility Requirements

1. To establish eligibility for a TOPS Tech Award, a displaced student graduating from high school or completing a BESE approved home study program at the 12th grade level during the 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008, and 2008-2009 academic years (high school) must meet all of the requirements of §803.A above, except as follows.

a. A displaced student who has been certified by the principal or headmaster to have graduated during the 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008, and 2008-2009 school years from an out-of-state high school that meets the criteria of an eligible out-of-state high school as provided in §1701.A.4 shall not be required to have a higher minimum composite score on the ACT or on the scholastic aptitude test than required for a student who graduates from an eligible Louisiana high school provided such student has a cumulative high school grade point average on all courses on the high school transcript of at least 2.50 calculated on a 4.00 scale.

b. The requirement that a student who graduates from an eligible Louisiana high school during the 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008, and 2008-2009 school years must have successfully completed the applicable core curriculum shall be waived for a displaced student based upon a sworn affidavit by the student's high school principal or headmaster or authorized designee that failure to comply with such requirement is due solely to the fact that the required course or courses were not available to the student at the school attended.

c. A displaced student shall be deemed to meet the Louisiana residency requirement if:

i. such dependent or independent student actually resided in Louisiana during the entire 2004-2005 academic year (high school) and was enrolled for such time in an eligible Louisiana high school and graduated from high school during the 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008, or 2008-2009 academic year (high school); or

ii. such dependent student has a parent or court-ordered custodian who actually resided in a parish listed in §803.B.2.a below for at least the 12 months prior to August 26, 2005, or in a parish listed in §803.B.2.b below for at least the 12 months prior to September 20, 2005.

d. A dependent student who graduated from an eligible out-of-state high school shall be deemed to meet the Louisiana residency requirement if his parent or court-ordered custodian was displaced as a resident from a parish listed:

i. in §803.B.2.a below due to Hurricane Katrina and such parent or court-ordered custodian actually resided in Louisiana for at least the 12 months prior to August 26, 2005; or

ii. in §803.B.2.b below due to Hurricane Rita and such parent or court-ordered custodian actually resided in Louisiana for at least the 12 months prior to September 20, 2005.

e. A displaced student who during the 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008, and 2008-2009 academic years (high school) successfully completes at the 12th grade level a home study program approved by BESE shall not be required to have also completed the 11th grade level of an approved home study course.

2. For the purposes of this Subsection, displaced student shall mean:

a. a student who on August 26, 2005, was actually residing in Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, or Washington Parish and:

i. was enrolled in an eligible Louisiana high school as provided in §2 and 3; or

ii. was enrolled in a home study program approved by BESE; or

b. a student who on September 20, 2005, was actually residing in Acadia, Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia, Jefferson Davis, St. Mary, Terrebonne, or Vermilion Parish and:

i. was enrolled in an eligible Louisiana high school as provided in §1701.A 1, 2 and 3; or

ii. was enrolled in a home study program approved by BESE.

3. To establish eligibility for a TOPS Tech Award, a displaced student graduating from an eligible Louisiana high school or completing a BESE approved home study program at the 12th grade level during the 2006-2007 academic year (high school) must meet all of the requirements of §803.A above, except as follows.

a. The requirement that a student who graduates from an eligible Louisiana high school during the 2006-2007 school year must have successfully completed the applicable core curriculum shall be waived for a displaced student based upon a sworn affidavit by the student's high school principal or headmaster or authorized designee that failure to comply with such requirement is due solely to the fact that the required course or courses were not available to the student at the school attended.

b. A displaced student shall be deemed to meet the Louisiana residency requirement if:

i. such dependent or independent student actually resided in Louisiana during his entire 10th grade year of high school and was enrolled for such time in an eligible Louisiana high school; or

ii. such dependent student has a parent or court-ordered custodian who actually resided in a parish listed in §803.B.2.a above for at least the 12 months prior to August 26, 2005, or in a parish listed in §803.B.2.b above for at least the 12 months prior to September 20, 2005.

4. To establish eligibility for a TOPS Tech Award, a displaced student who has been certified by the principal or headmaster to have graduated during the 2006-2007 school year from an out-of-state high school that meets the criteria of an eligible out-of-state high school as provided in §1701.A 4 and 5 and receives a Louisiana distance diploma from the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education must meet all of the requirements of §703.A -I.8 above, except as follows.

a. A displaced student shall not be required to have for the respective awards a higher minimum composite score on the ACT or on the scholastic aptitude test than required for a student who graduates from an eligible Louisiana high school provided such student has a cumulative high school grade point average on all courses on the high school transcript of at least 2.50 calculated on a 4.00 scale.

b. A displaced student shall be deemed to meet the Louisiana residency requirement if:

i. such dependent or independent student actually resided in Louisiana during his entire 10th grade year of high school and was enrolled for such time in an eligible Louisiana high school; or

ii. such dependent student has a parent or court-ordered custodian who actually resided in a parish listed in §703.J.2.a above for at least the 12 months prior to August 26, 2005, or in a parish listed in §703.J.2.b above for at least the 12 months prior to September 20, 2005.

