Senator proposes award redesign for Louisiana TOPS program
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The Louisiana lawmaker leading a study of the state's TOPS free college tuition program is recommending a rewrite of how awards are doled out to students.
Sen. Dan "Blade" Morrish, a Jennings Republican, wants to lessen the amount of tuition covered for students who reach the basic award for a four-year college, to give them a flat $4,000 payment for the year.
He's proposing to increase payments to higher-performing students.
Morrish offered the idea Thursday to a legislative task force reviewing the TOPS program amid cost concerns. The task force will determine at another meeting whether to recommend Morrish's proposal to state lawmakers.