Louisiana Giving All True Opportunity to Rise Scholarship Program

LA GATOR SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

About LA GATOR

The Louisiana Giving All True Opportunity to Rise (LA GATOR) Scholarship Program, created by Act 1 of the 2024 Louisiana Legislature and signed into law by Governor Jeff Landry, provides eligible families with education scholarship accounts (ESAs). These accounts allow families to personalize their child’s education using state-funded accounts for school tuition and fees, tutoring, educational therapies, textbooks and curricula, dual enrollment courses, and uniforms.

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LA GATOR Scholarship Program

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Latest Update on LA GATOR

April 25, 2025 – Status Update Following April JLCB Meeting

The LA GATOR Scholarship Program is still awaiting key decisions related to funding and program operations for the 2025–2026 school year.

Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget (JLCB):

The JLCB met on April 23 but did not take action on the proposed amendment to extend the program's management contract. You can view the agenda and meeting video online. The committee is expected to reconsider the amendment at its next meeting in May. The contract must be extended to operate the program for the upcoming school year.

Legislative Funding Decisions:

Governor Jeff Landry has proposed a $93 million appropriation for LA GATOR. If approved by the Louisiana Legislature, the funding would provide scholarships for an estimated 12,000 students, starting with students currently enrolled in the Louisiana Scholarship Program (LSP).
Of the proposed funding, $43 million is designated for approximately 5,300 current LSP students, who are the highest priority for LA GATOR scholarships. Any remaining funds will then be used to support additional priority groups.

Student Applications:

The application window for the 2025–2026 school year closed on April 15.
Nearly 40,000 student applications were received.
Nearly 35,000 students have been determined eligible.
The number of eligible students to receive funds will depend on the amount of funding approved during the 2025 Regular Legislative Session, which is scheduled to conclude by June 12.

Priority Status Notifications:

Families will be notified of their child’s priority status and suggested next steps before the end of April.

Important Reminders for Families

Eligibility does not guarantee funding. Final awards will depend on the state budget outcome.
Eligibility does not guarantee acceptance into a nonpublic school. Enrollment is managed by each individual school. Families should contact schools directly with questions.
Award notifications will be issued after the budget is finalized.
Families are encouraged to stay in touch with their selected schools about enrollment steps should they receive funding and possible upfront registration or reservation fees. These fees are the responsibility of the family and cannot be paid or reimbursed with LA GATOR funds.

We are committed to keeping families informed every step of the way. A new update will be posted each week, even if there is no major change in status.

Next update expected: May 2, 2025

Who’s Eligible for LA GATOR?

To be eligible for the LA GATOR Scholarship Program, a student must:

Live in Louisiana
Be at least 5 years old (but not older than 21) by September 30, 2025
Meet one of the following:
- Participated in the Louisiana Scholarship Program (LSP) during the 2024–2025 school year
- Is entering kindergarten
- Was enrolled in a public school on both October 1 and February 1 of the 2024–2025 school year
- Comes from a household with income at or below 250% of the federal poverty level

Eligibility must be reverified each year to continue in the program.

Student eligibility will end if any of the following occurs:

The student enrolls full-time in a public school
The student is no longer a Louisiana resident
Fraudulent information is provided during the application or use of funds
The student graduates or withdraws from school
The LA GATOR account remains inactive for two consecutive years

How Are Students Prioritized for Funding?

The LA GATOR Scholarship Program is funded annually by the Louisiana Legislature. If there is not enough funding to cover every eligible student, awards are prioritized in this order:

Students currently in the Louisiana Scholarship Program or LA GATOR
Students with a disability under IDEA or from families earning ≤250% of the federal poverty level
Siblings of current LA GATOR or LSP students
All other eligible students

If multiple students fall in the same priority group, applications are ordered by submission timestamp. Students who applied earlier within the window are prioritized over later applicants.

How Much Can Students Receive?

The amount a student can receive depends on family income and disability status. Awards are calculated using a percentage of Louisiana’s average state and local per-pupil funding.

Here’s what students may receive for the 2025–2026 school year:

Up to $15,253 for students with a qualifying disability (tiered by disability type)
$7,626 for students from families earning ≤250% of the federal poverty level
$5,243 for other eligible students

Louisiana Scholarship Program students who remain at their current school will continue receiving the same amount they were awarded in 2024–2025, until they complete that school’s final grade or leave the school.

