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House panel backs study to measure TOPS scholarship return on investment
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Summary
The House Education Committee voted to report HR 17, directing a multi-agency study pairing decades of higher-education and workforce data to assess TOPS recipients’ career outcomes, earnings, migration and alignment with high‑demand jobs; amendments added data sources and accelerated the report date.
The House Education Committee on April 14 voted to report HR 17, a resolution directing the Board of Regents, Louisiana Works and the Department of Economic Development to study the return on investment from the state’s TOPS scholarship program.
The resolution, introduced by Representative Turner and described by supporters as a long-needed ROI analysis, will pair decades of education data with employment records to answer questions about career outcomes, in‑state retention and whether TOPS aligns with Louisiana’s workforce needs. "What are those career outcomes of people that end up graduating?" asked Andrew Fitzgerald of the Greater Baton Rouge Economic Partnership, urging a long-term view of completion and employment.
A set of amendments adopted by the committee added the Blanco Center and LAFCA as named data partners, moved the report deadline earlier in the year and tied the study into the Blanco Center’s Launch Louisiana initiative. "This will make the results accessible and won’t add new cost because it will be part of an existing initiative," Barry Irwin of Leaders for a Better Louisiana said in support. Steven Barnes of the Kathleen Blanco Public Policy Center said the center will make findings actionable and publicly available.
Committee members pressed for practical outputs: dashboards, ongoing metrics and web accessibility so policymakers and the public can use the findings. Rep. Fryberg and others said the study is long overdue and could inform future TOPS policy decisions.
The committee adopted the amendments and agreed to report the resolution. The measure will now move to the full House for consideration; the resolution asks for a legislatively accessible report to inform potential policy changes.
Provenance: topic introduced SEG 224; discussion and amendments through SEG 453.
Speakers (attributed in this article): Andrew Fitzgerald (Greater Baton Rouge Economic Partnership); Barry Irwin (Leaders for a Better Louisiana); Steven Barnes (Kathleen Blanco Public Policy Center); Representative Turner.
Ending: HR 17 was reported with amendments; the committee directed the named agencies and centers to produce a report intended to inform legislative decisions about TOPS funding and alignment.
