HB 385 Louisiana House · 2026 Regular Session

TOPS: Provides, under specified circumstances, for repayment of a Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) award (EG INCREASE GF EX See Note)

HB 385 requires Louisiana TOPS scholarship recipients to repay awarded funds if their eligibility is suspended or canceled due to failing to meet program requirements. It mandates the Board of Regents to create rules for repayment collection and specify exceptions, such as parental leave, disability rehabilitation, military service, or natural disasters. The law applies to students graduating high school in the 2025-2026 school year or later. This policy directly affects current and future TOPS recipients who lose eligibility, changing how repayment obligations are handled under the program.

Issues: ✓ Veterans

Bill status in committee 2 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

House Failed

Apr 2026

Governor

Introduced Feb 25, 2026 Last action Apr 21, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HB385 Original → HB385 Engrossed · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended to clarify that students initially qualifying for Honors or Excellence awards are exempt from repayment requirements. It also added a specific exemption for students enrolling in high-wage, high-demand programs under the Board of Supervisors of Community and Technical Colleges. The list of other exempt circumstances was expanded to include 'exceptional circumstances in addition to the proposed law exceptions,' allowing the administering agency to define further exceptions beyond the original list.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded to explicitly include students in specific high-demand community college programs and to allow for additional exceptional circumstances beyond the original list.

ELIGIBILITY

Added an explicit exemption for students who initially qualified for an Honors or Excellence award from the repayment requirement.

Created a new exemption for students enrolling in high-wage, high-demand programs managed by the Board of Supervisors of Community and Technical Colleges.

REQUIREMENT

Modified the list of exempt circumstances to allow for 'exceptional circumstances in addition to the proposed law exceptions,' giving the administering agency more flexibility to define new exemptions.

Floor votes · House Apr 21, 2026

How they voted

34–65

Failed · 6 other

Total votes 105

Apr 21, 2026

D Democratic33

31 Nay 2

93% Nay

R Republican72

34 Yea 34 Nay 4

47% Nay

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 21, 2026

Introduced

Read by title, amended, returned to the calendar.

lower

Apr 21, 2026

Vote failed

House Vote: fail (34-65-6)

house

Apr 14, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported with amendments (6-5).

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Committee

Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Education.

lower

Feb 25, 2026

Committee

Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Education.

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors