BATON ROUGE - A bill that could force TOPS students to repay their scholarship money to the state if they fail to maintain their eligibility is set to be debated in the Louisiana House of Representatives on Tuesday.

Under House Bill 385, authored by Rep. Dennis Bamburg, R-Bossier City, students could lose eligibility for the program with poor grades or by leaving school.

"Anybody who fails out or loses their scholarship, they're going to have a repayment to the state for the funds that they have used in scholarship money, unless they enroll in a high-wage, high-need curriculum at a Louisiana Community & Technical College System school, or have a career in technical school," Bamburg said.

Several LSU students told WBRZ that they are concerned about the proposed bill.

"I think that bill sounds absolutely ridiculous. Scholarships are not loans. Scholarships are rewards. I myself have pretty bad anxiety when it comes to my grades, so thinking with the fact that if I do slightly poorly, I'll have to pay back money that I've gotten from scholarships, I would be horrified," LSU student Blake Samson said.

The bill would apply only to students who qualify for the bottom two levels of the TOPS program, the TOPS Opportunity Award and the TOPS Performance Award.

According to the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance, qualifications for the Opportunity Award require a minimum ACT score of 20 and at least a 2.5 TOPS Core Curriculum GPA. It also requires a student to maintain a minimum 2.3 GPA at the end of the first academic year and at least a 2.5 GPA at the end of all other academic years.

The Performance Award requires at least a score of 23 and a 3.25 GPA to qualify, while a student must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA at the end of all academic years. The student must also earn at least 24 credit hours for the academic year for both the Opportunity and Performance awards

Students who qualify for higher-level awards such as TOPS Honors and TOPS Excellence would not be required to pay back their awards.

Some LSU students feel that this proposed bill could discourage people from going to college.

"I think it's punishing students who are likely already struggling, and I can't see a world where that really helps Louisiana's education at all or helps produce higher quality students," LSU student Justin LeGrand said.

Other students say that it could promote academic excellence.

"It could maybe have them work harder because they don't want to lose it, so it's like I worked so hard for this money, I have to keep my grades up to keep the money," LSU student Arielle Exil said.

Bamburg says there are exemptions, like a death in a student's family, that would protect students who fail to meet the standards.

"Parental leave, physical rehab, substance abuse, disabilities, educational opportunities, religious commitments," Bamburg said.

The bill advanced past the House Education Committee by a vote of six to five.