Summary of HB 1063 (2026, Louisiana)
Purpose
- Establishes the “Higher Education Accountability and Governance Act.”
- Reforms public postsecondary education governance, core curricula oversight, hiring/employment processes, faculty deliberative bodies, nonacademic disciplinary proceedings, and a funding-availability condition tied to annual compliance reporting.
Key Provisions
1) Core Curriculum (R.S. 17:3399.52)
- Each public postsecondary management board must annually review all core curriculum courses for every degree program at institutions under its supervision, with Board of Regents consultation.
- Criteria for each core course:
- Foundational and fundamental to a sound postsecondary education
- Necessary to prepare for civic or professional life
- Reflects content/methodologies of liberal arts and preprofessional disciplines
- Boards must:
- Publish a public report describing courses under review, descriptions, criteria, and review process (available online at least 30 days before the board meeting).
- Vote to certify that core courses meet criteria.
- Vote annually to reauthorize or revise the core curriculum for each degree program.
- Provide compliance by end of the 2027-2028 academic year; future annual reviews to assess previous year’s approved courses and each course’s fulfillment of criteria.
2) Hiring and Employment (R.S. 17:3399.53)
- Public meetings required for:
- Approving/denying job postings for tenure-track or equivalent positions teaching at least one course.
- Approving/denying hiring, appointment, or promotion of senior leadership (e.g., chancellor, president, provost, dean, etc.).
- Public postings: all such postings must be posted online at least 30 days before the board meeting.
- For president/provost searches:
- The search committee must be at least 60% management board members, who are the only voting members.
- External search firms (if used) must be approved by the management board.
- The board may not delegate duties assigned under this section.
3) Faculty Deliberative Bodies (R.S. 17:3399.54)
- Roles and restrictions:
- Advisory only; nonbinding recommendations to institutional administration.
- Cannot present as authoritative/policymaking bodies.
- Head appointed by the institution’s president.
- Membership and terms:
- Limited to full professors with tenure; service term is one academic year and cannot be repeated for four academic years after completion.
- Funding:
- No state or institutional funds may be used to pay staff/administrative employees exclusively for the deliberative body.
- Process:
- If a proposal is rejected, the president/provost and relevant officers must review the entire proposal.
- Attendance or voting may be recorded for matters involving no-confidence votes or curriculum/academic standards policies.
- Legal/constitutional safeguards:
- Protects freedom of association; supersedes conflicting laws on faculty deliberative bodies.
4) Nonacademic Disciplinary Proceedings (R.S. 17:3399.55)
- After major campus disruptions, the CEO must submit anonymized, quarterly, incident-specific disciplinary reports for 18 months to the management board. Reports include sanctions data and the names of admissions officers who reviewed sanctioned students’ applications.
- CEO may convene a special advisory committee to review advisory determinations of subordinate administrators/bodies in nonacademic disciplinary cases or to make the original determination.
5) Compliance and Funding Freeze (R.S. 17:3399.56)
- Beginning in the 2027-2028 fiscal year, an institution may not expend funds appropriated for a given year until its management board submits a report certifying compliance with the act for the preceding year to the Legislature and the Board of Regents.
Effective Date
- Effective upon the governor’s signature or, if not signed, upon expiration of the gubernatorial action period; provisions may become effective day after legislative approval if veto occurs and legislature approves.
Affected Entities
- Public postsecondary education management boards (LSU System, Southern University System, University of Louisiana System, and Community and Technical Colleges).
- The Board of Regents (as consultative partner for core curriculum review).
- Public postsecondary institutions under the boards’ supervision and management.
Potential Impacts and Considerations
- Strengthened state oversight of core curricula and annual certification/reauthorization processes.
- Increased transparency in hiring for tenure-track and senior leadership positions, with public posting and publicly available CVs.
- Formalization and constraints around faculty deliberative bodies, emphasizing advisory roles and tenure-based eligibility with limited terms.
- Enhanced reporting on nonacademic disciplinary matters and potential oversight through an external advisory mechanism.
- Financial accountability requirement tying funding disbursement to annual compliance certifications, introducing a potential leverage point for governance and governance reforms.
Notes
- The bill adds new statutory sections (R.S. 17:3399.51 through 3399.56) and references coordination with the Board of Regents.
- Some provisions, like core curriculum criteria and annual reporting processes, are phased in with a 2027-2028 compliance deadline and ongoing annual review requirements thereafter.
