Louisiana Revised Statutes Tit. 46, § 460.7. Incentive Award Program; dropout reduction; teen pregnancy reduction

A. The Department of Children and Family Services in consultation with the Department of Education shall develop and implement a special program, the Incentive Award Program, whereby the governing authority of a parish and a parish school system may receive a financial award for reducing the teen pregnancy rate and dropout rate for the parish.

A. Louisiana Works in consultation with the Department of Education shall develop and implement a special program, the Incentive Award Program, whereby the governing authority of a parish and a parish school system may receive a financial award for reducing the teen pregnancy rate and dropout rate for the parish.

B. The department, in developing this program, shall:

C. Through the Incentive Award Program, the department shall provide a financial award to each of the ten parishes identified in the annual progress report which have demonstrated the most significant reduction in dropout rates, as defined by rule of the Department of Education, and in teen pregnancy rates as defined by rule of the Department of Children and Family Services. The financial award shall be distributed to such ten parish school systems. These awards may be expended by the parish school system to implement innovative community-based and school-based programs designed to further reduce the dropout rate and the teen pregnancy rate for the parish and for instructional enhancement programs.

C. Through the Incentive Award Program, the department shall provide a financial award to each of the ten parishes identified in the annual progress report that have demonstrated the most significant reduction in dropout rates, as defined by rule of the Department of Education, and in teen pregnancy rates as defined by rule of Louisiana Works. The financial award shall be distributed to the ten parish school systems. These awards may be expended by the parish school system to implement innovative community-based and school-based programs designed to further reduce the dropout rate and the teen pregnancy rate for the parish and for instructional enhancement programs.

D. No award shall be granted through the Incentive Award Program until such time as the state of Louisiana receives a financial bonus award from the federal government provided for in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, which provides for awards to the five states that have demonstrated the largest net decrease in the rate of out-of-wedlock births.