Louisiana undergoes major education reform in the past year
December 31, 2024
Louisiana implemented new educational choice scholarships, accountability systems, and programs during 2024.
The Louisiana Giving All True Opportunity to Rise scholarship program, or GATOR, was signed into law this year to provide educational scholarship accounts to families across the state so they can have more choice in what schools their children attend.
The funds can also be used for tutors, online school tuition, curriculum or even to fund a hybrid program where a student attends a private school part time.
Although the program is a major project for the department of education, it doesn’t officially start until 2025 as some housekeeping still needs to be done. Every year the legislature will have to decide how much money is allocated to this program as they see fit, so it’s experimental at first.
EdChoice, a national organization, and the Pelican Institute, a Louisiana institution, both supported the GATOR program. Nathan Sanders, the policy and advocacy director of EdChoice, says Louisiana is the 12th state to go universal.