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🚀 How to Start Homeschooling in Louisiana

The first steps for a Louisiana family starting to homeschool: what to file, how to leave a public school, and where to find co-ops, classes and help — drawn from our Louisiana guide and articles.

Before you buy

Shop through the LA GATOR Marketplace in your Odyssey wallet. Program guidance says all purchases and tuition payments are completed through the Odyssey platform.
Check the price caps. For example, tablets, laptops and desktops are capped at
,000 with one purchase every three years. Printers are capped at
00 with one every five years, and calculators at
50.
Keep your child out of a registered home study while in LA GATOR. Registering a BESE-approved home study, or a nonpublic school not seeking state approval, conflicts with the program.
Plan for the annual English language arts and math test, and keep the results.
LA GATOR cannot be combined with the Course Choice Program or the School Choice Program for Certain Students with Exceptionalities. It can be stacked with a Tuition Donation Credit scholarship for private school tuition, within limits.
Amounts, windows and rules can change every year. Confirm anything important on the LDOE LA GATOR pages and in the Odyssey help center.

Read the full section in our Louisiana guide

Homeschooling in Louisiana: the basics

Louisiana has two home study options. One is a BESE-approved home study program. The other is a home study registered with LDOE as a nonpublic school not seeking state approval. Either way the parent chooses the curriculum, and no teaching certificate is required. (LDOE; La. R.S. 17:236, 17:236.1)
BESE-approved home study: apply to LDOE (online is the usual route) within 15 days after the program starts. With the first application, send a certified copy of the child's birth certificate and certify that the program will offer a sustained curriculum of quality at least equal to that of public schools at the same grade level. Approval lasts one year from the approval date. (La. R.S. 17:236.1(A)–(B); LDOE guidelines)
Renew by October 1 of the school year or within 12 months of the first approval, whichever is later. Renew sooner if the child moves up a grade. A renewal needs one of three kinds of evidence: (1) a packet such as subject outlines, a book list, work samples or test results; (2) a standardized test showing the child at or above grade level, or a year of progress for each year in home study; or (3) a statement from a teacher certified for the child's grade that the curriculum meets the standard. (La. R.S. 17:236.1(C)–(D))
Students in BESE-approved home study count as attending a day school, aren't required to take state tests, may borrow state-approved textbooks from the local school system when extra copies are available, and can try out for activities and sports at their zoned public school. Their parent-issued diploma carries the same rights as one from a state-approved nonpublic school. (La. R.S. 17:236, 17:236.1(G); LDOE guidelines)
Nonpublic school not seeking state approval: each year, submit the school's enrollment through LDOE's online attendance form. State law has schools report attendance as of the 30th day of the session. If the child left a public school, send that school a notice of enrollment within 10 days. LDOE guidance says the school must keep attendance records and run a session of at least 180 days. LDOE does not approve or keep records for these schools. (LDOE guidelines; La. R.S. 17:221.3, 17:232(C), 17:236)
Students in a nonpublic school not seeking state approval are not eligible for TOPS, and their diploma does not carry the weight of a state diploma. (LDOE)
Neither home study option qualifies for special education services under IDEA or Section 504 accommodations, so talk with your school district first if your child has an IEP. (LDOE)
Neither registered home study option can be combined with LA GATOR. (Act 1 of 2024; LDOE)

Read the full section in our Louisiana guide

Official sources

Summarized from our Louisiana guide (as of October 2026) and articles. Rules change — confirm on the official pages before you act.

More for Louisiana homeschool families

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