BATON ROUGE, La. — Gov. Bobby Jindal said he’ll oppose any efforts to limit grants in the state’s free college tuition program called TOPS, a recommendation backed by a higher education study panel last week.
The Governance Commission suggested a restructuring of TOPS to give all students a flat grant amount, capped at the same level for everyone, rather than tied to the cost of tuition at an individual school.
“We remain opposed to any efforts to cap TOPS. We think it is an important program that has been very successful,” Jindal said Wednesday.
Under the idea supported by the Governance Commission, lawmakers could set TOPS awards at two levels, for example, one at community colleges and another for four-year schools, with additional stipends continuing for those higher performing students.
Panel members said that “decoupling”’ would give the state more ability to control the costs of TOPS, formally the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, and could give some students money to cover costs beyond tuition, like books and student fees.
The commission said TOPS awards could be adjusted annually by the Consumer Price Index or some other inflationary measure.
The proposal would need legislative approval, and similar bills have been rejected repeatedly by lawmakers and resisted by Jindal.
