Louisiana

Existing Programs:

Tax Credit — 2012
A tax credit given to individuals who donate to scholarship-giving organizations who give to low-income students at private schools.

School Choice Pilot Program for Certain Students with Exceptionalities — 2010
Gives vouchers to students with disabilities to attend private school. Vouchers are worth up 50 percent of whatever the child would have received in state funding for public education. 

Student Scholarships for Educational Excellence Program — 2008
Gives vouchers to low-income students to attend private school.

Elementary and Secondary School Tuition Deduction — 2008
Gives a tax deduction to families for public and private school expenses, including tuition.
Public school deductions are 50 percent of expenses, while private school deductions are 100 percent of expenses.

Legislature Status:

Adjourned.

Pending Legislation:

None.

Breakdown:

Louisiana’s is considered a leader in the school privatization movement. Its voucher program was established in 2008, and 2012 legislation expanded it statewide.

Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration was scrambling to salvage its new statewide voucher program after a state Supreme Court ruling in 2013 that found its funding mechanism was unconstitutional. The court ruled that funds earmarked for public schools can’t be used for private education. Jindal found $40 million in public funds from elsewhere to fund the program in time for the 2013-14 school year.

Now, the program faces a suit from the U.S. Dept. of Justice, which alleges that the program "impedes the desegregation process" in the state.

Get more information on the ALEC education bill introduced in Louisiana in 2013:
Parental Choice Scholarship Program Act (HB 597)

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