All awards are contingent on final funding decisions made by the Legislature and Governor.

What Can LA GATOR Funds Be Used For?

Families participating in the LA GATOR Scholarship Program can use their funds for the following approved education expenses. Please note all purchases and tuition payments will be completed through the Odyssey Platform and families cannot be reimbursed for out of pocket expenses.

Tuition or fees at a participating nonpublic school or for nonpublic online learning programs
Curricula and textbooks or other instructional materials, including but not limited to supplemental materials or online instruction required by a participating nonpublic school or service provider
Tuition, fees, instructional materials, and examination fees at a career or technical school
Fees for assessments approved by the LDOE, Advanced Placement examinations, CLEP examinations, International Baccalaureate examinations, and other examinations related to postsecondary education institution admission
Educational services and therapies, including but not limited to occupational, behavioral, physical, speech-language, and audiology therapies
Tuition and fees at a postsecondary education institution providing instruction for a student participating in dual enrollment
Tutoring provided by a tutor or a tutoring service
Services contracted for and provided by a participating public school, including, but not limited to, individual classes and extracurricular activities and programs
Computer hardware or other technological devices primarily used to help meet a student’s educational needs
Educational software applications
School uniforms
Tuition or fees for summer education programs and before or after-school education or childcare programs that offer academic support
Parent navigation services, including professional consultations to assist parents with the selection of, application for, and enrollment in educational services addressing the academic needs of students, curriculum selection, and advice on career and postsecondary education opportunities
Any other educational supplies or expenses approved by BESE

Transition from the Louisiana Scholarship Program to LA GATOR

The Louisiana Scholarship Program (LSP) will continue through the end of the 2024–2025 school year and officially end on June 30, 2025. Beginning with the 2025–2026 school year, eligible LSP families and schools will transition into the LA GATOR Scholarship Program.

LSP Students Receive Top Priority

Students who participated in LSP during the 2024–2025 school year are part of Phase 1 of LA GATOR and are designated as Priority 1 for funding.

These students will be the first group considered for awards once legislative funding is finalized.
Families who applied to LA GATOR will be notified of award status through the Odyssey platform once the state budget is complete (expected June 2025).

If a student remains at the same school, they will continue to receive the same award amount they received through LSP until they finish the school’s final grade or leave the school.

Louisiana Scholarship Program Schools

Any nonpublic school that participated in LSP during the 2024–2025 school year (and remains in good standing) is automatically eligible to participate in LA GATOR for 2025–2026. These schools:

Do not need to submit a new approval application
Must register on the Odyssey platform and complete annual attestations for LA GATOR

Beginning in 2026–2027, all participating schools must follow the standard LA GATOR application process and requirements each year.

What Happens Next?

The student application window closes on April 15, 2025. Here’s what happens next:

Spring 2025: Applications reviewed for eligibility and prioritization.
April–June: The Louisiana Legislature will decide how much funding the program receives for 2025–2026.
June/July 2025 (estimated): Award notifications will be sent through the Odyssey platform.
Summer 2025: Families who receive awards will set up their student’s account and can begin selecting schools and services.

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OVER 39,000 LOUISIANA STUDENTS APPLY FOR LA GATOR

April 16, 2025

The number of eligible students the program can serve depends on the funding allocation approved by the Louisiana Legislature during the current session. Governor Jeff Landry requested just over $93 million for the program in his executive budget, which would serve approximately 12,000 students.

LA GATOR SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM STUDENT APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN

February 27, 2025

This new program awards scholarship accounts to eligible students that parents can use for a menu of approved education services like tuition and fees at over 240 nonpublic schools, tutoring, and other approved resources.

LA GATOR SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM SERVICE PROVIDER APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN

February 13, 2025

Applications are now open for service providers seeking to participate in Louisiana's first education scholarship account (ESA). Set to open for the 2025-2025 school year, the LA GATOR Scholarship Program empowers parents to choose the education that best fits their child’s unique needs. This new program awards scholarship accounts to eligible students that parents can use for a menu of approved education services like nonpublic school tuition and fees, tutoring, and other approved resources.

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