---
type: "Bill"
title: "STUDENTS: Prohibits promotion to the fourth grade of certain students whose reading deficiencies have not been remedied by the end of the third grade (EN INCREASE LF EX See Note)"
description: "STUDENTS: Prohibits promotion to the fourth grade of certain students whose reading deficiencies have not been remedied by the end of the third grade (EN INCREASE LF EX See Note)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/la"
legislature: "Louisiana Legislature"
session: "2023"
identifier: "HB 12"
citation: "Louisiana HB 12 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Richard Nelson"]
version_count: 9
action_count: 25
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2023-02-06"
last_action: "2023-06-27"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/b036a50e-a5aa-493d-a5a0-151ba069abd0"
source_url: "https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/BillInfo.aspx?i=243823"
source_hash: "4dd624642466b1074fc8947567218bf65eb79ac7d76521bc05b5472973ff695a"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-la"]
---

# Louisiana HB 12 (2023) — STUDENTS: Prohibits promotion to the fourth grade of certain students whose reading deficiencies have not been remedied by the end of the third grade (EN INCREASE LF EX See Note)

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **HB12 Original** (filed) — [source](https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1299335)
2. **HB12 Act 422** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1333198)
3. **HB12 Engrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1318356)
4. **HB12 Reengrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1322735)
5. **House Committee Amendment, #2170, EDUC, Adopted** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1317908)
6. **House Committee Amendment, #2250, EDUC, Adopted** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1318274)
7. **House Floor Amendment, #2550, Marino, Adopted** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1320265)
8. **House Floor Amendment, #3051, Phelps, Rejected** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1322633)
9. **HB12 Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1330219)

## Votes

- PASS TO THIRD READING (#253) — **81–14** (pass) · lower
- 5m (#841) — **11–25** (fail) · upper
- FINAL PASSAGE (#439) — **88–15** (pass) · lower
- FINAL PASSAGE (#842) — **28–11** (pass) · upper
- LEGISLATIVE BUREAU (#649) — **22–14** (pass) · upper
- AMENDMENT # 3051 BY PHELPS, MOTION TO ADOPT (#438) — **17–84** (fail) · lower

## Sponsors

- Richard Nelson — primary (person)
- Aimee Adatto Freeman — cosponsor (person)
- Barbara Reich Freiberg — cosponsor (person)
- Beau Beaullieu — cosponsor (person)
- Beryl Amedee — cosponsor (person)
- Beth Mizell — cosponsor (person)
- Blake Miguez — cosponsor (person)
- Cedric Glover — cosponsor (person)
- Charles Owen — cosponsor (person)
- Daryl Adams — cosponsor (person)
- Daryl Deshotel — cosponsor (person)
- Debbie Villio — cosponsor (person)
- Foy Gadberry — cosponsor (person)
- Francis C. Thompson — cosponsor (person)
- Gabe Firment — cosponsor (person)
- Jason Hughes — cosponsor (person)
- Jean-Paul Coussan — cosponsor (person)
- Jerome Zeringue — cosponsor (person)
- Joe Stagni — cosponsor (person)
- John "Big John" Illg , Jr. — cosponsor (person)
- Joseph Orgeron — cosponsor (person)
- Julie Emerson — cosponsor (person)
- Kathy Edmonston — cosponsor (person)
- Lance Harris — cosponsor (person)
- Larry Frieman — cosponsor (person)
- Larry Selders — cosponsor (person)
- Laurie Schlegel — cosponsor (person)
- Malinda White — cosponsor (person)
- Mark Wright — cosponsor (person)
- Mary DuBuisson — cosponsor (person)
- Michael Echols — cosponsor (person)
- Mike Johnson — cosponsor (person)
- Patrick McMath — cosponsor (person)
- Phillip DeVillier — cosponsor (person)
- Polly Thomas — cosponsor (person)
- R. Dewith Carrier — cosponsor (person)
- Ray Garofalo — cosponsor (person)
- Rhonda Butler — cosponsor (person)
- Rick Edmonds — cosponsor (person)
- Robert "Bob" Owen — cosponsor (person)
- Robert Mills — cosponsor (person)
- Rodney Schamerhorn — cosponsor (person)
- Scott McKnight — cosponsor (person)
- Stephanie Hilferty — cosponsor (person)
- Tony Bacala — cosponsor (person)
- Troy D. Romero — cosponsor (person)
- Wayne McMahen — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2023-06-27** Effective date: 08/01/2023.
- **2023-06-27** Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 422. `became-law, executive-signature`
- **2023-06-07** Sent to the Governor for executive approval. `executive-receipt`
- **2023-06-07** Signed by the President of the Senate.
- **2023-06-07** Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House. `enrolled`
- **2023-06-05** Received from the Senate without amendments. `receipt`
- **2023-06-05** Rules suspended. Read by title, passed by a vote of 28 yeas and 11 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled. `passage`
- **2023-06-03** Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage. `reading-3`
- **2023-06-02** Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
- **2023-06-02** Rules suspended. Recalled from Committee.
- **2023-06-02** By a vote of 22 yeas and 14 nays.
- **2023-05-30** Read by title. Recommitted to the Committee on Finance.
- **2023-05-29** Rules suspended. Reported favorably. `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-05-18** Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Education. `reading-2, referral-committee`
- **2023-05-17** Received in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading. `reading-1`
- **2023-05-16** Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 88, nays 15. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate. `passage`
- **2023-05-11** Scheduled for floor debate on 05/16/2023.
- **2023-05-08** Read by title, passed to 3rd reading. `reading-3`
- **2023-05-08** Discharged from the Committee on Appropriations.
- **2023-05-03** Read by title, amended, ordered engrossed, recommitted to the Committee on Appropriations.
- **2023-05-02** Reported with amendments (7-3). `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-04-10** Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Education. `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-17** First appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/17/2023.
- **2023-02-06** Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Education. `referral-committee`
- **2023-02-06** Prefiled. `filing`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/b036a50e-a5aa-493d-a5a0-151ba069abd0`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Louisiana legislature records).