C. Public Health Emergency Initial Eligibility Requirements

1. An affected student shall not be required to meet the home study requirements set forth in §803.A.5.d.i -iii. if it is determined by the administering agency that the student's failure to meet the requirements was, more likely than not, due solely to consequences of measures taken to mitigate the public health emergency.

2. An affected student who was pursuing the JumpStart core curriculum set forth in §803.A.6.a ii. will not be required to complete any JumpStart course, experience, or credential that was waived by the student's high school for high school graduation purposes.

3. For purposes of this Subsection, an affected student is a student who:

a. was enrolled in a Louisiana public high school during the 2019-2020 academic year (high school);

b. was enrolled in a nonpublic high school in Louisiana having the approval by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education required by Part I of this Chapter for program eligibility purposes during the 2019-2020 academic year (high school);

c. resided in the state of Louisiana and was enrolled in a home study program approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education during the 2019-2020 academic year (high school); or

d. resided out of state during the 2019-2020 academic year but who is able to meet the residency requirements to qualify for an award as provided for in §803.A 2

D. Military Veterans Initial Eligibility Requirements

1. Effective for the 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023 academic years, a veteran may qualify for a TOPS Tech Award in accordance with the provisions of this Subsection.

2. To qualify for an award under the provisions of this subsection, a veteran must:

a. submit a copy of his DD-214 evidencing that:

i. he was honorably discharged from a military installation in Louisiana;

ii. he served in a branch of the United States Armed Forces for a period of at least 3 years;

b. be a citizen of the United States;

c. have established domicile in Louisiana within one year of discharge from active duty, provided that such domicile was established on or after January 1, 2020;

e. submit a copy of his standardized test score(s) evidencing the following was achieved prior to high school graduation:

i. 17 on the ACT; or

ii. the equivalent concordant value to an ACT score of 17 on the SAT; or

iii. the Silver level score on the assessments of the ACT WorkKeys system;

f. have filed a free application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) no more than one year subsequent to discharge from active duty;

g. have enrolled full time in an eligible program of study no later than one year after notification of eligibility for a TOPS Tech Award under the provisions of this Subsection;

h. have no criminal conviction other than misdemeanor traffic violations.

E. 2020 Natural Disaster Initial Eligibility Requirements

1. To establish eligibility for a TOPS Tech Award, a displaced student graduating from high school or completing a BESE approved home study program at the 12th grade level during the 2020-2021 academic year (high school) must meet all of the requirements of §803 A, except as follows.

a. A displaced student who has been certified by the principal or headmaster to have graduated during the 20202021 academic year (high school) from an out-of-state high school that meets the criteria of an eligible out-of-state high school as provided in §1701.A.4 shall not be required to have for the respective awards a higher minimum composite score on the ACT or on the scholastic aptitude test than required for a student who graduates from an eligible Louisiana high school.

b. The requirement that a student who graduates from an eligible Louisiana high school during the 2020-2021 academic year (high school) must have successfully completed the applicable core curriculum shall be waived for a displaced student based upon a sworn affidavit by the student's high school principal or headmaster or authorized designee that failure to comply with such requirement is due solely to the fact that the required course or courses were not available to the student at the school attended.

c. A displaced student shall be deemed to meet the Louisiana residency requirement if:

i. such dependent or independent student actually resided in Louisiana during the entire 2019-2020 academic year (high school) and was enrolled for such time in an eligible Louisiana high school and graduated from high school during 2020-2021 academic year (high school); or

ii. such dependent student has a parent or court-ordered custodian who actually resided in a parish listed in §803.E.2.a below for at least the 12 months prior to August 26, 2020, or in a parish listed in §803.E.2.b below for at least the 12 months prior to October 8, 2020, or in parish listed in §803.E.2.c for at least the 12 months prior to October 26, 2020.

i. in §803.E.2.a below due to Hurricane Laura and such parent or court-ordered custodian actually resided in Louisiana for at least the 12 months prior to August 26, 2020; or

ii. in §803.E.2.b below due to Hurricane Delta and such parent or court-ordered custodian actually resided in Louisiana for at least the 12 months prior to October 8, 2020.

iii. in §803.E.2.c below due to Hurricane Zeta and such parent or court-ordered custodian actually resided in Louisiana for at least the 12 months prior to October 26, 2020

e. A displaced student who during the 2020-2021 academic year (high school) successfully completes at the 12th grade level a home study program approved by BESE shall not be required to have also completed the 11th grade level of an approved home study program.

