The state of Louisiana recently established the Louisiana Giving All True Opportunity to Rise (LA GATOR) program, Gov Jeff Landry’s office announced in May. The law sets up education savings accounts (ESAs), which some families hope will facilitate choosing what they consider to be the optimal educational paths for their children.
With the introduction of the LA GATOR program, Louisiana’s previous school voucher program, the Student Scholarships for Educational Excellence Program, is now concluded. The new program will be implemented gradually, with evolving eligibility criteria each year:
In Phase 1 (2024-25), students who were already using the state’s vouchers, those entering kindergarten, those enrolled in a public school last school year, and those from families whose total income is less than 250 percent of the federal poverty guidelines are eligible. In Phase 2, the income eligibility increases to 400 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, but the other eligibility criteria remain. After that, the program features near-universal eligibility, although priority is given to students from families whose total income is below 250 percent of the federal poverty guidelines.
The new law effectively reallocates state tax funds to private schools for various educational expenses, including tuition, textbooks, uniforms, and transportation. This financial support is aimed at ensuring that financial constraints do not limit a child’s educational opportunities. The LA GATOR scholarships promote a personalized education system by allowing funds to be directed to schools that cater to the unique needs of all students.
Unless they have special education needs. In that case, the law favors the private school rather than the student.
Because the language changes from “required” to “may” when it comes to the provision of special education services, schools may not have to meet the needs of students who require special services and may be allowed to keep those students out of the school whose needs they cannot meet. This is a stark contrast to the demands placed on public schools even though public funds are being paid to these schools on behalf of families who can send their children there.
“There are many bills designed, in our opinion, to unfairly attack public education by making unneeded changes under the guise of helping students and possibly for the political and financial gain of very few,” KNOE-TV (CBS affiliate, New Orleans) quoted Ouachita Parish School System Superintendent Todd Guice as saying, explicitly referring to SB 313 in a video.
“The Ouachita Parish School System is all for improving public education and helping our kids grow. We work tirelessly at that every day. Some of the proposed changes in school funding would be a detriment to our system, other public school systems, and to the overall economy of Ouachita Parish and Northeast Louisiana.”