Two University-related bills – including one to raise law school tuition – are currently under consideration in the Louisiana Legislature.
House Bill 1145 would authorize the LSU Board of Supervisors to increase tuition and nonresident fees for students at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center.
The bill, by Rep. Franklin Foil, would authorize a full-time tuition increase of $500 by fall 2008, $1,000 by fall 2009 and $1,500 by fall 2010. The bill seeks to raise nonresident attendance fees on the same schedule.
Foil, a University alumnus, represents House District 70, which wraps around the southern edge of East Baton Rouge Parish from the University’s campus in the west the border with Livingstone Parish in the east.
The second bill, by Sen. Yvonne Dorsey, seeks to ease the financial burdens of older University students.
Senate Bill 703 would create the Golden Scholars Award, which would provide enrollees in Louisiana’s public colleges and universities who are age 55 or older with fee waivers and a $50-per-semester textbook subsidy.
Current law provides exemptions from tuition and registration fees for Louisiana residents ages 55 and older who enroll in a public college or university, as well as textbook cost reductions and the reimbursement of “any funds lost to any public college or university.”
Dorsey represents Louisiana Senate District 14, which includes the University.
Dorsey’s bill was sent to the Senate Committee on Education, where it is scheduled to be heard Thursday. Foil’s bill was assigned to the House Committee on Education.
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