Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed a bill in 2024 to create LA GATOR, a new tax-funded scholarship program to help parents pay for tuition and other private education expenses. Applications open March 1.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed a bill in 2024 to create LA GATOR, a new tax-funded scholarship program to help parents pay for tuition and other private education expenses. Applications open March 1.
It’s officially GATOR season.
On Saturday, Louisiana families can begin applying to LA GATOR, a new tax-funded scholarship program meant to help parents pay for private education. Replacing the state’s long-running voucher program, LA GATOR — officially the Louisiana Giving All True Opportunity to Rise program — will be open to more families and allow for more uses than its predecessor.
In addition to private school tuition, parents can spend the scholarship money on tutoring, textbooks, special-education services and other approved expenses.
“For families who are looking for a different approach to educating their child, this is a great opportunity,” said Germain Gilson, assistant superintendent of school choice for the Louisiana Department of Education.
Louisiana is one of nearly 20 Republican-led states that have created scholarships, also called education savings accounts, that give families public money to pay for private education. Champions of this approach, including President Donald Trump, say parents should decide whether the tax dollars allocated for their children go to public, private or home schools.
Gov. Jeff Landry made the scholarships his top education priority last year, pushing the LA GATOR bill through the Legislature despite opposition from public-education advocates, Democrats and some Republican lawmakers who said the program would divert money from under-funded public schools to loosely regulated private ones.
Last week, Landry proposed spending $93.5 million on LA GATOR scholarships next fiscal year — about double what the state spends annually on private-school vouchers. In the coming months, the Legislature will debate whether to grant Landry’s budget request or propose a different amount. The outcome will determine how many students will receive scholarships this fall.
For parents planning to apply — or taxpayers tracking state spending — here’s a complete guide to LA GATOR.
Families can apply to participate in LA GATOR from March 1 to April 15.
They’ll apply through an online portal operated by Odyssey, the company Louisiana is paying to manage the program. Parents will need documents proving their residency and income, such as driver’s licenses, utility bills and tax forms.
Eligible families who receive scholarships must apply separately to their chosen private schools, which control their own admissions. Many private schools consider applicants’ test scores, grades, attendance and behavior records.
“This does not mean acceptance into the school,” Gilson said about applying for LA GATOR. “All schools have their own application, registration and admissions process.”
Students who received school vouchers this year and children from families with a total income at or below 250% of federal poverty guidelines ($80,375 for a family of four) are eligible for scholarships next school year.
So are incoming kindergarteners and public-school students from families with any level of income. If applications exceed available scholarships, then the state will give priority to voucher students, followed by low-income students and students with disabilities.
The LA GATOR law says scholarships eventually will be available to families at or below 400% of the poverty guidelines and then to all families, but it doesn’t set a timeline for expansion.
Erin Bendily, senior vice president of the Pelican Institute, a Louisiana think tank that promotes the scholarships, said the program’s growth will depend on how much money the Legislature allots it. Parents can help build support for it by signing up, she added.
“This is your way to communicate to lawmakers your demand and desire for this program for your child,” she said.
Registered homeschoolers cannot participate — but there’s a loophole of sorts.
Homeschool families were excluded from the LA GATOR bill partly at the insistence of advocates who didn’t want homeschoolers to face additional oversight or regulations.
However, if a family is eligible for the program (for example, if they meet the income threshold), they can choose to no longer apply for state homeschool approval. The family could still educate their children from home but would register them as LA GATOR participants rather than state-approved “home study” students.
“Your legal status will change,” Bendily said. But “practically speaking for the child, it might not look very different.”
Families could spend the scholarships on textbooks, instructional supplies like pens and notebooks and fees for individual courses in subjects like chemistry or career training, which students could take online or at a local school, Bendily said.
But homeschoolers should be aware that the money comes with strings attached, she added. Families must give their children annual standardized tests and submit to possible financial audits — regulations that don’t apply to traditional homeschoolers.
Each family’s scholarship amount will depend on their circumstances.
Students with disabilities will receive up to $15,253, but the exact amount depends on the student’s needs. For example, children with multiple disabilities will receive more than students with speech impairments, and students with disabilities from low-income families will get extra funding.
Families at or below 250% of the poverty line will get $7,626. Other eligible families, including those with entering kindergartners or children in public school this year, will get $5,243.
Students in the voucher program will continue receiving the same amount they got this year, but now the money will come through LA GATOR.
Families can spend the scholarships on a whole host of education expenses — but they must be state approved.
More than 240 private schools have signed up for LA GATOR to date, according to the state education department. Scholarships can go toward tuition and fees at the participating schools, though families must pay for any portion not covered by their award.
Other eligible expenses include textbooks and technology, such as laptops; career-training programs and summer school; fees for the Advanced Placement exams and other tests; special-education services, including behavioral, physical and speech-language therapy; college courses available to high school students; individual classes or extracurricular activities offered by participating public schools; private tutoring; and school uniforms.
Families will make purchases through an online marketplace run by Odyssey, the state vendor.
“I liken it to Amazon,” said Ken Bradford, the state education department’s chief of staff, during a webinar hosted by the Pelican Institute. “If you’re looking for a particular laptop to do your work, you would be able to type that in the search feature of the marketplace and then the eligible laptops could be purchased.”
By pre-approving items for the marketplace, the state aims to streamline the process for families (no searching for service providers or submitting reimbursements) and prevent misuse. In other states, some families have used ESAs for questionable purchases, such as ski resort passes and video game consoles.
But this approach also limits spending to the goods and services available in the marketplace. If families want an item to be considered for inclusion, they’ll be able to submit a request, state officials said.
The most urgent question for many families is when they’ll be eligible for scholarships.
For now, most middle and upper-income families with children in private schools can’t participate. But Landry has promised to expand the program until all families are eligible, regardless of financial need.
“I believe that within the next four to five years we can get to full implementation,” he told supporters at a Catholic high school in Metairie last year, adding that the state will move “as fast as the Legislature will appropriate the money.”
Eligibility is one thing, but funding is another. The $93.5 million that Landry proposed for LA GATOR next school year is expected to cover just over 11,000 scholarships — nearly 6,000 for current voucher students and 5,300 for other eligible students.
In 2023, more than 110,000 Louisiana students attended state-approved private schools. If those students become eligible for scholarships, costs would skyrocket.
Funding might never match demand. But proponents of the scholarships, Landry being the most prominent, still plan to push hard on lawmakers to finance the program.
“This has been his signature education legislation,” said state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley, “so it’s hard for me to believe that he’s not going to fight for funding for GATOR.”
Email Patrick Wall at patrick.wall@theadvocate.com.
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