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A.(1)  Effective July 1, 1997, the Orleans Regional Technical Institute is hereby merged with Delgado Community College in the University of Louisiana system and on this date the funds, property, obligations, programs, and functions of the Orleans Regional Technical Institute are transferred from the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to and hereby are vested in the Board of Trustees for State Colleges and Universities.

(2)  Effective July 1, 1999, Delgado Community College as provided for in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection is transferred to the Louisiana Community and Technical College System under the management of the Board of Supervisors of Community and Technical Colleges.

B.(1)  Any student enrolled in a program of study at the Orleans Regional Technical Institute at the time of the merger with Delgado Community College shall be permitted to complete such program of study at no greater cost or conditions than those applicable to the student prior to the merger.

(2)  Any person employed at the Orleans Regional Technical Institute on the date of merger with Delgado Community College shall have the right to be retained in his position pursuant to the same policies and conditions applicable to such person prior to the merger.  The Board of Trustees for State Colleges and Universities shall conduct a careful and deliberate review of the programs and employees at the former technical institute and provide for an employee transition that is consistent with the mission of Delgado Community College and that provides opportunities for an employee to have a role at the community college at least equivalent to his position prior to the merger.  Such opportunities shall include but not be limited to providing such additional training or professional development, or both, at no cost to the employee as is necessary to prepare the employee to undertake his role at the community college subsequent to the transfer.  After July 1, 1999, the Board of Supervisors of Community and Technical Colleges shall continue the policies established by the Board of Trustees for State Colleges and Universities as provided in this Paragraph.

(3)  A student, faculty member, or other employee of the technical institute on the date of the merger with Delgado Community College shall be entitled to and eligible for all benefits provided by law, rule, or regulation for students, faculty, and employees, respectively, of other public two-year institutions of higher education in the University of Louisiana system and, after July 1, 1999, the Louisiana Community and Technical College System.

(4)  The Division of Occupational Studies at Delgado Community College shall be headed by a dean.  The dean of the division initially shall be the individual serving as the director of the Orleans Regional Technical Institute on the date of merger with Delgado Community College.  All occupational programs at Delgado Community College shall be under the Division of Occupational Studies. The dean of occupational studies, under the supervision of the Board of Supervisors of Community and Technical Colleges, shall have the authority to maintain the same vocational technical curriculum as all other technical colleges in the state.

C.  Prior to July 1, 1997, the Board of Trustees for State Colleges and Universities shall conduct an independent audit of the Orleans Regional Technical Institute to establish the assets, liabilities, and fund balances of the institute.

D.  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, Delgado Community College shall give preference in the operation of vending stands, vending machines, and other concessions operated on the premises of the former technical institute to blind persons pursuant to programs for such persons administered by the Louisiana Workforce Commission.  Additionally, no other vending stands, vending machines, or other concessions shall be operated on the same premises as the vending stands, vending machines, and other concessions given preference by this Subsection.  No blind person shall be required to pay any fee, service charge, or other cost to operate any vending stand, vending machine, or other concession on the premises of the former technical institute and no blind person operating such a vending stand, vending machine, or other concession on such premises shall be adversely impacted in any way in the operation of such stand, machine, or concession without reasonable or just cause.

E.  The Board of Supervisors of Community and Technical Colleges shall submit a written report to the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education by not later than December 31, 1998, on the effects of the transfer of the Orleans Regional Technical Institute.  The report shall compare the program with the program prior to the transfer with particular emphasis on access by students to occupational training programs compared to such access prior to transfer, including statistics relative to student applications, admissions, and admission refusals.

Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 151, §1, eff. July 1, 1999; Acts 1999, No. 624, §1, eff. July 1, 1999; Acts 2014, No. 811, §8, eff. June 23, 2014.