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HB268 • 2026

STUDENTS: Provides relative to career-related activities for public school students (EN INCREASE LF EX See Note)

STUDENTS: Provides relative to career-related activities for public school students (EN INCREASE LF EX See Note)

Education Labor
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Kim Carver
Last action
2026-05-15
Official status
Signed by the Governor - Act 144
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide details on updating Individual Graduation Plans, only that at least one activity should be documented in the plan.

Career Activities for Public School Students

This act requires Louisiana public schools to provide career-related activities and information to students starting in sixth grade, aligning with workforce priorities provided by Louisiana Works.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires middle schools (grades six through eight) to offer at least six career-related activities each year that expose students to different careers and industries.
  • Recommends that three of these activities involve direct interaction with employers or work-based learning experiences.
  • Instructs Louisiana Works to provide annual lists of high-demand jobs in the state, which schools must use to plan their career-related activities.
  • Requires elementary schools (grades kindergarten through five) to offer at least one career awareness activity each year.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Public school students in grades six through eight
  • Elementary school students in grades kindergarten through five

Terms To Know

Louisiana Works
An organization that provides information about job opportunities and workforce needs in Louisiana.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The act does not specify how schools will be funded to implement these activities.
  • It is unclear what specific penalties or consequences there are for non-compliance with the requirements of this act.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Plain English: HFAHB268 224 2340 FOR OFFICE USE ONLY HOUSE FLOOR AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by Representative Carver to Engrossed House Bill No.

  • HFAHB268 224 2340 FOR OFFICE USE ONLY HOUSE FLOOR AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by Representative Carver to Engrossed House Bill No.
  • 268 by Representative Carver 1 AMENDMENT NO.
  • 1 2 On page 2, delete lines 8 and 9 and at the beginning of line 10, change "(ii)" to "(i)" 3 AMENDMENT NO.
  • 2 4 On page 2, at the beginning of line 11, change "(iii)" to "(ii)" 5 AMENDMENT NO.

Plain English: HCAHB268 224 1995 HOUSE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by House Committee on Education to Original House Bill No.

  • HCAHB268 224 1995 HOUSE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by House Committee on Education to Original House Bill No.
  • 268 by Representative Carver 1 AMENDMENT NO.
  • 1 2 On page 1, delete line 2 and insert "To amend and reenact R.S.
  • 17:183.2(A), 2925(B)(1), and 3 3005(C)(8) and to enact R.S.

Plain English: HCAHB268 224 1500 HOUSE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by House Committee on Education to Original House Bill No.

  • HCAHB268 224 1500 HOUSE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by House Committee on Education to Original House Bill No.
  • 268 by Representative Carver 1 AMENDMENT NO.
  • 1 2 On page 1, delete line 2 and insert "To amend and reenact R.S.
  • 17:183.2(A), 2925(B)(1), and 3 3005(C)(8) and to enact R.S.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-15 H

    Effective date: 08/01/2026.

  2. 2026-05-15 H

    Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 144.

  3. 2026-05-14 H

    Sent to the Governor for executive approval.

  4. 2026-05-14 S

    Signed by the President of the Senate.

  5. 2026-05-13 H

    Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.

  6. 2026-05-13 H

    Received from the Senate without amendments.

  7. 2026-05-12 S

    Rules suspended. Read by title, passed by a vote of 34 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.

  8. 2026-05-05 S

    Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.

  9. 2026-05-04 S

    Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.

  10. 2026-04-29 S

    Rules suspended. Reported favorably.

  11. 2026-03-31 S

    Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Education.

  12. 2026-03-30 S

    Received in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.

  13. 2026-03-25 H

    Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 99, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.

  14. 2026-03-23 H

    Scheduled for floor debate on 03/25/2026.

  15. 2026-03-23 H

    Read by title, amended, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.

  16. 2026-03-18 H

    Reported with amendments (13-0).

  17. 2026-03-09 H

    Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Education.

  18. 2026-02-27 H

    First appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/27/2026.

  19. 2026-02-23 H

    Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Education.

  20. 2026-02-23 H

    Prefiled.

