HB 448 Louisiana House · 2026 Regular Session

STUDENT/LOANS-SCHOLARSHP: Authorizes scholarships provided for firefighters and police officers injured in the line of duty and spouses of firefighters and police officers injured or killed in the line of duty to be used for any postgraduate degree (EN INCREASE GF EX See Note)

HB 448 expands existing scholarship programs to allow firefighters injured in the line of duty (or their spouses if the firefighter was killed or seriously injured resulting in inability to work) to use their benefits for master's degree programs, not just bachelor's degrees. The bill maintains full tuition and fee waivers (including room and board) and a $250-per-semester book stipend for qualifying individuals who maintain a "C" average. Eligibility requires meeting college entrance requirements and academic standards as full-time students. The policy change, funded by Louisiana's general state fund, applies to both injured firefighters and their spouses directly affected by on-duty injuries or fatalities.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

House Passage

Apr 2026

Senate Passage

May 2026

Signed into Law

Jun 2026

Introduced Feb 26, 2026 Signed Jun 1, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB448 Original → HB448 Act 646 · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill expands scholarship benefits for firefighters and police officers injured in the line of duty. It allows both the injured officers and their spouses to use the funds for a master's degree, whereas the previous law only permitted this for spouses. Additionally, the bill extends the duration of the scholarship to cover any bachelor's, master's, doctoral, or other postgraduate degree, rather than limiting it to just a bachelor's or master's degree.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include injured police officers as direct recipients of the scholarship (previously only their spouses qualified) and extended the educational level covered from a bachelor's or master's degree to include doctoral and other postgraduate degrees for all eligible recipients.

SCOPE

Added eligibility for injured police officers to receive the scholarship directly, whereas previously only their spouses were eligible.

ELIGIBILITY

Extended the scholarship duration to cover one bachelor's, master's, doctoral, or other postgraduate degree, replacing the previous limit of one bachelor's or master's degree.

Expanded the scholarship for spouses to include master's degrees, whereas the original text implied a limit to a bachelor's degree.

Floor votes · Senate May 25, 2026 · House Apr 8, 2026

How they voted

39–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 40

May 25, 2026

D Democratic12

11 Yea 1

91% Yea

R Republican28

28 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

Rules suspended. Read by title, passed by a vote of 38 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.

upper

May 19, 2026

Committee

Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.

upper

May 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported favorably.

upper

Apr 8, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 96, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.

lower

Mar 31, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported with amendments (11-0).

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Committee

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

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Committee

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

lower

1 primary · 8 co-sponsors