§3129.3. Louisiana classroom teacher and vocational-technical school instructor enrollment program; creation; regulations; limitations

A. The Board of Regents shall develop, in concert with the institutions of higher learning under its jurisdiction and their management boards, a program for the enrollment of Louisiana full-time classroom teachers and vocational-technical school instructors in courses of instruction for college credit offered on the main campus of said institutions, on a tuition-free basis, where space is available and where the applicant teacher or instructor meets any prerequisite course requirements and all other requirements of this Section. The program shall be implemented at no additional cost to the state. However, any institution having a teacher or instructor enrolled pursuant to the provisions of this Section may count such enrollment in its computation of student credit hours. All fees required for enrollment, except tuition, shall be paid by the teacher or instructor. For purposes of this Section, "classroom teacher" shall be defined as any full-time classroom teacher employed by a city or parish school board and holding a valid Louisiana teacher's certificate, and any full-time classroom teacher employed by a nonpublic school approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

B. The program shall be implemented not later than January 1, 1994.1

C.(1)(a) By September 1, 19931, the board shall adopt rules and regulations to carry out the purposes of the program and, prior to adoption, shall submit them to the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education for review and comment.

(b) By September 1, 1995, the board shall adopt rules and regulations to implement provisions relative to participation of vocational-technical school instructors and, prior to adoption, shall submit them to the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education for review and comment.

(2) Such rules and regulations shall include but not be limited to the following:

(a) A requirement that the appropriate administrator at the institution approve space availability for the program and that such approval shall be granted absent any documented evidence that space is not available.

(b) A requirement that space availability shall be determined only after the deadline established by the institution for student schedule changes.

(c)(i) A requirement that to be eligible to participate in the program, a teacher or instructor shall not otherwise be eligible to enroll in such course or courses pursuant to the continuing education tuition exemption program established by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

(ii) By August 1, 1995, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education shall provide a copy of the guidelines and eligibility requirements for the continuing education tuition exemption program administered by the board to each institution and if any revisions are made to such guidelines and requirements after such time, the board shall provide the revised guidelines and requirements to each institution on a timely basis.

(iii) Upon receipt of the guidelines and requirements for the continuing education tuition exemption program as provided in Item (ii) of this Subparagraph, each institution shall be responsible for determining eligibility for enrollment in the program as provided by this Section.

(iv) Any teacher who is otherwise eligible for the program as provided by this Section and who is denied enrollment into the continuing education tuition exemption program as provided by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education due to insufficient funding for the program for the semester or quarter in which the teacher applies, shall be eligible to participate in the program as provided by this Section.

(d) A requirement limiting the course enrollment of a classroom teacher or instructor pursuant to the provisions of this Section to not more than six credit hours for any one semester or its equivalent for attendance at any institution operating on a quarter system. There shall be no limitation on course enrollment during summer sessions.

(e) A requirement that participation in the program by a classroom teacher or vocational-technical school instructor during any one school year shall obligate such teacher to practice his profession as a classroom teacher in the elementary or secondary schools of the state and such instructor to practice his profession as an instructor in the state vocational-technical schools for at least the subsequent school year.

Acts 1993, No. 253, §1, eff. June 2, 1993; Acts 1995, No. 1010, §1, eff. June 29, 1995; Acts 1995, No. 1213, §1.

1As appears in enrolled bill.