House Bill No. by Representative Chassion amends the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) by requiring all schools, including public and approved nonpublic institutions, to utilize a 10-point grading scale when assigning grades that contribute to the calculation of the minimum grade point average (GPA) necessary for initial award eligibility. The bill specifically modifies R.S. 17:5024(A)(1) to ensure that the GPA requirements for various awards—Opportunity, Performance, Honors, and TOPS-Tech—are calculated using this standardized grading scale, regardless of any other grading systems the schools may employ for different purposes.

The proposed legislation retains the existing academic criteria for TOPS, which mandates that students achieve a minimum GPA of 2.50 for the Opportunity Award, 3.25 for the Performance Award, 3.50 for the Honors Award, and 2.50 for the TOPS-Tech Award. By enforcing a uniform grading scale, the bill aims to create consistency in GPA calculations across schools, thereby enhancing fairness in the award qualification process.

Statutes affected:
HB327 Original: 17:5024(A)(1)