LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) – Some Louisiana parents will soon have more freedom to choose where their children attend school.
The Louisiana Gator Scholarship Program was signed off on by Gov. Jeff Landry in June of 2024.
The program uses tax dollars to create scholarship accounts for eligible families to be used for education expenses, like private school tuition and fees, tutoring, uniforms, textbooks, and dual enrollment classes. Parents will be able to apply beginning March 1st.
“It can be homeschool, charter schools, religious schools, or anybody who calls themselves a school,” Teri Johnson, President of the Calcasieu Federation of Teachers, said. “They’ll get money from the state. It’s taxpayer money. If you want your child to go to a private school, that’s your choice but you got to pay for it.”
The Louisiana Gator Scholarship Program will replace the current Louisiana Choice voucher program, also known as the Louisiana Scholarship Program, which is closing at the end of this school year.
“You are taking money out from the public schools. Your public schools are not going to have enough. In a public school, you are guaranteed a fair and equitable education. You are pretty much guaranteed a certified teacher who knows the curriculum. You’re also guaranteed that the curriculum is okayed by the state. The ones who send it to us outside of the realm of public education aren’t guaranteed,” Johnson said.
James Williams, Vernon Parish School Board Superintendent, said this program poses a threat to the stability of public education. He released the following statement:
“Without essential public funding, which has not been elevated to keep up with the rising costs and expenses each year already, public schools will not exist. This overbearing issue will leave public schools with overcrowded class sizes and fewer resources and teachers. It will even diminish the public school’s opportunity to offer our students a well-rounded education.”
Families currently receiving the Louisiana Scholarship Program will receive priority access to the new program.
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