The educational certificate (voucher) is worth 50 percent of the state dollars that would have been spent on the child in his or her public school or the cost of private school tuition, whichever is less. Families are responsible for any additional tuition charged by the school.

Students qualify if they have one of seven categories of learning exceptionalities, have an Individualized Education Plan or services plans in accordance with Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, reside in a parish with more than 190,000 residents, are eligible to attend a public school and are not deemed gifted or talented.

Louisiana’s voucher program for students with special needs is one of the more restrictive voucher programs nationwide, limiting eligibility on both type of learning exceptionality and parish residence. The program is restricted further by the fact vouchers are capped at 50 percent of the funds that otherwise would have gone to the child’s public school. Private schools must be approved by the state and have a program serving the special needs of participants established for two years prior to accepting voucher payments. The program could improve by increasing funding and loosening restrictions along the lines of Florida’s, Georgia’s or Oklahoma’s statewide voucher programs for students with special needs.

• Income Limit: None
• Prior Year Public School Requirement: None
• Geographic Limit: Parish (population of 190,000 or more)
• Enrollment Cap: None
• Voucher Cap: Conditional
• Testing Mandates: None
• *Limited to students with special needs

School Requirements:

• Be approved by the state to participate
• Comply with state nondiscrimination and health and safety requirements
• Have existed and provided educational services to students with special needs for two years prior to participating in the program
• Teachers must be certified to teach special education

La. Rev. Stat. § 17:4031

No legal challenges have been filed against the program.