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Message
What are the latest thoughts on LA Gator Program?
Posted on 4/3/25 at 9:15 am
Posted on 4/3/25 at 9:15 am
For the 2025-2026 school year, the award will be the following:
- Up to $15,253 (160% of MFP) for students identified as having a disability consistent with the IDEA
- $7,626 (80% of MFP) for students from a family with a total income at or below 250% of the federal poverty guidelines**
- $5,243 (55% of MFP) for any other eligible student
**Federal poverty line for 4-person household: $32,150
Sounds like anyone can receive the $5,243 regardless of income.
What will be the impact on private schools, public schools, the state budget, etc?
- Up to $15,253 (160% of MFP) for students identified as having a disability consistent with the IDEA
- $7,626 (80% of MFP) for students from a family with a total income at or below 250% of the federal poverty guidelines**
- $5,243 (55% of MFP) for any other eligible student
**Federal poverty line for 4-person household: $32,150
Sounds like anyone can receive the $5,243 regardless of income.
What will be the impact on private schools, public schools, the state budget, etc?
15
Posted on 4/3/25 at 9:16 am to bayoubengals88
This is the OT. None of us qualify
Posted on 4/3/25 at 9:17 am to bayoubengals88
That per student?
Posted on 4/3/25 at 9:17 am to bayoubengals88
Outdoors Board
Posted on 4/3/25 at 9:25 am to yellowfin
quote:Yes.
That per student?
Posted on 4/3/25 at 9:27 am to bayoubengals88
quote:
What will be the impact on private schools, public schools, the state budget, etc?
Every private school’s tuition is about to increase by $5,243
Posted on 4/3/25 at 9:28 am to Bayou_Tiger_225
quote:
This is the OT. None of us qualify
If you have a child entering kindergarten then your income is irrelevant, unless they changed something recently.
OP, has there been any mention of a cap placed on the number of students who qualify?
ETA: I should qualify for phase 2 the following year because my child will be entering kindergarten, but I'm not holding my breath and I don't think they've even published a list of participating schools.
This post was edited on 4/3/25 at 9:30 am
Posted on 4/3/25 at 9:30 am to bayoubengals88
As an educator, my biggest fear is that some parents are going to take the loan and "home school" their children. Then, around November, try to send them back to school, but not have any of the funds left.
Posted on 4/3/25 at 9:31 am to CoachChappy
quote:
As an educator, my biggest fear is that some parents are going to take the loan and "home school" their children.
Home schooling doesn't qualify
Posted on 4/3/25 at 9:33 am to Epic Cajun
quote:
Home schooling doesn't qualify
That's comforting. I had not read that yet. How will the state track the usage of the money? How will they disperse the funds?
Posted on 4/3/25 at 9:37 am to CoachChappy
The money will dispersed into an Educational Savings Account and "all purchases and tuition payments will be completed through the Odyssey Platform."
Posted on 4/3/25 at 9:53 am to bayoubengals88
From the website:
Student Eligibility
For a student to be eligible for an ESA, the student must be a resident of Louisiana and meet one of the following:
Participated in the Louisiana Scholarship Program previous school year
Entering kindergarten
Enrolled in a public school the previous school year
From a family with total income at or below 250% of federal poverty guidelines
So if i am understanding these guidelines correctly you could be barely above 250% guideline and struggling to pay your kids tuition and not be eligible but somebody making $400k a year can move their kids from public to private and be eligible.
Govt picking winners and losers again. They really cant get out of their own way.
Student Eligibility
For a student to be eligible for an ESA, the student must be a resident of Louisiana and meet one of the following:
Participated in the Louisiana Scholarship Program previous school year
Entering kindergarten
Enrolled in a public school the previous school year
From a family with total income at or below 250% of federal poverty guidelines
So if i am understanding these guidelines correctly you could be barely above 250% guideline and struggling to pay your kids tuition and not be eligible but somebody making $400k a year can move their kids from public to private and be eligible.
Govt picking winners and losers again. They really cant get out of their own way.
Posted on 4/3/25 at 10:06 am to bayoubengals88
You have to be destitute to use this program.
Schools w/ low enrollment will benefit if the parent is willing to pick up and drop off. Most catholic schools do not offer buses and free after school care.
Also the parents that are spending money to put their child in school are going to be pissed someone gets it for free
Schools w/ low enrollment will benefit if the parent is willing to pick up and drop off. Most catholic schools do not offer buses and free after school care.
Also the parents that are spending money to put their child in school are going to be pissed someone gets it for free
Posted on 4/3/25 at 10:10 am to bayoubengals88
It seems to be lacking in gators.
Posted on 4/3/25 at 10:18 am to CoachChappy
Are you a classroom teacher?
Posted on 4/3/25 at 10:24 am to bayoubengals88
Dumb program.
