Welcome to the Louisiana Department of Education
About the Louisiana Department of Education
The Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) provides guidance and support to all publicly funded early childhood centers and elementary and secondary schools in Louisiana. Specifically, the department provides tools and resources to schools and school systems to support classroom instruction, assessments, workforce development and college and career preparation. Additionally, the department provides families and the public with transparent reporting of center, school, and school system performance and quality through the Louisiana School Finder.
To stay connected with the LDOE and receive updates on our work and our resources, visit our newsroom and our newsletter subscriptions page.
Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE)
The LDOE is the administrative arm of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE). BESE was established by the 1974 Louisiana Constitution. The Board is composed of 11 members: eight elected by the citizens of Louisiana’s eight BESE districts, and three appointed by the governor of Louisiana to represent the state at-large. Together, these members adopt and enact policies governing the elementary and secondary schools of Louisiana.
Louisiana's Education Priorities
Louisiana's education priorities maintain a clear focus on what matters most for academic achievement.
- Early childhood leading to kindergarten readiness
- Literacy instruction aligned to the Science of Reading
- Math instruction from foundational to advanced skills
- Opportunities ensuring a meaningful high school experience
- An effective teacher for every student
- Expand educational choice for students and families
Request Information
If you have questions, including public records requests, questions about licensure, or other types of inquiries, please see our contact us page.
Louisiana State Superintendent
Dr. Cade Brumley
Dr. Brumley is a Louisiana native who has dedicated his career to serving children, parents, and educators.
Back to the Basics
Louisiana's Education Priorities
From being ready to learn on the first day of kindergarten to thriving in a career, college
Employment Opportunities
Careers at LDOE
Join the Louisiana Department of Education as we strive for excellence.
Policy Guidance
State Advisory Groups
The LDOE facilitates over a dozen councils, committees, task forces, and other groups.
Competitive Grants for State Assessments Program supports the quality of assessments used for measuring the academic achievement of elementary and secondary students
BATON ROUGE, La. -- The Louisiana Department of Education has been awarded a nearly $3 million competitive grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The Competitive Grant for State Assessments (CGSA) will support the development and scaling of Louisiana's innovative English language arts assessment.
"Accountability and assessments are critical components of Louisiana's education system. Equally important for long-term student success is the high-quality curriculum that is taught every day in the classroom," said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley. "When combined, these components maximize the odds of student success."
LDOE submitted a proposal to the U.S. Department of Education in response to a provision in the Every Student Succeeds Acts (ESSA) by which states are allowed to develop and pilot new high-quality assessment formats in lieu of the existing statewide achievement tests. In 2018, Louisiana was the first state to receive an Innovative Assessment Development Authority (IADA) waiver. Louisiana was granted five years to develop, pilot, operationalize and scale the innovative assessment.
The Department is using the IADA waiver to establish and operate an assessment system that is directly aligned to high-quality curriculum. Instead of testing once in the spring, these innovative, through-course assessments include end-of-unit tests administered in three windows during the school year (fall, winter and spring) so that students are able to demonstrate learning recently acquired from their classroom lessons.
The goal is for every student in Louisiana to have the opportunity to take a LEAP 2025 assessment format that best matches the high-quality curriculum their teacher uses and the instruction they receive on a daily basis. Louisiana has piloted items in grades 6 through 8 for an assessment aligned to the ELA Guidebooks, which is the most widely used curriculum in the state. (The grade 7 assessment was scheduled to be operational in 2019-2020, but the final administration window was canceled due to Covid-19.)
Over the four-year grant, the Department hopes to scale the assessment to grades 3 through 5. The Department will provide more information soon to school systems about plans for expansion.
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