BATON ROUGE, La. –The Department of Education today released an annual report detailing the implementation of the Louisiana Scholarship Program as required by Act 2, passed by the Louisiana Legislature in 2012. To access the annual report, click here. The report includes information regarding:
Participation: Of the participating students that transferred from a public school, 86 percent came from a D or F rated school. 93 percent qualified for the federal free and reduced-price lunch program, and 91.5 percent of participating scholarship students are minority. Enrollment increased 171 percent from the 2011-2012 school year to the 2012-2013 school year with nearly 5,000 students enrolling in 118 schools across the state. The Louisiana Scholarship Program saved Louisiana taxpayers approximately $15.2 million during the 2012-13 school year.
Parental Satisfaction: A January 2013 survey conducted by the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO) and the Louisiana Federation for Children (LFC) found that approximately 93 percent of parents were satisfied with their child’s scholarship school.
Long-term Academic Performance: The Louisiana Scholarship Program has demonstrated strong academic growth since its inception as a pilot program in New Orleans. Since the 2008-2009 school year, 3rd grade iLEAP English language arts scores in schools participating for multiple years have increased by 20 percentage points, and math scores have increased by 28 percentage points.
Accountability:
- Academic. Schools that serve a larger number of scholarship students receive a Scholarship Cohort Index (SCI) calculated similarly to a public school’s School Performance Score. This year, the state released the first SCI which will serve as the baseline for the program’s overall academic achievement. Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year, if a school receives an SCI below 50 in the second year of participation or any year thereafter, the school cannot enroll additional scholarship recipients. 23 of the participating schools were eligible to receive an SCI for the 2012-2013 school year. These 23 schools enrolled roughly 59 percent of scholarship testers, and 61 percent of tested students were first-time scholarship testers.
- Financial. All participating schools complete a rigorous independent financial audit. Only one school was found to be non compliant with the program’s fiscal requirements. The Department took action by removing the school in violation from the program.
For more information on the Louisiana Scholarship program, click here.
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