§5068. Miscellaneous

            A. Each student who initially qualifies for more than one award under the provisions of this Chapter shall receive the award requiring the most rigorous eligibility criteria.

            B. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter to the contrary, any public or private entity, including any nonprofit organization, may make a directed donation to any eligible postsecondary institution for a student who is a recipient of a Louisiana Taylor Opportunity Program for Students award.

            C. Annually, the administering agency shall, with the cooperation and assistance of the state's institutions of postsecondary education, query each first-time recipient of a Taylor Opportunity Program for Students award to determine the extent to which receiving the award influenced the decision of the student to attend a Louisiana college or university.

            D.(1) Recognizing the success and growth of the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students and in order to maintain the long-term financial stability of such program, private businesses, industry, foundations, charities, and other individuals or groups may, notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, ask the division of administration for authority to create scholarship programs to make payments to eligible colleges and universities on behalf of individual students. If the division of administration authorizes a private scholarship program, scholarship funds received by an eligible college or university from such private scholarship program on behalf of a student shall cause a reduction in the dollar amount of any award pursuant to this Chapter associated with that student to an amount that is equal to the dollar amount that the award would have been if no such private scholarship funds had been received less the amount of private scholarship funds received by the eligible college or university.

            (2) This Subsection shall in no way be interpreted in such a manner that a student could receive less benefits from a combination of the award pursuant to this Chapter and the private scholarship funded on his behalf than he would have received solely from the award pursuant to this Chapter if there had been no private scholarship funded on his behalf. Therefore, to the extent that any privately funded scholarship funds provided for in this Subsection made to an eligible college or university on behalf of a qualified student are for an amount less than the amount a given student would have otherwise received if no such private scholarship funds had been paid as an award pursuant to this Chapter, then the eligible college or university shall receive that difference on behalf of the student as the student's award from the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students.

            (3) As provided in this Subsection, if an eligible college or university receives privately funded scholarship funds on behalf of a student, the state funds for the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students shall be reduced by the amount of the private scholarship program funds so received. A reduction shall not affect the estimated nature of the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students appropriation as provided in the Act or Acts that contain such appropriations. The commissioner of administration shall determine and specify the amount of the reduction from the source of the funds to provide the maximum benefit to the state from the privately funded scholarship program. The state treasurer shall deposit the amount of such reduction as specified by the commissioner of administration into the Overcollections Fund created in R.S. 39:100.21 and credit the deposit to an account within the fund hereby established and created to be known as the "Program Participation Savings Account".

            E. Notwithstanding any rule by the administering agency to the contrary, no student who graduates from high school in less than four years and who receives an award under this Chapter shall be restricted or otherwise delayed as to the date the award may be first used at an eligible institution due to the student having graduated from high school in less than four years.

            Acts 2015, No. 227, §1; Acts 2017, No. 97, §1.