BATON ROUGE (AP) — The criteria to get an upper-tier TOPS college tuition award that comes with a stipend would be toughened in five years under a bill heading to the governor.
Each level of TOPS award requires a minimum score on the ACT college entrance exam and a minimum grade-point average in high school.
To get the higher level awards — called the Performance Award and Honors Award — that come with a stipend, students currently have to get a minimum grade-point average of 3.0, above the 2.5 required for basic TOPS award.
The bill by Sen. Dan Claitor, R-Baton Rouge, would raise the GPA requirement to 3.25 for a TOPS Performance Award, which comes with an annual stipend of $400, and 3.5 for a TOPS Honors Award, which comes with an annual stipend of $800.
The change would begin for high school students who graduate in the 2020-21 school year.
The minimum ACT score would remain 23 for the Performance Award and 27 for the Honors Award.
The Senate gave final passage to the measure with a 32-5 vote Wednesday. A day earlier, the House approved it with a 66-29 vote. It moves next to Gov. John Bel Edwards.
For more information about Senate Bill 329 click here.
