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.
(BATON ROUGE, LA) - Less than two weeks after Louisiana students achieved their highest rankings on The Nation’s Report Card, a prominent national study from Harvard and Stanford shows Louisiana is leading the nation for academic recovery. The Education Recovery Scorecard ranks Louisiana first in the nation for reading and second for math. Louisiana is the only state where the average student has completed their recovery.
In its third year of reporting on the pace of academic recovery measures in districts nationwide, the Education Recovery Scorecard is an annual report on school system-level student growth in reading and math. The Education Recovery Scorecard’s full release is available online. Below are some items of note for Louisiana.
- Louisiana ranked first among the states in terms of recovery in reading and 2nd in math between 2019 and 2024.
- Between 2019 and 2024, students in Louisiana earned gains in reading and math at a time when many states continued to fall further behind.
- Louisiana is the only state where the average student has completed their recovery.
- An analysis suggests Louisiana’s investment of pandemic funding did contribute to the academic recovery, especially when targeted at academic efforts such as summer learning and tutoring.
- Growth in chronic absenteeism (students missing more than 10 percent of a school year) is slowing the recovery in many districts in Louisiana.
“Louisiana’s academic progress reflects a focus on fundamental skills and strong educator support,” said Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley. “There is a lot to be proud of in this latest report, and our work continues. There are still too many Louisiana students who can’t read on grade level, can’t do basic math, and who don’t attend school on a regular basis.”
The Education Recovery Scorecard is a collaboration between the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University and The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University. The latest report provides the first high resolution picture of where Louisiana students’ academic recovery stood in spring 2024. While The Nation’s Report Card described changes in average achievement by state, the Education Recovery Scorecard combines those scores with school system scores on state assessments to describe the change in local communities throughout Louisiana.
Louisiana also earned positive marks on the 2023 Education Recovery Scorecard. That report found that Louisiana was one of three states where average reading achievement in 2023 was above 2019 levels. Louisiana students recovered nearly half of their original loss in math, which was referred to in the study as “a remarkable achievement” given that students nationally had only made up one third of the original loss.