The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Louisiana House Bill 385 Requires Certain Students to Repay Suspended or Canceled TOPS Awards
Last action · April 21, 2026: Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 38, nays 62. Failed to pass.Sponsor: Dennis Bamburg
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Proposed
Louisiana House Bill 385 requires students whose awards are suspended or canceled for failing to maintain eligibility to repay the funds paid on their behalf, starting with high school graduates of the 2025-2026 school year. The measure directs the to establish collection rules and outlines specific exemptions, including students who initially qualified for Honors or Excellence awards or those who transfer to qualifying community and technical college programs.
Students who lose their TOPS eligibility outside of statutory exemptions face direct financial liability to repay state scholarship funds previously disbursed to their colleges, alongside any assessed interest.
- The Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) is Louisiana's merit-based scholarship program providing tuition assistance to residents attending eligible in-state postsecondary institutions. context
- House Bill 385 failed to pass on final passage in the House during the 2026 Regular Session after a roll call vote. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Taylor Opportunity Program for Students award recipients
Students whose awards are suspended or canceled are subject to mandatory repayment requirements and interest collection unless they qualify for an exemption.
Board of Regents
The agency is required to promulgate rules to implement repayment, collection methods, interest, and exception definitions.
Key Facts
- Students must repay award amounts paid to a postsecondary education institution on their behalf if their TOPS award is suspended or canceled for failing to maintain eligibility requirements under R.S. 17:5041 and 5042.
- Students who initially qualified for an Honors or Excellence award are exempt from the repayment requirement.
- Students who enroll during or immediately following the semester of suspension or cancellation in a high-wage, high-demand qualified program at an institution under the Board of Supervisors of Community and Technical Colleges are exempt.
- The administering agency must promulgate rules for collecting amounts owed and interest on unpaid amounts.
Show all 6 facts
- The rules must include exceptions for circumstances such as parental leave, physical rehabilitation, substance abuse rehabilitation, temporary or permanent disability, exceptional educational opportunity, religious commitment, death of immediate family, military service, transfer to a selective enrollment program, course unavailability, natural disaster, and exceptional circumstances.
- The repayment requirement applies to students who graduate from high school during or after the 2025-2026 school year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is required to repay their TOPS award under this bill?
Are there any exemptions from the repayment requirement?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · passed the House.
Procedural history
10 actions- Apr 21, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, amended, returned to the calendar.
- Apr 21, 2026HouseCalled from the calendar.
- Apr 21, 2026HouseFloorRead third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 38, nays 62. Failed to pass.
- Apr 20, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 04/21/2026.
- Apr 15, 2026HouseFloorRead by title, amended, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
- Apr 14, 2026HouseReported with amendments (6-5).
Show 4 earlier actions
- Mar 9, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Education.
- Feb 27, 2026HouseFirst appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/27/2026.
- Feb 25, 2026HousePrefiled.
- Feb 25, 2026HouseCommitteeUnder the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Education.
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Introduction of Mandatory Scholarship Repayment
The bill transitions the TOPS program from a non-repayable grant structure upon eligibility loss to a mandatory repayment model subject to rule-based exemptions.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.la.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy75Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools