Louisiana Scholarship Program
The Louisiana Scholarship Program empowers low-income families with the same opportunity as more affluent parents already have – the financial resources to send their child to the school of their choice.
Launched in 2008 in New Orleans, the Louisiana Scholarship Program, formally known as the Student Scholarships for Education Excellence Program, was expanded statewide in 2012. In the first year of the statewide program, more than 10,000 students applied for a scholarship and close to 6000 scholarships were offered to families. Nearly 5000 students accepted a scholarship and enrolled in a state-approved private school for the 2012-2013 school year. 91% of scholarship students are minority. Of those students previously enrolled in public school, 14% attended a C school, 69% attended a D school and 17% attended an F school.
117 private schools – nearly one-third of eligible schools – are participating in the program. The overwhelming majority of schools have been educating Louisiana students for a decade or more – 86% for ten or more years, 73% for 25 or more years, and 47% for a half century or more years.
To be eligible for a scholarship, students must have a family income of less than 250% of the federal poverty line and must be entering kindergarten or must already be enrolled in a low-performing school with a C, D, or F grade.
Scholarship students must take the same assessments as students in district-run public schools. Student achievement on these assessments will be used to determine continuing participation of the school in the program.
Round 2 Instructions:
This second round will be open to all eligible families, including those who applied in Round 1. Families that applied in Round 1, but did not receive a scholarship, do not need to reapply. They will be automatically considered for a match in Round 2. If a family would like to change their preferences on their application, they should reapply.
New Orleans residents should NOT use this application. Instead, please visit www.enrollnola.org to learn how you can apply for scholarship schools through their One App.
The Louisiana Scholarship Program applications for the 2013-2014 school year are now available below: