A recent article in The Advocate and nola.com cast doubt on whether the new LA GATOR Scholarship Program will serve Louisiana children and families well, months before it even begins. The author based his piece on critiques on a separate decade-old school choice program long known to contain flaws. A recognition of these flaws was one motivation for advocates to propose LA GATOR in the first place.

It’s important to set the record straight: Governor Landry and state lawmakers created LA GATOR because educational freedom is a fundamental right for families and because tailoring educational programs to kids’ individual needs works. Now that LA GATOR has been passed and funding will be debated in the upcoming legislative session, opponents are digging up old information in order to discredit a new idea.

Background on Vouchers in Louisiana

The “statewide voucher program” and “voucher students,” to which the author refers, is actually Louisiana’s Student Scholarships for Educational Excellence Program (SSEEP) that was enacted in 2012. SSEEP was designed, despite evidence from other states that broader-based programs with fewer regulations produced better results, to serve only low-income students, many of whom had previously attended a failing public school and were academically behind.

The program fell into the trap that has often stifled the existing system: it was subject to a one-size-fits-all approach with dozens of other regulations that amounted to typical government bureaucracy and red tape. For example, scholarship funds could only be used to enroll full-time in a participating private school. All participating private schools were required to abide by various state rules and regulations, many of which differed from what was in their own school handbooks. They were required to administer the state LEAP test that was developed to align to public school academic standards, again often different from what is used in private schools.

Finally, schools were subjected to a school letter grade—the only such requirement in the nation—that, in some cases, reflected test scores (on an unaligned test designed for public schools) of just a tiny percentage of students enrolled at their school. As a result, and not surprisingly, many private schools refused to participate. Despite all this, parents empowered to pursue a different learning environment for their children were largely happy. Nearly 94% of families participating in the program indicated they were “satisfied” or “very satisfied” with their child’s school and academic progress. Parents know their kids best, and family satisfaction is a foundational principle of educational freedom. Freedom works.

The author reported that Louisiana’s state leaders funded the SSEEP to the tune of “half a billion taxpayer dollars to send thousands of students to private schools.” This may seem like a lot of money, but consider the missing context: the state has spent well over $50 billion of taxpayer dollars on public K-12 schools in roughly the same time period. Despite recent modest gains in that system, still only 35% of students are proficient in core academic subjects, and Louisiana public schools have been experiencing years of declining enrollment as more families opt out.

An Improved Approach: LA GATOR

LA GATOR is intentionally a very different program than the old voucher system. It’s an education savings account (ESA) program that gives Louisiana families to access an account with a deposit of state funds. Unlike traditional school choice scholarship or “voucher” programs, ESAs aren’t just restricted to “private school tuition.” Parents can direct these funds for a variety of educational programming and expenses, including a customized, home based education for families looking to meet their child’s individual needs. For example, LA GATOR funds can be used to pay for:

  • private school tuition and fees,
  • tutoring,
  • educational technology and supplies,
  • courses taught by private and public schools as well as individual instructors and providers,
  • career and technical training,
  • college prep/dual enrollment, and more.

In addition, participating private schools don’t have to abandon their models that have served their communities for years in deference to top-down, heavy-handed pressure from the state to conform to the public school model.

There are some basic guardrails: Funds can be spent only on approved educational expenses, spending will be fully transparent, and audits will be regularly conducted. Students participating in LA GATOR will have the ability to demonstrate academic progress on a nationally norm-referenced test selected by their school or their family that better aligns with the educational program being used, which will ensure greater alignment.

Recycled Old Opposition Arguments

Despite its bizarre front-page, above-the-fold placement in the Sunday paper, there is literally nothing newsworthy in the article. None of the SSEEP or “voucher” program information presented in this article is new, and it certainly can’t be used to predict outcomes for a new initiative with significantly different features that won’t even begin until later this summer. LA GATOR is not a voucher program.

It’s unfortunate that this agenda-driven article is prematurely calling into question the most parent-centric form of educational freedom and opportunity that Louisiana has ever provided. And it’s hard to believe it’s a coincidence that anticipated funding for the program is referenced just days before Governor Landry will unveil his executive budget proposal later this week.

Conclusion

Louisiana’s families and devoted educators who care more about children’s learning than politics as usual will see through this. Last October, a statewide poll conducted by the Pelican Institute found that a whopping 62% of voters support giving Louisiana parents the ability to use state funds to select the school of their choice for their child’s education. Only 25% opposed. This priority was supported by every demographic and across party lines. Let’s give these families what they and their children need to be successful, and what will ultimately allow Louisiana to thrive.