Louisiana
U.S.
Rank
- Opportunity
- Innovation
- Policy Environment
Score:
74%
Grade:
C
Rank:
#20
Most of the state’s charters are in the Big Easy. Charters saved education after Hurricane Katrina, which was dismal prior, and while many other districts have adopted the innovation, none come close.
Law passed: 1997
Most recently amended: 2014, State Supreme Court decision in 2018
Number of charter schools: 146
Number of charter students: 84,000
Cap on the number of schools allowed:? No
Virtual charters allowed? Yes
AUTHORIZERS: Local school boards (post establishment and sunsetting of the Recovery School District which was independent and created the lion’s share of charter schools at the time) and the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, which is increasingly regulatory and political. There is no appeals process for charter schools authorized by the State Board, which limits the recourse of charter providers to question adverse decisions.
GROWTH: There is no cap, but growth is inhibited by the requirement for a completely new application for every new campus. Since 2018, 11 new charter schools have opened, but enrollment is stagnant.
OPERATIONS: Charter school autonomy varies according to the authorizer. Schools authorized by school districts are less autonomous than those authorized by the state. Despite this, charter schools have a blanket exemption from all state board rules and regulations applicable to public schools with certain exceptions, most notably accountability regulations.
EQUITY: Louisiana puts charter schools into five different categories, and the funding varies slightly by category. All receive a base amount according to a weighted student membership count, and have access to local tax dollars and all state and federal funding. Access to local dollars does not guarantee it, however, and charter schools here receive their funding through their authorizer, so the amount the schools actually receive ends up varying widely, which leads to inequity. There is no per pupil facilities funding available.
Score:
Grade:
D
Rank:
#11
Almost 10,000 families benefit from three programs that enable private school options for students most in need.
Law enacted: 2008-2012
Number of programs: 4
Statewide Participation: 9,568
Types of programs: Voucher, Tax Credit Scholarship, Individual Tax Credit / Deduction
Voucher
Louisiana Scholarship Program
The Louisiana Scholarship Program is the states’ first private school choice program that was started in 2008. This program gives low-income students in low-performing public schools the opportunity to attend the school of their choice. For students to be eligible, a students’ household income cannot be greater than 250% of the federal poverty line, and they must attend a public school with a C,D, or F letter grade. The voucher cap is 90% of state and local funding and the program has a budget cap of $41.9 million. In 2021 a bill was passed that removed the 20% enrollment cap in a participating school, expanding opportunities for more students to participate. It also puts onerous state rules on the program, however, requiring participating schools to be designated as ineligible if it “fails for three consecutive years to meet minimum standards for academic performance as determined by the accountability system provided for in state board policy,” without regard to the individual school or student factors.
Voucher
School Choice Program for Certain Students with Exceptionalities
This school voucher program was launched in 2011 to serve students with certain special needs access to the best schooling options for them. Tuition assistance is 50% of the state per-pupil funding (approx. 2,500) and cannot be greater than private school tuition expenses. For funding reasons, the Louisiana Department of Education is not accepting new students into this program for the 2020-2021 school year.
Tax-Credit Scholarship
Tuition Donation Credit Program
Louisiana’s only tax-credit scholarship program was launched in 2012 to help students from low-income households access the private school learning opportunities.Through this program, taxpayers that contribute to School Tuition Organizations (STO) receive tax rebates. For students to be eligible, their household income cannot exceed 250% of the federal poverty line, and they must either be entering Kindergarten, currently attend a Louisiana public school, or already a part of the Louisiana Scholarship Program.
Individual Tax Credit/Deduction
Elementary and Secondary School Tuition Deduction
Louisiana’s individual tax deduction program started in 2008 and is available to any taxpayer who has educational expenses such as private school tuition, homeschool educational expenses, and public school educational expenses.
Score:
Grade:
B
Rank:
#1
Has strong teacher prep requirements for literacy and other subjects. Evaluations include measures of performance.
TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT: 85%
General Teacher Preparation 85%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 85%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 80%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 85%
Alternate Routes 90%
STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 75%
Hiring 60%
Retaining Effective Teachers 89%
TEACHER EVALUATION: 85%
TEACHER COMPENSATION: 97%
Score:
74%
Grade:
C
Rank:
#20
Most of the state’s charters are in the Big Easy. Charters saved education after Hurricane Katrina, which was dismal prior, and while many other districts have adopted the innovation, none come close.
Law passed: 1997
Most recently amended: 2014, State Supreme Court decision in 2018
Number of charter schools: 146
Number of charter students: 84,000
Cap on the number of schools allowed:? No
Virtual charters allowed? Yes
AUTHORIZERS: Local school boards (post establishment and sunsetting of the Recovery School District which was independent and created the lion’s share of charter schools at the time) and the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, which is increasingly regulatory and political. There is no appeals process for charter schools authorized by the State Board, which limits the recourse of charter providers to question adverse decisions.
GROWTH: There is no cap, but growth is inhibited by the requirement for a completely new application for every new campus. Since 2018, 11 new charter schools have opened, but enrollment is stagnant.
OPERATIONS: Charter school autonomy varies according to the authorizer. Schools authorized by school districts are less autonomous than those authorized by the state. Despite this, charter schools have a blanket exemption from all state board rules and regulations applicable to public schools with certain exceptions, most notably accountability regulations.
EQUITY: Louisiana puts charter schools into five different categories, and the funding varies slightly by category. All receive a base amount according to a weighted student membership count, and have access to local tax dollars and all state and federal funding. Access to local dollars does not guarantee it, however, and charter schools here receive their funding through their authorizer, so the amount the schools actually receive ends up varying widely, which leads to inequity. There is no per pupil facilities funding available.
Score:
Grade:
D
Rank:
#11
Almost 10,000 families benefit from three programs that enable private school options for students most in need.
Law enacted: 2008-2012
Number of programs: 4
Statewide Participation: 9,568
Types of programs: Voucher, Tax Credit Scholarship, Individual Tax Credit / Deduction
Voucher
Louisiana Scholarship Program
The Louisiana Scholarship Program is the states’ first private school choice program that was started in 2008. This program gives low-income students in low-performing public schools the opportunity to attend the school of their choice. For students to be eligible, a students’ household income cannot be greater than 250% of the federal poverty line, and they must attend a public school with a C,D, or F letter grade. The voucher cap is 90% of state and local funding and the program has a budget cap of $41.9 million. In 2021 a bill was passed that removed the 20% enrollment cap in a participating school, expanding opportunities for more students to participate. It also puts onerous state rules on the program, however, requiring participating schools to be designated as ineligible if it “fails for three consecutive years to meet minimum standards for academic performance as determined by the accountability system provided for in state board policy,” without regard to the individual school or student factors.
Voucher
School Choice Program for Certain Students with Exceptionalities
This school voucher program was launched in 2011 to serve students with certain special needs access to the best schooling options for them. Tuition assistance is 50% of the state per-pupil funding (approx. 2,500) and cannot be greater than private school tuition expenses. For funding reasons, the Louisiana Department of Education is not accepting new students into this program for the 2020-2021 school year.
Tax-Credit Scholarship
Tuition Donation Credit Program
Louisiana’s only tax-credit scholarship program was launched in 2012 to help students from low-income households access the private school learning opportunities.Through this program, taxpayers that contribute to School Tuition Organizations (STO) receive tax rebates. For students to be eligible, their household income cannot exceed 250% of the federal poverty line, and they must either be entering Kindergarten, currently attend a Louisiana public school, or already a part of the Louisiana Scholarship Program.
Individual Tax Credit/Deduction
Elementary and Secondary School Tuition Deduction
Louisiana’s individual tax deduction program started in 2008 and is available to any taxpayer who has educational expenses such as private school tuition, homeschool educational expenses, and public school educational expenses.
Score:
Grade:
B
Rank:
#1
Has strong teacher prep requirements for literacy and other subjects. Evaluations include measures of performance.
