Demand has been so strong that a program to help residents obtain twoyear associate degrees in hot fields exhausted its funding for the current fiscal year within the first six months, a state education official said Monday.
Dr. Kim Hunter Reed, the commissioner of higher education, said the Murphy J. Foster Promise Program has already served about 10,000 students since it launched four years ago.
“It is working, and it is important,” Reed told the Senate Finance Committee.
The program provides financial assistance for Louisiana residents between the ages of 25 and 55 who are pursuing certificates or associate degrees in high-demand fields such as healthcare, construction and information technology. Eligible students can re up to $3,200 a year to cover their tuition and fees.
Reed said the initiative has quickly become one of Louisiana’s most popular workforce developments. She said it is an effective way to meet the governor’s goal of moving dependents into independent workers.
Reed’s comments came as lawmakers also discussed her request for an additional $119 million to help some of the state’s regional universities that are struggling due to enrollment shifts and population declines in their areas.
She did not name the colleges. But she said they would have to cut programs without the extra money.
Some committee members seemed skeptical about providing more money to the four-year colleges while expressing enthusiasm about the benefits that the MJ Foster program is providing for students seeking associate degrees.
Education officials estimate students who complete programs through the MJ Foster initiative see an average salary increase of about $36,000, signaling a strong return on investment for both individuals and the state’s workforce.
To keep up with demand, the governor’s executive budget proposal includes $14.5 million in additional funding for the fiscal year starting July 1. If approved, that increase would raise the program’s total funding to roughly $25 million.
Sen. Rick Edmonds, R-Baton Rouge, praised the program as one of Louisiana’s success stories. Edmonds believes Louisiana can “lead the nation in workplace alignment.”
Supporters say the investment could play a ter the program lost federal funding.
McMath said Senate and House leaders and Gov. Jeff Landry support the tutoring expansion.
Meanwhile, some legislators have expressed concern about the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education’s request for an additional $30 million in school funding based on the growing cost of school operating expenses. The board is asking the state to provide school with more dollars for each student. But board members said the higher spending in that area would be offset by declining student enrollments.
Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, has said legislators want to better understand how the $4.3 billion in K-12 education is spent before making any changes.
The board’s suggestion changes the Minimum Foundation Program formula to increase the amount schools receive for operating expenses from $100 to $147 per student, or 47%. That is meant to cover the spending power lost to inflation since the per-student amount was last increased in 2008.
The spending discussions come the Legislature is preparing for shortfalls in overall state budget starting next year. The projected shortfalls stem in part from a reduction in income tax rates and federal budget cuts that will require the state to cover larger shares of the cost of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid in upcoming years. The state sales tax rate also will decline by 0.25% in 2030, The House Ways and Means Committee expects a $329 million deficit in the 2027-2028 fiscal year and a $900 million deficit by 2030. Despite this potential financial strain, McMath and the other committee members supported the high-dosage tutoring expansion. “It’s money very well spent,” McMath said.
Although the bill, Senate Bill 27, unanimously advanced through the committee, Duane LeBlanc, the advocacy chair of the Louisiana Music Educators Association and a music educator in Baton Rouge, expressed concern over the program impacting students involved in the arts.
“I want to be clear that we strongly support the goals of SB 27,” LeBlanc said.
The law states that tutoring occurs during the school day. LeBlanc said the sessions could pull students from courses like art, band or choir, which are linked to increased attendance rates.
One obstacle to the tutoring program’s success is student attendance. By scheduling sessions during elective classes, LeBlanc said, “we risk unintentionally reducing attention and engagement, ultimately undermining effectiveness of said tutoring.”
LeBlanc suggested the bill should ensure that high-dosage tutoring does not restrict student access to “courses that are part of a well-rounded education.”
Sen. Beth Mizell, R-Franklinton, mentioned that Louisiana’s high-dosage tutoring program has already received recognition outside the U.S.
“I got a call this week that the Minister of Education from Northern Ireland is coming to Louisiana to see how we’ve been able to move our rankings up,” she said.