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LA GATOR pays $5,243 to $15,253 a year toward private school. Here is where it works in Baton Rouge.

Louisiana's LA GATOR scholarship account pays tuition at BESE-approved private schools, and the Capital Region has one of the deepest benches of them in the state. We put the state's own approval list, enrollment, Tuition Donation Credit participation and federal school records in one place for every school from Central to Prairieville.

Check my family's amount Browse 78 schools

72BESE-approved schools in our ten-parish directory

22,001K-12 students at those schools

16,993eligible LA GATOR applications statewide for 2026-27

42local schools on the 2024-25 Tuition Donation Credit list

2026-27 account amounts

Three LA GATOR amounts. Which one is yours?

The amount follows the student, not the school. It's paid into an Odyssey account in quarterly deposits and spent on approved tuition, fees and services.

$5,243Most eligible students

$7,626Household at or below 250% of the poverty level

up to $15,253Student with a disability under IDEA (tiered)

Former Louisiana Scholarship Program students who stay at the same school keep their 2024-25 amount until they finish the school's last grade. Source: LDOE and Odyssey program pages, 2026-27.

Diocese of Baton Rouge

28 Catholic schools, all BESE-approved

Every Catholic school below is on the state's 2025-26 BESE-approved list. Parish schools usually charge a lower rate to registered, participating parishioners, so ask for that rate before you compare it with the account. Diocesan schools have long experience with state scholarship students from the Louisiana Scholarship Program years.

Catholic

St. Joseph's Academy

Baton Rouge

1,128 K-12 studentsGrades 9-12TDC school

School details →Catholic

Catholic High School

Baton Rouge

1,109 K-12 studentsGrades 8-12TDC school

School details →Catholic

St. Aloysius School

Baton Rouge

1,042 K-12 studentsGrades PK-8

School details →Catholic

St. George School

Baton Rouge

999 K-12 studentsGrades PK-8

School details →Catholic

Our Lady of Mercy Catholic School

Baton Rouge

862 K-12 studentsGrades PK-8TDC school

School details →Catholic

St. Michael the Archangel High School

Baton Rouge

638 K-12 studentsGrades 9-12TDC school

School details →Catholic

Holy Ghost School

Hammond

560 K-12 studentsGrades PK-8

School details →Catholic

St. Jude the Apostle School

Baton Rouge

504 K-12 studentsGrades PK-8TDC school

School details →Catholic

St. Thomas More School

Baton Rouge

496 K-12 studentsGrades PK-8TDC school

School details →

All Catholic schools →

The Capital Region

The local picture

East Baton Rouge Parish, including the Central and Zachary school systems, has 45 schools on the state's 2025-26 list of BESE-approved nonpublic schools. Only Orleans and Jefferson parishes have more. Add Ascension, Livingston and West Baton Rouge, and those four core parishes have 55 approved schools enrolling about 16,751 K-12 students. Our directory also covers the commuter parishes around them: Iberville, Pointe Coupee and East Feliciana in the metro, and Assumption, St. James and Tangipahoa in the Diocese of Baton Rouge, for 72 approved schools in all.

The Catholic schools of the Diocese of Baton Rouge are the backbone of that supply: 28 schools in our directory, from parish elementary schools such as St. Aloysius, St. George and Our Lady of Mercy (each with more than 850 K-12 students) to Catholic High and St. Joseph's Academy. Episcopal, Baptist, non-denominational and independent schools such as Episcopal, Dunham, Parkview Baptist and Central Private fill out the rest.

BESE approval matters because it is the condition for taking LA GATOR tuition. A school that isn't approved can still sell individual courses through the program's marketplace, but it can't be paid full-time tuition from the account. Our directory marks which is which.

Mother and daughter comparing school options on a laptop at home

The math

Stacking LA GATOR and an STO scholarship

An illustrative elementary year at a parish school charging $7,900 tuition plus $600 in mandatory fees, for a family at or below 250% of the poverty level.

Tuition + mandatory fees$8,500

LA GATOR account (2026-27)− $7,626

Tuition Donation Credit (STO) scholarship, up to the balance− $874

Family balance before school aid$0

Illustration only. LA GATOR pays tuition and mandatory fees first; an STO scholarship can cover the rest, never more than actual tuition and fees. STO awards are set by each organization and are limited by funding. A family at the $5,243 level would have $3,257 left before STO or school aid.

Data in one place

Compare approved schools side by side

Enrollment, pre-K seats, state classification, Tuition Donation Credit participation and teacher ratios for every BESE-approved school from Baton Rouge out to Plaquemine, New Roads and Hammond, sortable.

Compare 72 schools →

Learning differences

The largest award is for students with an IEP

Baton Rouge has schools built for students with dyslexia, autism and other learning differences, and LA GATOR's highest award, up to $15,253, is for students with a disability under IDEA.

Diocese of Baton Rouge Special Education ProgramSt. Lillian AcademyThe Brighton School

Special-needs funding → Home-based learning →

Teacher reading with a small group in a Baton Rouge parish school classroom

Questions families ask

Baton Rouge LA GATOR questions

How much is the LA GATOR account in 2026-27?

$5,243 for most students, $7,626 for families at or below 250% of the federal poverty level ($80,375 for a family of four), and up to $15,253 for students with a disability under IDEA. Students who came from the old Louisiana Scholarship Program and stay at the same school keep their 2024-25 amount until they finish that school's last grade.

Do Catholic schools in Baton Rouge take LA GATOR?

Every Catholic school in our directory is on the state's 2025-26 BESE-approved list, which is what a school needs to accept LA GATOR tuition. Schools still have to register in the Odyssey platform each year, so ask the school office whether it is set up for 2026-27.

Can we use LA GATOR and a Tuition Donation Credit scholarship together?

Yes. Since Act 403 (SB 27), the two stack. LA GATOR pays tuition and mandatory fees first and the STO scholarship (ACE, Arete, Aspiring Scholars or Son of a Saint) covers what's left, up to the school's actual tuition and fees. 42 schools in our directory were on the 2024-25 Tuition Donation Credit participating list.

We missed the March window. What now?

The 2026-27 window ran March 1 to March 16, 2026. New applicants who weren't funded sit on a waitlist and can be awarded as seats open. The Legislature kept LA GATOR funding at about $43.5 million for 2026-27, so the waitlist is long. 2027-28 dates haven't been announced; a funding advisor can help you plan the gap with school aid and STO scholarships.

Is homeschooling covered?

Partly. Families can use the account for courses, curriculum, tutoring and therapies bought from approved providers in the Odyssey marketplace. A family registered with the state as a BESE-approved home study program, or as a nonpublic school not seeking approval, can't be in LA GATOR at the same time. See our home-based learning page.

High school students walking under live oaks on a Baton Rouge private school campus

For schools, churches & ministries

Start or grow a school families can fund

Baton Rouge has a dense network of churches, and many already run a weekday preschool or Mother's Day Out. With nearly 17,000 eligible LA GATOR applications statewide for 2026-27 and few new seats, a BESE-approved K-6 school or a marketplace learning program at a church fills a real need. Several approved schools in the area enroll fewer than 150 students, so a small start can work.

Partner with us Online Christian school option

Find out which LA GATOR amount fits your family

A short funding check. An advisor calls you back with your options, the waitlist picture and the dates that apply. No obligation.

Start the funding check →