2. For the purposes of this Subsection, displaced student means:

a. a student who on August 26, 2020, was actually residing in Acadia, Allen, Beauregard, Caddo, Calcasieu, Cameron, Grant, Jackson, Jefferson Davis, Lasalle, Lincoln, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Ouachita, Rapides, Sabine, St. Landry, Union, Vermilion, Vernon, or Winn Parish, and:

i. was enrolled in an eligible Louisiana high school as provided in §1701.A.1 and 3; or

ii. was enrolled in a home study program approved by BESE; or

b. a student who on October 8, 2020, was actually residing in Acadia, Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Iberia, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Rapides, St. Landry, St. Martin, or Vermilion Parish, and:

i. was enrolled in an eligible Louisiana high school as provided in §1701.A.1 and 3; or

ii. was enrolled in a home study program approved by BESE.

c. a student who on October 26, 2020, was actually residing in Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, or Terrebonne Parish, and:

i. was enrolled in an eligible Louisiana high school as provided in §2 and 3; or

ii. was enrolled in a home study program approved by BESE.

F. 2021 Natural Disaster Initial Eligibility Requirements

1. To establish eligibility for a TOPS Tech Award, a displaced student graduating from high school or completing a BESE approved home study program at the 12th grade level during the 2021-2022 academic year (high school) must meet all of the requirements of §803 A, except as follows.

a. A displaced student who has been certified by the principal or headmaster to have graduated during the 20212022 academic year (high school) from an out-of-state high school that meets the criteria of an eligible out-of-state high school as provided in §1701.A.4 shall not be required to have for the respective awards a higher minimum composite score on the ACT or on the scholastic aptitude test than required for a student who graduates from an eligible Louisiana high school.

b. The requirement that a student who graduates from an eligible Louisiana high school during the 2021-2022 academic year (high school) must have successfully completed the applicable core curriculum shall be waived for a displaced student based upon a sworn affidavit by the student's high school principal or headmaster or authorized designee that failure to comply with such requirement is due solely to the fact that the required course or courses were not available to the student at the school attended.

c. A displaced student shall be deemed to meet the Louisiana residency requirement if:

i. such dependent or independent student actually resided in Louisiana during the entire 2020-2021 academic year (high school) and was enrolled for such time in an eligible Louisiana high school and graduated from high school during 2021-2022 academic year (high school); or

ii. such dependent student has a parent or court-ordered custodian who actually resided in a parish listed in §803.F.2 for at least the 12 months prior to August 27, 2021.

e. A displaced student who during the 2021-2022 academic year (high school) successfully completes at the 12th grade level a home study program approved by BESE shall not be required to have also completed the 11th grade level of an approved home study program.

2. For the purposes of this Subsection, displaced student means a student who on August 27, 2021, was actually residing in Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Plaquemines, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, Tangipahoa, or Terrebonne Parish, and:

i. was enrolled in an eligible Louisiana high school as provided in §1701.A.1 and 3; or

ii. was enrolled in a home study program approved by BESE.

La. Admin. Code tit. 28, § IV-803

Promulgated by the Student Financial Assistance Commission, Office of Student Financial Assistance, LR 24:1904 (October 1998), amended LR 24:2237 (December 1998), LR 25:1795 (October 1999), LR 26:65 and 67 (January 2000), LR 26:1602 (August 2000), LR 26:1997 (September 2000), LR 26:2269 (October 2000), LR 26:2754 (December 2000), LR 27:36 (January 2001), LR 27:1220 (August 2001), repromulgated LR 27:1854 (November 2001), amended LR 28:447 (March 2002), LR 28:773 (April 2002), LR 28:2330 (November 2002), LR 29:554 (April 2003), LR 30:1164 (June 2004), LR 30:2019 (September 2004), LR 31:39 (January 2005), LR 31:3114 (December 2005), LR 33:437 (March 2007), LR 33:2614 (December 2007), LR 35:230 (February 2009), LR 36:491 (March 2010), LR 36:2270 (October 2010), LR 36:2856 (December 2010), LR 38:3159 (December 2012), LR 41:654 (April 2015), LR 41:2597 (December 2015), LR 42:48 (January 2016), amended by the Board of Regents, Office of Student Financial Assistance, LR 44:523 (March 2018), amended LR 44:1874 (October 2018), LR 45:1172 (September 2019), Amended, LR 46, Amended LR 4740 (1/1/2021), Amended LR 47, Amended LR 47866 (7/1/2021), Amended LR 4951 (1/1/2023), Amended LR 50205 (2/1/2024).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 17:3021-3025, R.S. 17:3042.1, and R.S. 17:3048.1.