• The Odyssey platform launched their school profile creation process in December 2024.  If you are a BESE-approved nonpublic school that did not receive an email to create your profile, please email help.la@withodyssey.com.
• Schools seeking to participate in LA GATOR as a service provider will be able to apply on a rolling basis beginning in January 2025.

• To participate in the LA GATOR Scholarship Program, parents must apply via the Odyssey Platform. Please note this application is separate from school enrollment, which must be completed directly with the school.

• All BESE-approved schools were sent a link to claim their profile on the Odyssey platform.  If your school leader did not receive this email, please have them reach out to help.la@withodyssey.com to get the school account set up.
• Schools that are not BESE-approved nonpublic schools will need to apply as a service provider.

• All program rules, regulations, operating procedures, and program information will be accessible at lagator.la.gov.

• The LDOE & Odyssey will be communicating with LSP schools and students between January and March to provide information ahead of the LA GATOR student application opening on March 1, 2025.
• Communication will continue to families as they complete the LA GATOR application.

• Students having participated in the Louisiana Scholarship Program during the 2024-2025 school year, subject to the allocation of state funds, shall be awarded an amount equal to the award amount received during the 2024-2025 school year and shall continue to receive this award until the student completes the school’s terminal grade or until the student leaves the school, whichever comes first.
• The terminal grade of the school refers to the highest grade available at the participating school.

• All phases of the LA GATOR Program give some level of priority to students at or below 250% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.
• The HHS Poverty Guidelines are updated annually and can be found at https://aspe.hhs.gov.
• According to 2025 Guidelines, the poverty guidelines for a family of 4 is $32,150.
• Students from families at or below 250% of that level would be eligible and prioritized for the LA GATOR Program (250% of $32,150 is $80,375).

2025 Poverty Guidelines for the 48 Contiguous States and the District of Columbia

• For the 2025-2026 school year, the award will be the following:
  • for a student identified as having a disability consistent with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. § 1401, an award up to one hundred sixty percent of the amount, or up to $15,253;
    • Amounts awarded will be calculated according to a tiered methodology established by the LDOE;
  • for a student from a family with a total income that does not exceed two hundred fifty percent of the federal poverty guidelines, an award equal to eighty percent of the amount, or $7,626 ;
  • for any other student, an award equal to fifty-five percent of the amount, or $5,243
• Families may be responsible for tuition and fee amounts that exceed the amount paid by the student’s LA GATOR Program account.

• Schools that are having issues with Stripe will likely need to contact Stripe directly for customer support.
• Odyssey customer support is available at help.la@withodyssey.com or 225-422-1538.

• (§1529 of Program Rules) The LDOE shall contract with an independent audit firm to conduct a compliance audit to ensure funds are used only for allowable expenses and other provisions in the program as deemed appropriate.
  • The LDOE shall maintain a copy of the audit plan and all associated audit reports in accordance with the records retention schedule approved by the Secretary of State.
  • Financial audits of the program and accounts to ensure that expenditures are made in accordance with the law and regulations, including, at minimum, an annual random audit.

LA GATOR rules (§1525) require the annual administration of the following for participating students:

• assessment in ELA and mathematics required pursuant to the school and district accountability system at the prescribed grade level; or
• a nationally norm-referenced test or assessment in ELA and mathematics approved by BESE and provided by the participating school or, as applicable, service provider.

LA GATOR students are required to take an assessment during each year of their participation. Students may choose to take the Louisiana State Assessment or one of the following national norm-referenced assessments:

• California Achievement Test
• NWEA/MAP
• CLT (Classical Learning Test)
• Iowa – Test of Basic Skills
• College Board’s SAT
• PSAT
• Pre-ACT
• ACT
• Stanford Achievement Test
• TerraNova

• LA GATOR participating schools will not receive a letter grade score based on assessment results. The LDOE will collect and report information about student performance as a requirement of the program rules. 
• LA GATOR’s governing statute also includes the following:
  • “If the department finds that any participating school or service provider has failed to maintain continuing eligibility criteria or has demonstrated gross or a persistent lack of academic competence, the department shall restrict its ability to serve additional students through the program and may terminate its participation in the program. The department shall report any such action to the state board and to parents of participating students as soon as practicable. Additionally, the state superintendent of education may declare a school or service provider immediately ineligible to participate in cases of financial malfeasance or if its participation endangers the academic welfare, health, or safety of children.”

