HB738 • 2026

COLLEGES/UNIVERSITIES: Provides relative to student disciplinary proceedings (EN SEE FISC NOTE GF EX)

Education

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Dixon McMakin
Last action: 2026-05-25
Official status: Signed by the Speaker
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not explicitly mention that victimized students can appeal decisions, only that accused students and organizations have an appeals process.

Student Rights in Disciplinary Proceedings

This act amends Louisiana's laws to provide students with more rights during disciplinary proceedings at public colleges and universities.

What This Bill Does

Gives students the right to have a lawyer or another advocate help them during disciplinary hearings if they face serious penalties like suspension of ten or more days, deferred suspension, or expulsion.
Requires schools to inform accused students in writing about their rights before any disciplinary action happens.
In cases involving serious bodily injury, schools must prove responsibility by showing evidence that is more likely true than not (preponderance of the evidence), but only if there is objective and verifiable evidence connecting the conduct to the injury or death.

Who It Names or Affects

Students enrolled in public colleges and universities in Louisiana
School administrators responsible for enforcing disciplinary rules

Terms To Know

disciplinary proceedings: The process used by schools to handle student misconduct, including hearings and appeals.
presumption of innocence: A rule that says someone is not guilty until proven otherwise in a fair hearing.

Limits and Unknowns

It does not specify what happens if the school fails to follow these new rules.
The bill does not provide details on how schools should handle appeals or interim safety measures.

Amendments

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

House Floor Amendment #2719 McMakin Adopted

Adopted

Plain English: HFAHB738 224 2719 FOR OFFICE USE ONLY HOUSE FLOOR AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by Representative McMakin to Engrossed House Bill No.

HFAHB738 224 2719 FOR OFFICE USE ONLY HOUSE FLOOR AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by Representative McMakin to Engrossed House Bill No.
738 by Representative McMakin 1 AMENDMENT NO.
1 2 On page 1, line 2, after "(D)," and before "and (F)(1)" delete "(E)," and insert "(E)(1)," 3 AMENDMENT NO.
2 4 On page 1, line 7, after "(D)," and before "and (F)(1)" delete "(E)," and insert "(E)(1)," 5 AMENDMENT NO.

Bill History

2026-05-25 H
Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
2026-05-25 H
Received from the Senate without amendments.
2026-05-22 H
Sent to the Governor for executive approval.
2026-05-21 S
Signed by the President of the Senate.
2026-05-20 S
Rules suspended. Read by title, passed by a vote of 35 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
2026-05-13 S
Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
2026-05-12 S
Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
2026-05-11 S
Reported favorably.
2026-04-07 S
Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Education.
2026-04-01 S
Received in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
2026-03-31 H
Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 100, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
2026-03-30 H
Scheduled for floor debate on 03/31/2026.
2026-03-26 H
Read by title, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
2026-03-25 H
Reported favorably (12-0).
2026-03-09 H
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Education.
2026-02-27 H
First appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/27/2026.
2026-02-27 H
Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Education.
2026-02-27 H
Prefiled.

Official Summary Text

COLLEGES/UNIVERSITIES: Provides relative to student disciplinary proceedings (EN SEE FISC NOTE GF EX)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

