PINEVILLE, La. (KALB) – College students in Louisiana may soon be able to leave one less card in their wallet.
Senate Bill 353, signed by Governor Jeff Landry and taking effect Aug. 1, 2026, authorizes postsecondary management boards to create digitized student IDs for integration into the LA Wallet app.
(KALB | LA Wallet App)
Starting that date, colleges and universities across Louisiana can choose to offer digital student IDs through the LA Wallet app or another campus app.
Louisiana Christian University said the option could make it easier for students to access campus services using their phones, but school leaders said they are still in the early stages of evaluating it.
Bryce Sanders, IT Executive Director at LCU, said the university’s Campus 8 AI camera system and the new digital ID option work together.
KALB’s Daviion Telsee and Bryce Sanders, IT Executive Director at LCU.(KALB)
Sanders added that student input will be central to any decision the university makes on digital IDs.
“When we get ready to actually move to a digital pass, it’s important these days for us to make sure we get student buy-in,” Sanders said. “In the past, I think students have gotten left out of some decision-making, and so we’re concerned that right now I don’t want to just offer something and say, okay, here’s what we’re doing and here’s a change to the population and the culture. My intention is to actually get the student government body to do a vote or a survey of the population and let the students tell us if they’re ready to move to a mobile credential.”
Campus officials said the student vote is necessary in part because not all students have updated phones, a concern that spans both iPhone and Android users.
(Credit: KALB)
Sanders said the university sees itself as moving in the right direction on technology, though work remains.
“I feel like we’re a step ahead of most universities, not only in our area but around the state,” Sanders said. “And yet, the more we put into place, the farther we see that end goal coming out. We’re nowhere near complete, but we’re on a path of completion, and we want to continue going that way.”
Since the decision is up to each individual college, not every campus will make the switch right away.
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