Here's three ideas that will fix public education at no cost:
1. Empower school boards, school administration, teachers to get behavior problems out of the classroom. This means cutting red tape required to discipline a kid, changing funding formulae that deters school admin from removing problem kids that aren't there to learn, and allowing teachers to discipline again (ex. teachers can no longer threaten to take away recess for an elementary student for example)
2. End the experiment of inclusive classrooms. Certified teachers can't be educators and psychologists at the same time.
3. Stop wasting entire years of education teaching for a standardized test. Maybe with DoE being shut down, funding tied to standardized testing will go away?
Instead of taking good kids out of public school and subsidizing their tuition in order to send them to private, we need to be getting bad kids out of public schools and sending them to public alternative schools (like LeRosen in Lafayette). Public education would be a gem in Louisiana if students were at school to learn, and had no distractions from the kids that don't want to learn.
Here's three ideas that will fix public education at no cost:
1. Empower school boards, school administration, teachers to get behavior problems out of the classroom. This means cutting red tape required to discipline a kid, changing funding formulae that deters school admin from removing problem kids that aren't there to learn, and allowing teachers to discipline again (ex. teachers can no longer threaten to take away recess for an elementary student for example)
2. End the experiment of inclusive classrooms. Certified teachers can't be educators and psychologists at the same time.
3. Stop wasting entire years of education teaching for a standardized test. Maybe with DoE being shut down, funding tied to standardized testing will go away?
Instead of taking good kids out of public school and subsidizing their tuition in order to send them to private, we need to be getting bad kids out of public schools and sending them to public alternative schools (like LeRosen in Lafayette). Public education would be a gem in Louisiana if students were at school to learn, and had no distractions from the kids that don't want to learn.
Posted on 4/3/25 at 10:25 am to Zakatak
quote:
So if i am understanding these guidelines correctly you could be barely above 250% guideline and struggling to pay your kids tuition and not be eligible but somebody making $400k a year can move their kids from public to private and be eligible
It certainly reads that way.
But it is prioritized if funding is limited. Also from the webste.
quote:
The number of students who will receive scholarships for the 2025-2026 school year depends on the amount of funding approved by the state legislature during the 2025 Legislative Session. Eligible students will be prioritized for LA GATOR in the following order:
Students currently participating in the Louisiana Scholarship Program or the LA GATOR Program
Students from a family with a total income at or below two hundred fifty percent of the federal poverty guidelines and students identified as having a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Siblings of students currently participating in LA GATOR (this includes siblings of Louisiana Scholarship Program students or siblings of students identified as having a disability under IDEA)
Other eligible students
If an incoming kindergarten student with Louisiana Scholarship Program siblings is not prioritized in one of the first two categories, they will receive priority in the third category.
quote:
Govt picking winners and losers again.
There is no government program that does not do this to some degree.
quote:
They really cant get out of their own way.
Fact.
Posted on 4/3/25 at 10:26 am to bayoubengals88
quote:
Phase 1 (2025–2026 School Year): Begins with specific eligibility criteria.?
Phase 2: Expands eligibility to families earning up to 400% of the federal poverty guidelines.?
Phase 3: Aims to include all K–12 students in Louisiana.
The implementation of Phases 2 and 3 is contingent upon funding allocated by the Louisiana Legislature and will be communicated by the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) in accordance with Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) policy. ?
Default
Therefore, specific dates for these phases have not been established and will depend on legislative appropriations.
We're not eligible yet. But let's hope Phase 2 and 3 get implemented before BR Catholic Schools start jacking tuition up.
Posted on 4/3/25 at 10:38 am to Zakatak
quote:
Govt picking winners and losers again. They really cant get out of their own way.
In 2 years the income guideline goes away.
But also, if you look at this section, I doubt it's going to be fully funded for those who do well any way:
quote:
Funding for student accounts is subject to annual legislative appropriation of state funds. If allocated funds are insufficient to fund all eligible students, awards shall be prioritized as follows:
Students currently participating in the Louisiana Scholarship Program or LA GATOR
Students from a family with a total income at or below 250% of the federal poverty guidelines and students identified as having a disability under IDEA
Siblings of students currently participating in LA GATOR
Other eligible students
Posted on 4/3/25 at 10:40 am to Baers Foot
quote:
2. End the experiment of inclusive classrooms. Certified teachers can't be educators and psychologists at the same time.
quote:
3. Stop wasting entire years of education teaching for a standardized test. Maybe with DoE being shut down, funding tied to standardized testing will go away?
quote:I'd even say "teach character from pre k onward, getting more advanced into middle and high school." I'm talking basic, universally agreed upon virtues.
1. Empower school boards, school administration, teachers to get behavior problems out of the classroom. This means cutting red tape required to discipline a kid, changing funding formulae that deters school admin from removing problem kids that aren't there to learn, and allowing teachers to discipline again (ex. teachers can no longer threaten to take away recess for an elementary student for example)
Basically, do everything that this woman does. She may be the most important person in the West today.
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