House panel backs TOPS 'Excellence' award covering tuition and fees for highest‑scoring students

The House Committee on Appropriations advanced House Bill 77, an amendment to the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) that creates a new TOPS Excellence award for high‑scoring students.

Supporters say the Excellence award would cover tuition and required fees at any Louisiana public university for students who score a 31 or higher on the ACT and maintain a 3.5 grade‑point average. “If you score a 31 on your ACT and have a 3.5 GPA, basically all your tuition at any public university will be covered through TOPS,” Representative Turner said during the committee hearing.

Committee members and staff described the proposal as a targeted change, not a full overhaul of TOPS. The bill’s original “physical note” estimating the fiscal impact was described in committee testimony as about $57 million; after stripping other program changes and creating a single Excellence award the sponsor said the net new cost would be roughly $12 million and would be drawn from unused TOPS funds from the prior year. “We’re utilizing existing dollars already in the state’s budget,” committee staff told members.

Director testimony and committee discussion focused on the program’s intent to retain high‑achieving Louisiana students who otherwise would enroll out of state. Staff estimated the Excellence tier would apply to about 3,373 students; witnesses told the committee that acceptance of TOPS among honors students had dropped from roughly 84% to 73% over a decade, a trend the sponsor said the amendment aims to reverse. The committee also approved language adding provisions from a separate bill to expand TOPS Tech awards for the state technical college system.

Public testimony included a first‑generation student leader who credited TOPS with enabling her to stay in Louisiana for college. “That kind of support changed everything for me,” Onyeka Winzipu, student government president at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, told the committee.

The committee adopted the amendments and reported House Bill 77 favorably with amendments; the paper record shows the measure advanced “without objection.” Committee discussion noted that the Excellence award would not cover student housing and that the amendment targets tuition and fees only. Sponsors said questions about eligibility windows and second‑chance policies for students who lose eligibility would be matters for the Taylor Foundation and future rulemaking.

The bill proceeds to the full House. Committee supporters asked colleagues to keep the measure’s funding tied to existing TOPS budgeting and to pursue technical refinements on the floor if needed.