LOUISIANA
STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE COMMISSION
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| TOPS BULLETIN NUMBER: | T2001- 18 |
| DATE ISSUED: | September 17, 2001 |
| EFFECTIVE DATE: | As Indicated |
| DISTRIBUTION: |
Louisiana High School Principals and Counselors, City and Parish School Board Presidents, School Board Superintendents, College and University, Technical College and LAICU Chancellors, Financial Aid Offices, Business Offices, and Auditors, System Governance, Board of Regents, Department of Education, Louisiana Legislators, and Commission Members |
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Extended FAFSA Deadline for Students Who May Qualify Under New Legislation |
To assure that your Scholarship and Grant Policy and Procedure Manual remains current, please record this document on your TOPS Bulletin index and retain it with your manual.
During its recently completed 2001 Session, the Louisiana Legislature passed Act 1144 that provided new eligibility criteria for the TOPS Tech Award for students graduating in the 2000-2001 high school year and thereafter. These new criteria included lowering the minimum required ACT score from 19 to 17 and provided a new core curriculum (see Bulletin T2001-13).
In addition, Act 1192 provides eligibility for the TOPS Opportunity Award for certain students who graduate from out-of-country high schools or complete BESE approved home study programs while out of the United States in the 2000-2001 school year and thereafter (see Bulletin T2001-13).
Both of these Acts became effective June 29, 2001. The standard deadline for filing the FAFSA without a penalty imposed is July 1 of the year of high school graduation. Because it is likely that some 2001 graduates were not aware of these Acts and did not know to file their FAFSA's timely, the Louisiana Student Financial Assistance Commission has authorized the extension of the FAFSA deadline to November 1, 2001 for students affected by this legislation only. Extended deadlines for awards with penalties will fall 60 days and 120 days after November 1. If you certify students on the web, please continue to check the TOPS web site for potential 2001-2002 candidates through March 2002.
As you encounter students who may fall in this category, please encourage them to file the FAFSA as soon as possible, or call our Public Information and Communication Division for more information at 1-800-259-5626, ext. 1012.