Provides relative to initial eligibility requirements for the M.J. Foster Promise Program (OR INCREASE SD EX See Note)

House Bill 274 amends the initial eligibility requirements for the M.J. Foster Promise Program by modifying the criminal history disqualification standard set forth in Louisiana Revised Statutes 17:3047.2(A)(8)(b). Currently, applicants with any conviction for a crime of violence as defined in R.S. 14:2(B) are ineligible for the program. The bill narrows this exclusion by creating an exception for certain crimes of violence that are also listed in R.S. 13:5401(B)(1)(f), which includes offenses such as aggravated battery, second degree battery, disarming of a peace officer, aggravated assault, false imprisonment with a dangerous weapon, aggravated arson, aggravated criminal damage to property, home invasion, second degree robbery, simple robbery, purse snatching, and aggravated flight from an officer. However, the bill retains a complete bar to eligibility for three specific crimes within that overlapping category: battery of a police officer, aggravated assault with a firearm, and simple kidnapping.

The practical effect of this legislation is to expand program eligibility to individuals who have been convicted of certain crimes of violence, provided those convictions are not for battery of a police officer, aggravated assault with a firearm, or simple kidnapping. Students attending two-year public postsecondary education institutions or proprietary schools who are enrolled in qualified programs and who have criminal convictions falling within the newly permitted category may now qualify for M.J. Foster Promise Program financial assistance if they meet all other initial eligibility requirements. Conversely, individuals convicted of the three enumerated crimes will continue to be permanently barred from the program.

The M.J. Foster Promise Program operates within Louisiana's framework of need-based and merit-based higher education financial assistance programs administered through the state's postsecondary education system. The bill's amendment operates in conjunction with R.S. 14:2(B), which defines crimes of violence, and R.S. 13:5401(B)(1)(f), which defines offenses eligible for certain post-conviction relief provisions. The legislative amendment reflects a policy determination that while some crimes of violence warrant continued disqualification from educational financial assistance, others should not permanently exclude otherwise qualified applicants from accessing higher education funding designed to support workforce development and economic opportunity.