The number of eligible graduates in Louisiana achieving TOPS reaches an all time high. More than 19,200 senior high school students qualified for at least one scholarship, up from 18,373 in 2016. Superintendent for the Office of Student Opportunities Ken Bradford says there’s a new college high school option for students to give them a head start.
Bradford says that students taking a set series of courses are "eligible for a college focus diploma."
But there is a problem for TOPS candidates. Bradford says if TOPS funding is cut due to a one-billion-dollar budget shortfall, a lot of high school students hoping for a scholarship may be disappointed.
Bradford says, "Students have worked throughout the last four years of high school towards a diploma that will make them TOPS eligible. When they're eligible, will that TOPS funding be available?"
Bradford says many graduating seniors are ready to attend a college or university, the hope is that they can afford it.
Bradford says, "All of our students are walking across the stage. They have taken the necessary coursework for TOPS, and they've applied for federal financial aid like Pell Grants and Work Study Grants."