Official Summary Text

STUDENTS: Provides relative to career-related activities for public school students (EN INCREASE LF EX See Note)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
ENROLLED
ACT No. 1442026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 268
BY REPRESENTATIVES CARVER, BAMBURG, BAYHAM, BERAULT, BILLINGS,
BOURRIAQUE, BOYD, BOYER, BRASS, BRAUD, BRYANT, COX, DEWITT,
EGAN, FREEMAN, GLORIOSO, TRAVIS JOHNSON, KNOX, LAFLEUR,
MANDIE LANDRY, TERRY LANDRY, LYONS, MACK, MARCELLE,
MARTINEZ, NEWELL, SAWYER, THOMPSON, AND WYBLE
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 17:183.2(A), 2925(B)(1), and 3005(C)(8) and to enact R.S.
3 17:2926(A)(5) and 3996(B)(24), (30), (44), and (51), relative to public school
4 students; to provide relative to career-related activities for certain students; to
5 provide relative to Individualized Graduation Plans; to require Louisiana Works to
6 provide information about workforce priorities annually to public school governing
7 authorities; to provide for alignment of student activities with these priorities; to
8 provide for the advisement policy developed by the State Board of Elementary and
9 Secondary Education; to provide relative to elementary school counselors; to provide
10 for applicability; and to provide for related matters.
11 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
12 Section 1. R.S. 17:183.2(A), 2925(B)(1), and 3005(C)(8) are hereby amended and
13 reenacted and R.S. 17:2926(A)(5) and 3996(B)(24), (30), (44), and (51) are hereby enacted
14 to read as follows:
15 §183.2. Career option description
16 A.(1) To prepare students for choosing a career option at the high school
17 level, in grades six through eight, schools shall incorporate activities which expose
18 students to career and technical and academic fields of study. Such activities may
19 include field trips, guest speakers, community services, and other activities designed
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1 to introduce students to occupations in demand in Louisiana. At least six activities
2 shall be conducted at each grade level during each school year as provided in
3 Paragraph (2) of this Subsection. Louisiana Works shall provide annually a listing
4 of high-demand sectors by region and state to public school governing authorities,
5 which shall select activities that align with these sectors to the greatest extent
6 feasible.
7 (2)(a) Each school year, at least three of the six activities for each grade level
8 shall meet one of the following criteria:
9 (i) An activity that provides direct interaction with an employer.
10 (ii) An activity that involves career pathway instruction linked to high school
11 course options.
12 (iii) An activity that provides a work-based learning exposure.
13 (iv) A career interest inventory.
14 (b) At least one activity shall be documented for each school year in each
15 student's Individual Graduation Plan developed pursuant to R.S. 17:2925.
16 (3) Each school that enrolls students in grades kindergarten through five
17 shall provide students with at least one career awareness experience or activity in a
18 category provided in Subparagraph (2)(a) of this Subsection during each school year.
19 (4) Each school board shall certify annual compliance for the schools under
20 its jurisdiction to the state Department of Education and maintain auditable records
21 of activities by grade relative to the requirements of Paragraphs (1) through (3) of
22 this Subsection.
23 * * *
24 §2925. Individual graduation plans
25 * * *
26 B. To provide a foundation for the development of the Individual Graduation
27 Plan, schools shall:
28 (1) Provide career awareness and exploration activities to all students in
29 grades six through eight that create linkages between what a student does in school
30 and what he wants to achieve in life. Such activities shall include career interest
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HB NO. 268 ENROLLED
1 inventories in sixth grade and updated career interest inventories in seventh and
2 eighth grades and information to assist them in the career decisionmaking process
3 and may include job shadowing, job mentoring, and job internships. as provided in
4 R.S. 17:183.2(A).
5 * * *
6 §2926. Student counseling; training and professional development
7 A. The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education shall develop
8 an advisement policy for the middle and high school grades that local school districts
9 can use to equip school counselors with the skills and information needed to:
10 * * *
11 (5) Document at least one middle school career-related activity in the
12 student's Individual Graduation Plan as provided in R.S. 17:183.2(A) and ensure that
13 career interest inventories are updated in seventh and eighth grades as provided in
14 R.S. 17:2925(B).
15 * * *
16 §3005. Elementary school counselors; availability; guidelines; requirements;
17 counseling services; work time; exceptions; reporting; funding
18 * * *
19 C. Such school counselors shall provide preventive and developmental
20 counseling services to all public elementary school students in kindergarten through
21 grade six in order to prepare them for middle, junior, and senior high school
22 responsibilities and their social and physical development. In providing such
23 counseling services, the counselors may:
24 * * *
25 (8) Consult with teachers in implementing a career development program
26 which, at the elementary school level, includes self-awareness, job awareness, and
27 prevocational orientation and in providing that students in kindergarten through fifth
28 grade participate in at least one career awareness experience or activity during each
29 school year as provided in R.S. 17:183.2(A).
30 * * *
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HB NO. 268 ENROLLED
1 §3996. Charter schools; exemptions; requirements
2 * * *
3 B. Notwithstanding any state law, rule, or regulation to the contrary and
4 except as may be otherwise specifically provided for in an approved charter, a
5 charter school established and operated in accordance with the provisions of this
6 Chapter and its approved charter and the school's officers and employees shall be
7 exempt from all statutory mandates or other statutory requirements that are
8 applicable to public schools and to public school officers and employees except for
9 the following laws otherwise applicable to public schools with the same grades:
10 * * *
11 (24) Career-related activities, R.S. 17:183.2(A).
12 * * *
13 (30) Career-related activities, R.S. 17:2925(B)(1).
14 * * *
15 (44) School counselor documentation of career-related activities,
16 R.S. 17:2926(A)(5).
17 * * *
18 (51) School counselor consultation with teachers on career-related activities,
19 R.S. 17:3005(C)(8).
20 * * *
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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