ENROLLED
2026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 738
BY REPRESENTATIVES MCMAKIN, BAYHAM, BOYD, CHASSION, DESHOTEL,
DEWITT, FREIBERG, MIKE JOHNSON, LARVADAIN, LYONS, MARTINEZ,
PHELPS, SAWYER, STAGNI, AND WALTERS
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 17:3394(B), (D), (E)(1), and (F)(1) and to enact R.S.
3 17:3394(F)(4) and (5), relative to disciplinary proceedings at public postsecondary
4 education institutions; to provide relative to an appeals process; and to provide for
5 related matters.
6 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
7 Section 1. R.S. 17:3394(B), (D), (E)(1), and (F)(1) are hereby amended and
8 reenacted and R.S. 17:3394(F)(4) and (5) are hereby enacted to read as follows:
9 §3394. Disciplinary proceedings
10 * * *
11 B. Any student enrolled at an institution under the jurisdiction of the
12 management board and accused of a violation of the disciplinary or conduct rules
13 that carries a potential penalty of suspension of ten or more days, deferred
14 suspension, or expulsion has the right to be represented, at the student's expense, by
15 an attorney or a non-attorney advocate who may fully participate during any
16 disciplinary proceeding or during any other procedure adopted and used by that
17 institution to address an alleged violation of the institution's nonacademic rules or
18 policies. This right applies to both the student who has been accused of the violation
19 and the student who is the alleged victim, if applicable. Prior to scheduling a
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1 disciplinary proceeding, the institution shall inform the students in writing of their
2 rights as provided by this Section.
3 * * *
4 D.(1) An institution shall provide a student or student organization subject
5 to a charge or disciplinary proceeding with a written notice of the charge not later
6 than fourteen business days after receiving credible information, including but not
7 limited to a police report or other documentation, sufficient to initiate formal
8 disciplinary proceedings.
9 (2) A student or student organization subject to a charge or disciplinary
10 proceeding by the institution is entitled, upon receiving notice of the charge, to The
11 written notice shall include information of on any and all violations of the
12 institution's nonacademic rules or policies and the disciplinary proceedings or
13 charges that will occur as a result.
14 (3) This notice shall include but need not be limited to each and every
15 section of the institution's rules or policies that the student or student organization
16 is alleged to have violated and any evidence the institution used and collected in
17 making the charge.
18 E. When a violation is punishable by suspension of ten or more days or
19 expulsion, or when a violation by a student organization is punishable by suspension
20 or removal of the organization from the institution, the disciplinary procedures
21 contained in the code of student conduct shall include but need not be limited to the
22 following:
23 (1)(a) Afford the accused student or organization the express presumption
24 of innocence and set forth that the student or the organization may not be deemed
25 guilty of the violation until the student or the organization formally acknowledges
26 responsibility or the conclusion of a hearing where the institution has proven every
27 element of the violation necessary to constitute guilt responsibility by clear and
28 convincing evidence. The standard of establishing guilt responsibility through clear
29 and convincing evidence shall not alter the burden of proof in hearings held pursuant
30 to Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 or R.S. 17:3399.11 et seq.
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1 (b)(i) Notwithstanding Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph, in any disciplinary
2 proceeding arising from physical conduct that resulted in serious bodily injury as
3 defined in R.S. 14:2(C) or death, the institution shall establish responsibility by a
4 preponderance of the evidence.
5 (ii) The preponderance standard shall apply only when the institution
6 possesses objective and verifiable evidence that serious bodily injury or death
7 occurred and that the alleged conduct is directly connected thereto.
8 (iii) Such evidence may include but is not limited to law enforcement
9 reports, medical records, coroner reports, or other comparable documentation. The
10 institution shall issue written findings identifying the objective evidence relied upon.
11 * * *
12 F.(1) Any student or student organization that is found to be in violation of
13 the institution's nonacademic rules or policies shall be afforded an opportunity to
14 appeal the institution's initial decision to an appellate entity that is an institutional
15 administrator or body that did not make the initial decision. Such an appeal shall be
16 filed within ten fourteen business days after receiving final notice of the institution's
17 decision. The right to appeal the result of the institution's disciplinary proceeding
18 also applies to the student who is the alleged victim, if applicable. The institution
19 may designate the appellate entity as the final institutional authority on the matter;
20 however, nothing in this Section shall preclude a court from granting a prevailing
21 plaintiff equitable relief.
22 * * *
23 (4)(a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, sanctions imposed under
24 this Section shall not take effect, be enforced, or be considered final until the later
25 of:
26 (i) The deadline for filing an appeal has expired without an appeal being
27 filed.
28 (ii) All institutional appeals have been completed, and any appellate
29 decisions have been issued.
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1 (b) Nothing in this Paragraph shall prohibit an institution from taking
2 reasonable interim safety measures, including but not limited to housing adjustments,
3 academic changes, or mutual no-contact directives, as long as such measures are not
4 punitive sanctions within the meaning of this Section.
5 (5) The decisionmaker shall issue a written determination that includes:
6 (a) A statement of the factual basis for the violations.
7 (b) A summary of the evidence considered in making the determination.
8 (c) A description of any sanctions imposed.
9 (d) A statement of the procedures and timelines for appeal.
10 * * *
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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