Dual enrollment in Louisiana: the law behind it

The statute

La. R.S. 17:183.3

Career major; description; curriculum and graduation requirements .

The statutory hook for dual enrollment inside the career pathway. Subsection A(1)(b) says students pursuing a career major shall be afforded the opportunity to dually enroll in a Louisiana public postsecondary education institution, or to take a business internship or work-study place, where those opportunities are available and appropriate. Every public school system has to develop and offer at least one career major program aligned to state and regional workforce demands, which is the route many Louisiana students reach a college course through.

La. R.S. 17:183.4

Vocational and technical education; partnering with other schools to provide courses .

A duty on the school rather than a right for the student, and a useful one to quote. All public high schools have to give students the chance to enrol in available vocational and technical courses, and a school that offers none may partner with another school, a two-year public institution, or an approved provider to supply them. Subsection B(3) bars a course fee where the school system receives career development money for the course, and subsection C requires every public high school to tell students about the TOPS Tech Early Start Award and its eligibility criteria.

La. R.S. 17:5081

TOPS-Tech Early Start Award .

The award itself, written into the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students. It covers eleventh and twelfth graders at Louisiana public high schools, pays the institution $150 for each three credit hour course up to two courses a semester in each of those grades, and runs on a 2.0 cumulative high school grade point average plus one of three markers: set subsection scores on a state assessment, a silver level on the WorkKeys assessments, or meeting the Board of Regents eligibility requirements for technical dual enrollment courses. A five-year education and career plan is also required, and the whole section is subject to appropriation.

The administrative rule

LAC 28:IV, Chapter 10

Louisiana Administrative Code, TOPS-Tech Early Start Award . Sections 1001 through 1009.

The rule that turns the statute into a number. Section 1001 limits the award to six credit hours a semester and twelve an academic year, excludes summer terms outright, and sets the payment at $50 a credit hour, so $300 a semester and $600 a year. The same chapter carries the definitions, how eligibility is established and kept, and what the financial assistance office owes the student. A summer plan built on this award will not be paid, and that is the detail most often missed.

LAC 28:IV, Chapter 14

Louisiana Administrative Code, Early Start Program . Sections 1401 and following.

The other state payment, and the one families rarely hear named. The Early Start Program funds Louisiana postsecondary institutions that enrol eligible eleventh and twelfth graders in college degree, developmental, or work skills courses, paying $100 a college credit hour up to $300 a course, and it excludes summer sessions. It began as the Dual Enrollment Program, opened to member private colleges in 2008-2009, and reached nonpublic high school and home school students under Act 460 of 2008. Asking which of these two programs is paying for a course explains a lot of the variation in what districts charge.

Agency guidance

Academic Affairs Policy 2.22

Louisiana Board of Regents, minimum requirements for dual enrollment .

The document that decides whether a Louisiana student is eligible at all, and the one to bring to a counselor meeting. It sets a floor of a 2.5 cumulative high school grade point average for academic courses and 2.0 for technical ones, with several alternative routes in, and it recognises four ways a course can be delivered: at the college, at the high school, online, or hybrid. The floor is a minimum rather than a ceiling, so the college awarding the credit can ask for more.

Dual enrollment for school system leaders

Louisiana Department of Education, dual enrollment .

The school system side, including the rule that a student has to meet the standards of the institution awarding the credit and the funding streams a district may draw on to cover a course. Because Louisiana leaves the bill to the district and its funding mix, this page is the closest thing to an answer on who pays before the district gives its own.

How it got here

The TOPS-Tech Early Start Award was created by Act 348 of the 2005 Regular Session and amended by Act 737 of 2014, and the Early Start Program began paying institutions in the 2007-2008 award year. Act 128 of 2019 created a Dual Enrollment Task Force under the Board of Regents and charged it with recommending a statewide framework, which is the work Policy 2.22 grew out of. Section 17:183.4 was rewritten again by Act 449 of 2025.

Who administers it

These are the offices that answer a question about Louisiana law rather than about one school or one campus. A district and a college can both be wrong about a state rule, and these pages are where the state's own position is published.

• Louisiana Board of Regents, dual enrollment · Sets minimum eligibility in Policy 2.22 and runs the statewide portal.
• Louisiana Department of Education · Handles the school system side and the funding guidance districts follow.
• LOSFA, TOPS Tech Early Start · Administers the award and publishes the rules and the application.
• Louisiana State Legislature · Where R.S. 17:183.3, 17:183.4, and 17:5081 are published.

Frequently asked

Does a Louisiana statute set the grade point average?

No. The 2.5 for academic courses and 2.0 for technical ones come from Board of Regents Academic Affairs Policy 2.22, not from the code. The statute that does carry a grade requirement is R.S. 17:5081, which asks for a 2.0 cumulative average for the TOPS Tech Early Start Award.

How much does the state pay for a course?

Two different amounts, depending on the program. The TOPS Tech Early Start rule pays $50 a credit hour, capped at $300 a semester and $600 an academic year, and the Early Start Program rule pays institutions $100 a college credit hour, capped at $300 a course. Neither pays for a summer term.

Can the school charge for a technical course?

Section 17:183.4(B)(3) says no student shall be assessed a course fee when the local education agency receives career development funds in the minimum foundation program for that course. Which funds a district drew on is a fair question to put to the school in writing.

Does the high school have to tell families about the award?

Yes. Section 17:183.4(C) requires all public high schools to advise students of the availability of the TOPS Tech Early Start Award and to provide information on its eligibility criteria.