TRAINING AND RECRUITMENT: 85%
General Teacher Preparation 85%
Elementary Teacher Preparation 85%
Secondary Teacher Preparation 80%
Special Education Teacher Preparation 85%
Alternate Routes 90%
STAFFING AND SUPPORT: 75%
Hiring 60%
Retaining Effective Teachers 89%
TEACHER EVALUATION: 85%
TEACHER COMPENSATION: 97%
Score:
Grade:
D
Rank:
#42
Louisiana has only a few statewide initiatives that expand digital learning opportunities for students, though there have been improvements in connectivity and access to devices. The Louisiana Department of Education created a Digital Literacy Guide as a resource for schools and districts to measure technology readiness by grade level.
According to the Statewide Education Technology Plan, the goal for the 2020-2021 school year is a student to device ratio of 1:1. Before the pandemic, 566,505 devices were available to students, making the student to device ratio 1.1:1 student per device; an improvement from 1.3:1 in 2018, and 1.6:1 in 2016. Although the number of devices in the state has continued to increase, Louisiana still struggles with ensuring that low-income and rural populations have equitable access to devices and connectivity. High poverty areas compare to the statewide student to device ratio of 1:1, but rural populations’ student to device ratio is 1.4:1.
The state provides schools and educators with technology professional development by hosting regional and statewide training events, supporting the Louisiana Computer Using Educators Association and working with state-contracted vendors to provide training on hardware and software.
Bandwidth: “100% of students in Louisiana can access the Internet at speeds of 100 kbps per student, and many students are connected at higher speeds.”
Louisiana implemented a Strength of Diploma indicator as a part of their accountability system, which allows students to earn additional diploma points for JumpStar credits, IB, AP, Associate Degree, and more. Strength of Diploma evokes personalized learning by ensuring students have access to high-quality learning pathways that reflect their college and career interest.
Louisiana closed schools March 13, and launched one of the best websites for resources and guidance for remote learning in the country.
Decisions on how to implement remote learning were left to the districts: “School systems are not required to offer remote learning. Schools may offer complete remote learning, as capabilities exist.” They partnered with the state’s PBS affiliate to provide programming for learning.
While Louisiana left decisions up to the districts, they also provided extensive toolkits and resources for all facets of education, including a Family Toolkit.
Action State Superintendent of Education Beth Scioneaux’s March 12th message illustrates how Louisiana empowered districts to make innovative decisions from the beginning by handling assessment and remote learning decisions on a case by case basis. All communications are easily accessible on the state’s education website and were announced in Mid-late March. The toolkit for school systems dealing with school closures was released on March 26th, much earlier than many other states.
Many districts were innovative in their approach, and the state’s encouragement and easily-accessible resources and guidelines made it easier for them to do so.
Louisiana’s state government has not prevented any districts or charters from opening for the fall. Many districts have elected to push back their start date.
Fast Facts
4th Grade Math Proficiency:
8th Grade Math Proficiency:
12th Grade Math Proficiency:
4th Grade Reading Proficiency:
8th Grade Reading Proficiency:
12th Grade Reading Proficiency:
Graduation Rate:
Average SAT Score:
Average ACT Score:
Public School Enrollment:
Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:
Average Student Funding:
Score:
Grade:
D
Rank:
#42
Louisiana has only a few statewide initiatives that expand digital learning opportunities for students, though there have been improvements in connectivity and access to devices. The Louisiana Department of Education created a Digital Literacy Guide as a resource for schools and districts to measure technology readiness by grade level.
According to the Statewide Education Technology Plan, the goal for the 2020-2021 school year is a student to device ratio of 1:1. Before the pandemic, 566,505 devices were available to students, making the student to device ratio 1.1:1 student per device; an improvement from 1.3:1 in 2018, and 1.6:1 in 2016. Although the number of devices in the state has continued to increase, Louisiana still struggles with ensuring that low-income and rural populations have equitable access to devices and connectivity. High poverty areas compare to the statewide student to device ratio of 1:1, but rural populations’ student to device ratio is 1.4:1.
The state provides schools and educators with technology professional development by hosting regional and statewide training events, supporting the Louisiana Computer Using Educators Association and working with state-contracted vendors to provide training on hardware and software.
