Requires the Board of Regents, Louisiana Works, and other state agencies to develop a publicly available statewide dashboard for career alignment that provides information related to educational and career opportunities. (8/1/26) (EG NO IMPACT See Note)

Senate Bill 305 creates new statutory provisions requiring the Board of Regents to develop, maintain, and publicly release a statewide dashboard displaying the alignment between Louisiana's postsecondary degree programs and workforce outcomes. The bill enacts R.S. 17:3138.2 and adds subsection C to R.S. 17:3138.13. The dashboard mechanism will aggregate and present information including degree program completion rates, employment outcomes by industry and occupation, wage data at specified intervals after completion, alignment with state-identified high-demand occupations, and any additional metrics the Board of Regents deems relevant to career alignment and economic development. The Board must ensure regular updates, consistent metrics, and public accessibility. The bill also amends existing return on investment analysis requirements by directing the Board of Regents and Louisiana Works to develop procedures for collecting and analyzing data on work-based learning experiences such as internships, cooperative education programs, and apprenticeships, including information about compensation levels, duration, credential alignment, and work-based learning credits earned.

Students and their families will benefit from centralized information about career outcomes tied to specific degree programs, allowing more informed educational planning decisions. Postsecondary institutions will use the dashboard to evaluate program relevance to labor market demands and strengthen curriculum design accordingly. Policymakers and state agencies gain a data-driven tool for assessing whether postsecondary education aligns with identified workforce priorities. Louisiana Works gains a collaborative partner in collecting standardized data on work-based learning experiences. The bill explicitly protects institutional autonomy by stating that nothing in the statute shall create performance funding mandates or limit curricular autonomy, ensuring institutions cannot face financial penalties based on dashboard metrics.

The legislation operates within the existing framework of Louisiana's higher education governance under the Board of Regents and coordinates with Louisiana Works, which administers career and technical education programs. The bill preserves privacy protections by prohibiting disclosure of personally identifiable information and subjects data-sharing agreements to applicable state and federal privacy laws. This operates in connection with existing R.S. 17:3138.13, which previously required only an annual return on investment analysis for industry-based credentials earned by high school students, and expands that framework to include comprehensive data collection on work-based learning across the postsecondary system. The effective date is August 1, 2026.