Baton Rouge - The Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) announced that it received more than 39,000 student applications for the Louisiana Giving All True Opportunity to Rise (LA GATOR) Scholarship Program for the 2025–2026 school year. Of those, nearly 35,000 students have already been determined eligible.
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.
Student applications were accepted from March 1 to April 15. In total, the LDOE received 39,189 applications. Of those: 34,848 have already been deemed eligible for funding. Eighty one percent of applicants come from families at or below 250% of the federal poverty level.
Nearly 3,000 applicants are students with disabilities.
“This is among the largest turnouts for a new ESA program in the nation,” said Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley. “Louisiana families are making it clear—they want more educational options and the freedom to choose what works best for their children.”
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.
Along with waiting on a funding decision from the Louisiana Legislature, the future of LA GATOR also depends on a vote later this month by the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget (JLCB) to extend the program’s current management contract - which is set to end in June. Already approved by the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), the contract amendment extends the current contract to June 2026 and includes the operation of LA GATOR for the 2025-2026 school year.
Families will be notified of their child’s priority status and suggested next steps before the end of April. Award notifications will be issued after the Louisiana Legislature finalizes the state budget and Governor Landry signs it into law. The current legislative session is scheduled to end no later than June 12.
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 who applied for LA GATOR will transition into the new program. Early estimates show that at least 91% of current LSP families applied for LA GATOR.
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.
Of Gov. Landry’s over $93 million request for LA GATOR, $43 million is dedicated to cover all current LSP students.
These over 5,000 students will be the first group considered for awards once legislative funding is finalized.
Families used the Odyssey platform to complete applications and can expect further updates through the platform and via email in the coming weeks. To learn more, visit lagator. la.gov.
