Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 28 - EDUCATION › Part IV - Student Financial Assistance-Higher Education Scholarship and Grant Programs › Chapter 22 - M.J. Foster Promise Program › Section IV-2201 - General Provisions

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. Act 457
				of the 2021 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature establishes the M.J.
				Foster Promise Program in
				R.S
				17:3047 et seq. The Act provides that the
				board shall establish the criteria for initial and continuing eligibility and
				other requirements not otherwise provided in the statutes. The Act further
				provides that the M.J. Foster Promise Program shall be administered by the
				board through the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance.
B. Description and Purpose. The M.J. Foster
				Promise Program provides financial assistance to eligible students enrolled in
				two year public post-secondary institutions and accredited proprietary schools
				to pursue an associate degree or a shorter term credential aligned with
				Louisiana's workforce priorities.
C. Effective Date. Awards shall be made, and
				these rules shall apply, beginning with the 2022-2023 academic year.
D. Authority to Audit. By participating in
				the scholarship and grant programs administered by the board and described in
				LAC 28:IV, all participants grant the board, LOSFA, and the Louisiana
				Legislative Auditor the right to inspect records and perform on-site audits of
				each institution's administration of the programs for the purpose of
				determining the institution's compliance with state law and the board's rules
				and regulations.
E. Discrimination
				Prohibition. The exclusion of a person from equal opportunity for an M.J.
				Foster Promise Program award by the board because of race, religion, sex,
				handicap, national origin or ancestry is prohibited. No policy or procedure of
				this agency shall be interpreted as superseding or contradicting this
				prohibition.
F. Criminal Penalties.
				If an erroneous award has been made and the board determines that the award was
				made based upon incorrect information submitted by the student or the student's
				parent(s) or court-ordered custodian, the board may seek reimbursement from the
				student, the student's parent(s) or court-ordered custodian, and if it is
				further determined that the award was made due to an intentional
				misrepresentation by the student, the student's parent(s) or court-ordered
				custodian, then the board shall refer the case to the attorney general for
				investigation and prosecution. If a student or the student's parent(s) or
				court-ordered custodian is suspected of having intentionally misrepresented the
				facts which were provided to the board and used by it to determine the
				eligibility of the student for the program and the board has referred the case
				to the attorney general for investigation, then the student shall remain
				ineligible for future award consideration pending an outcome of said
				investigation which is favorable to the student.
G. Award Amount. For the 2022-2023 academic
				year only, the award amount shall be applied only to tuition and fees required
				for enrollment. Beginning in the 2023-2024 academic year, the award amount
				shall be applied to tuition, required fees, and mandatory books and
				instructional materials. A student who is eligible for the Taylor Opportunity
				Program for Students (TOPS) as well as the M.J. Foster Promise Program shall
				receive the highest award available only.
1.
				For programs which can be completed in or which exceed one year, the award
				amount shall not exceed $3,200 per academic year for a student enrolled full
				time, or an amount proportional to the hours in which the student is enrolled
				if enrolled less than full time.
2.
				For programs which can be completed in less than one year, the award amount may
				exceed the amount provided for in Paragraph 1 of this Subsection.
3. In no case shall a student be awarded more
				than $6,400 over a three year period.
4. Students who are enrolled less than
				full-time may receive an M.J. Foster Promise award, provided that the award
				amount shall be pro-rated based upon the number of credit hours or clock hours
				in which the student is enrolled.
5. After the initial award payment, awards
				shall be applied only after all federal, state, and/or institutional financial
				aid and awards are applied to the costs set forth in
				§2201.G For purposes of
				this paragraph, federal financial aid and awards shall not include funding from
				student loans, federal work-study, or the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity
				Act (WIOA).