Bandwidth: “100% of students in Louisiana can access the Internet at speeds of 100 kbps per student, and many students are connected at higher speeds.”
Louisiana implemented a Strength of Diploma indicator as a part of their accountability system, which allows students to earn additional diploma points for JumpStar credits, IB, AP, Associate Degree, and more. Strength of Diploma evokes personalized learning by ensuring students have access to high-quality learning pathways that reflect their college and career interest.
Louisiana closed schools March 13, and launched one of the best websites for resources and guidance for remote learning in the country.
Decisions on how to implement remote learning were left to the districts: “School systems are not required to offer remote learning. Schools may offer complete remote learning, as capabilities exist.” They partnered with the state’s PBS affiliate to provide programming for learning.
While Louisiana left decisions up to the districts, they also provided extensive toolkits and resources for all facets of education, including a Family Toolkit.
Action State Superintendent of Education Beth Scioneaux’s March 12th message illustrates how Louisiana empowered districts to make innovative decisions from the beginning by handling assessment and remote learning decisions on a case by case basis. All communications are easily accessible on the state’s education website and were announced in Mid-late March. The toolkit for school systems dealing with school closures was released on March 26th, much earlier than many other states.
Many districts were innovative in their approach, and the state’s encouragement and easily-accessible resources and guidelines made it easier for them to do so.
Louisiana’s state government has not prevented any districts or charters from opening for the fall. Many districts have elected to push back their start date.
4th Grade Math Proficiency:
8th Grade Math Proficiency:
12th Grade Math Proficiency:
4th Grade Reading Proficiency:
8th Grade Reading Proficiency:
12th Grade Reading Proficiency:
Graduation Rate:
Average SAT Score:
Average ACT Score:
Public School Enrollment:
Percent Enrolled in Charter Schools:
Average Student Funding:
John Bel Edwards (D)
First term began in 2016 (two term limit)
Governor John Bel Edwards narrowly won re-election in 2019, which could be a loss for students in Louisiana. Gov. Edwards is a vocal critic of charter schools and voucher programs.
The House and Senate are both Republican controlled and historically supportive of educational choice measures. There haven’t been any big efforts in the legislature to expand programs in the past couple of years; leaders must be bold and undeterred by a Governor who is hostile to expanding educational opportunities for families.
Both tax credit and voucher programs are consistent with the Louisiana Constitution, which does not contain a Blaine Amendment, but it does contain parallel language to the federal Constitution’s Religion Clauses.
In a 2018 ruling, the Louisiana Supreme Court found that charters are constitutional.
School report cards are easy to access from louisianabelieves.com under Measuring Results, and clicking DataCenter. Report cards are extremely easy to navigate and include detailed information on academic offerings, after school opportunities, music & art, academic performance by student groups, teacher workforce, and more. Educational options are also highlighted on the main banner, under “School Choices”
School board elections are not held during the general election cycle, which usually means lower voter turnout.
John Bel Edwards (D)
First term began in 2016 (two term limit)
Governor John Bel Edwards narrowly won re-election in 2019, which could be a loss for students in Louisiana. Gov. Edwards is a vocal critic of charter schools and voucher programs.
The House and Senate are both Republican controlled and historically supportive of educational choice measures. There haven’t been any big efforts in the legislature to expand programs in the past couple of years; leaders must be bold and undeterred by a Governor who is hostile to expanding educational opportunities for families.
Both tax credit and voucher programs are consistent with the Louisiana Constitution, which does not contain a Blaine Amendment, but it does contain parallel language to the federal Constitution’s Religion Clauses.
In a 2018 ruling, the Louisiana Supreme Court found that charters are constitutional.
School report cards are easy to access from louisianabelieves.com under Measuring Results, and clicking DataCenter. Report cards are extremely easy to navigate and include detailed information on academic offerings, after school opportunities, music & art, academic performance by student groups, teacher workforce, and more. Educational options are also highlighted on the main banner, under “School Choices”
School board elections are not held during the general election cycle, which usually means lower voter turnout.