BATON ROUGE – Louisiana lawmakers are advancing a series of education and workforce bills aimed at expanding vocational opportunities for students and addressing gaps in training across the state.
Three key proposals – House Bills 325, 407 and 482 – highlight a broader push to make career pathways more flexible, accessible and in tune with workforce needs.
HB 325, proposed by Rep. Ken Brass, D-Vacherie, is designed to give graduating high school seniors an additional pathway to earn scholarship money under TOPS Tech program for vocational training.
The measure would allow students to qualify by completing nine hours of dual-enrollment coursework aligned with the skills of their chosen technical program rather than meeting the normal grade-point-average and ACT test requirements.
The TOPS Tech Award may be used for up to two years of skill or occupational training at any campus of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, accredited two-or-four-year public colleges or universities, or private colleges or universities.
With approximately 43,000 students participating in the program last year, the bill creates one more eligibility option.
The initiative is set to take effect in the 2026–27 school year. Supporters emphasized the importance of recognizing multiple pathways to success.
“A four-year institution is not the best option for every student,” Commissioner of Higher Education Kim Hunter Reed said.
Lawmakers echoed that sentiment.
“I love this bill because it gives us another way of judging a student, whether they’re ready to take that next step,” Rep. Barbara Freiberg, R-Baton Rouge, said.
The House Education Committee advanced the measure without opposition this week.
“Thank you, guys, for your continued support of workforce development across this great state of Louisiana,” Brass said.
Also advancing through the committee was HB 407, authored by Rep. Ed Larvadain, D-Alexandria, which seeks to revise and expand the MJ Foster Promise Program.
That program provides financial assistance to students pursing two-year associate degrees in certain fields with high demands for workers.
The bill would lower the minimum age requirement from 25 to 21 but includes a two-year pause before implementation to allow the state to secure sufficient funding. The program exhausted its funding within the first six months of the current fiscal year, prompting the need for adjustments.
After the two-year delay, the program would grandfather in eligible 21-year-olds. While the bill aims to expand access, some legislators raised concerns about younger students. Freiberg warned that excluding 18- to 20-year-olds could have long-term consequences.
“They’re going to end up in our prisons if we’re not careful,” Freiberg said.
Rep. Beryl Amedée, R-Houma, added that many young people might delay their education and never use the program.
“Many will step into life and get too busy and never return to school,” Amedee said.
Of the 10,000 students helped by the MJ Foster program, only about 500 were under the age of 21.
Despite concerns, the bill advanced through the committee in a 12-2 vote.
“If we’re going to keep our young folk here, we’ve got to get them trained,” Larvadain said.
The committee also advanced House Bill 482 by Rep. Christopher Turner, R-Ruston, which also focuses on expanding and modernizing the TOP Tech program.
The bill proposes several changes to increase participation, including adding Louisiana State University Eunice and Southern University’s two-year systems as eligible institutions.
It also would lower the GPA requirement from 2.5 to 2.0, allow students to apply up to age 25 and remove the rule requiring application within one year of high school graduation. Those
changes are intended to make the program more inclusive and adaptable to nontraditional students.
“We have to change what we’re doing to make it to where this is more accessible for the workforce,” Turner said.