According to state law, a student shall not participate in the LA GATOR concurrently with any of the following:

• A home study program approved by the state board
• A home study program registered with the department as a nonpublic schools not seeking state approval
• The Course Choice Program
• The School Choice Program for Certain Students with Exceptionalities
• The Tuition Donation Tax Credit Program

Students may be eligible to receive additional funding from 3rd party sources provided that those sources are not listed above or prohibited by law.

• No, ESL is not considered an exceptionality for account funding. Exceptionalities in the LA GATOR Program only include disabilities as indicated by IDEA.
• ESL students would not be considered differently than other students exclusively for the ESL status for the purposes of LA GATOR.

• Yes, current LA GATOR students will be eligible and prioritized for funding in the following years of the program. 

• Students that were deemed eligible for LA GATOR based on their income and chose to participate in the program will be able to continue participation in following years as current LA GATOR participants are eligible for the program. However, account funding amounts are based on other factors including family income, so the student’s account funding amount may change.
• Except for current Louisiana Scholarship Program (LSP) students, each year parents are required to verify income which will be used to determine eligibility and prioritization.

• The LA GATOR Program rules include “tuition or fees for summer education programs and before or after-school education or childcare programs that offer academic support” as an eligible expense.
• Participating nonpublic schools wishing to offer these services would need to separately apply to LA GATOR as a service provider and include those offered services on their profile.

• LA GATOR rules do not allow for the restriction of funds to pay for tuition first. Schools are encouraged to communicate with the families that they accept for LA GATOR regarding the importance of tuition payments.
• In the Odyssey platform, families will have the ability to automate quarterly tuition payments if they choose to do so.  Otherwise, families will need to manually make tuition payments each quarter.

• Eligibility will extend to all Louisiana students during Phase 3 of the Program’s implementation.
• Phases 1-3 of the LA GATOR Scholarship Program are not dependent on specific dates. Phase changes are subject to funding allocated by the legislature and will be communicated by the LDOE in accordance with BESE policy.

• These situations will be handled through an Odyssey dispute resolution process that will attempt to mediate between the family and the school(s).
• A support ticket detailing the situation will be needed.  Odyssey support can be reached at (225) 422-1538 or by email at help.la@withodyssey.com

• As a Service Provider: A fully-virtual nonpublic school, whether it is or is not a nonpublic school approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), could offer its courses and/or services on the Odyssey marketplace as a service provider.  This would allow participating students to take individual courses from the virtual private school.  There will be required attestations and documentation for these service providers in the LA GATOR service provider application.
• As a Participating Nonpublic School: A fully-virtual nonpublic school approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) can participate in LA GATOR as a participating nonpublic school. Additionally, a fully-virtual school can be approved by BESE, however, the applicant would need to provide an address in their application that we would be able to utilize. There will be required attestations for participating nonpublic schools in the LA GATOR school application.

• The application will require parents to input their Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). This will be used to verify income with the Louisiana Department of Revenue (LDR).
• If income cannot be verified this way, parents may need to upload their 1040 Tax Form from either the 2023 or 2024 Federal Taxes for those seeking participation in LA GATOR for the 2025-2026 School Year.

• Phases 1-3 of the LA GATOR Program are not dependent on specific dates.  Phase changes are subject to funding allocated by the legislature and will be communicated by the LDOE in accordance with BESE policy.
• Students with a disability under IDEA are included as a prioritized group in all phases of the Program.

• Schools are only required to collect documents as listed in their application and registration process.
• Families will be responsible for uploading any verification documents to the Odyssey platform that may be required for their application to participate in LA GATOR.

• Odyssey will have a direct connection to the Louisiana Department of Revenue (LDR) which should allow them to directly receive tax information for applicant families.
• If Odyssey cannot verify the applicant's information through the direct connection with the Louisiana Department of Revenue (LDR), they will need to upload the 1040 Tax Form from either their 2023 or 2024 Federal Taxes for the 2025-2026 school year.

• Louisiana residency will be verified through a direct connection with the Louisiana Department of Revenue as well as through the uploading of documentation.  A valid state identification or driver's license can be uploaded for this purpose.  Individuals will also need to upload two (2) of the following:
  • Utility bill
  • Mortgage statement from the past year
  • Home bill of sale
  • Louisiana lease agreement
• Any combination is acceptable, including two different utility bills.

• The LA GATOR parent application for the 2025-2026 School Year will be open from March 1st to April 15th.
• Student eligibility will be determined as quickly as possible through the Odyssey platform, however, this does not guarantee participation in the LA GATOR Program.
• Confirmation of participation in LA GATOR is subject to the appropriation of funds and will be final after the Governor approves the state budget.  This will likely occur in early July 2025 and may follow a different time frame after the first school year of the program.