LA GATOR Is Running Out of Trust

Louisiana made history in 2024 when it passed LA GATOR (Giving All True Opportunity to Rise), one of the most ambitious Education Savings Account (ESA) programs in the country. The program allows Louisiana families to use state funds for a range of approved educational expenses, including private school tuition, tutoring, curriculum, and other learning resources, giving parents the ability to customize their child’s education outside of their assigned public school. Demand was immediate. In the program’s first application cycle, nearly 40,000 Louisiana families applied, signaling broad interest across the state in having more options for their children’s education.

But a law on the books is only as powerful as the will to fund it. Of the more than 36,000 approved applicants in year one, only about 5,500 families received funding — roughly 15% of those who qualified. Governor Jeff Landry has proposed doubling the current LA GATOR program funding from $44 million to $88 million. While this represents a significant increase, even doubled funding would leave the majority of eligible families without access to the program. Funding levels are central to determining who actually participates and without sufficient resources, a school choice program cannot deliver on its promise regardless of how it is designed in statute.

In 2025, applications for LA GATOR reached almost 40,000. This year, in 2026, applications for the same program only reached 17,000. What happened? Did the program become less popular? EdChoice monthly polling shows that Louisiana parents consistently support a universal ESA program and last year’s 40k applications reflect that.

So what happened this year?

The drop in applications is largely attributable to a breakdown in trust. Of the more than 36,000 families approved in year one, only about 5,500 received funding, approximately 15% of those who qualified. And of those funded families, the majority were already participants in the former Louisiana Scholarship Program, which was folded into LA GATOR at the program’s launch. That means that for a program designed to expand educational opportunity to all Louisiana families, only about 700 families were truly new to the program. With Senate leadership publicly signaling that additional funding was unlikely, many parents saw little reason to apply again in 2026.

When a family applies, is approved, and still doesn’t receive funding, trust erodes and that erosion showed up directly in application numbers this year.

Another factor that played into the application numbers was the amount of time parents had to apply. For last year’s application cycle, parents were given 46 days — March 1st to April 15th — to apply. This year, in 2026, parents were only given just over two weeks — March 1st to 16th. This makes a huge difference and is a clear factor in explaining the lower application numbers for 2026. Texas, Louisiana’s neighbor to the west, recently launched a universal ESA program and opened its application window for six weeks. The Department of Education and The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education should give parents a larger window moving forward.

LA GATOR was built on a bold, straightforward premise: that Louisiana parents should have the ability to choose the education that works best for their child. But two years in, the data tells a clear story. Insufficient funding has left the vast majority of eligible families without access, and a shortened application window reduced participation before families even had a fair chance to engage.

Addressing both is not complicated. It requires funding the program at a level that reflects actual demand and giving parents adequate time to apply. The 40,000 families who applied in year one did not lose interest. They lost confidence. Restoring it starts with follow-through on the commitments already made.