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Meningococcal vaccinations and a tuition-free education for those in foster care were some of the major legislation for college students passed by the Legislature this session.
While first-time incoming freshmen will be required to have a meningococcal vaccine, a bill that would pay for those in foster care to go to college doesn't have any money to back it up.
The Legislature ended its session Monday evening. At the close of the session many bills, including the capital outlay and appropriations budgets, still required the signature of the governor.
About $62 million in state general funds was budgeted for the University of Louisiana. Ray Authement, UL president, did not return a call for comment Monday.
This year was the first in recent history that higher education did not have to battle to cover increases in mandated costs like rising insurance and other benefits. The budget also included about $31 million to cover at least a 5 percent increases for faculty.
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Marsha Sills
msills@theadvertiser.com
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The major change that impacts students next fall will be the state's new requirement of meningococcal vaccinations of first-time incoming freshmen. After the deaths of at least three young people earlier this year - two linked to UL's campus and one Loyola University student -from the deadly bacteria, the Legislature was prompted to consider the measure.
Students have the option to sign a waiver if they don't want the vaccination.
Another law makes college more accessible to those who were in foster care at least nine of the 24 months before their 18th birthday. Language in the law doesn't state whether it's retroactive, but it does state that the program is conditional based on the appropriation of funding. No money is there.
The agency that oversees the state's foster care program is optimistic that the initiative will receive funding, but it's not likely it will happen this year, according to Kaaren Hebert, deputy assistant secretary with the Office of Community Service.
On UL's campus, some projects received priority funding - a sign that they were approved by the state and can move forward.
The renovation and expansion of Burke-Hawthorne Hall was one of the projects approved for priority funding in the state's capital outlay bill - again. The project, which has had plans drawn for the past three years, was approved for priority funding last year.
It's likely that the hurricanes may have pushed back progress on the project, said Jerry Jones, director of the state facility planning.
"Every project after the storm was reassessed to determine if it was an opportune time to go the market or if we felt that we would get a lack of bidders," Jones said.
Bill Crist, UL physical plant director, said that the Burke-Hawthorne project should move forward.
At least three bills sought to revamp higher education oversight with either the creation of a single education board or a new management board for technical colleges, but none picked up any ground out of committee.
The system recently announced major changes of its technical colleges in line with a legislative mandate from 2005.
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