If you live in Baton Rouge and you've heard that Louisiana now has a "universal" school choice account, you may have been surprised to find yourself on a waitlist. Both things are true. LA GATOR is open to almost every Louisiana student on paper, but it is funded by a fixed appropriation, and that appropriation did not grow this year. Here is how the 2026-27 amounts work, who gets funded first, and what that means if you are looking at a parish school in Mid City or a K-12 campus in Central.
Three amounts, set by the student
LA GATOR pays a set amount into an account for each funded student. For 2026-27 the program's administrator, Odyssey, lists three levels:
- $5,243 for most eligible students (55% of the state's per-pupil MFP amount).
- $7,626 for students from households at or below 250% of the federal poverty guidelines (80% of MFP).
- Up to $15,253 for students with a disability under IDEA (160% of MFP), tiered by need and household income.
The 250% line is about $80,375 a year for a family of four. If your household is near it, that one number is worth checking carefully, because it moves your award by $2,383 and moves you up the priority list.
There is one more case. Students who came over from the old Louisiana Scholarship Program and stay at the same school keep the amount they received in 2024-25 until they finish that school's last grade or leave. If your child had a voucher at a Baton Rouge Catholic school and is still there, your number may not be any of the three above.
The four priority groups
When there isn't enough money for every eligible applicant, which is the situation now, the Louisiana Department of Education awards scholarships in this order:
- Students already in LA GATOR.
- Students with a disability under IDEA, or from households at or below 250% of the poverty level.
- Siblings of current participants.
- All other eligible students.
Within each group, earlier applications come first. That's why the application window matters so much. For 2026-27 it opened March 1 at 9 a.m. and closed March 16 at 11:59 p.m. Returning families had to renew inside that window or lose eligibility.
Why so many families are waiting
LA GATOR's first year, 2025-26, was funded at $43.5 million. EdChoice counts about 6,000 participating students that year. For 2026-27, families submitted 17,848 applications and 16,993 were found eligible, according to the Pelican Institute.
Governor Landry asked lawmakers to roughly double the program to nearly $90 million. The House went along. Senate President Cameron Henry said he wanted to see the first year's test scores before expanding it, and in May the Senate Finance Committee removed the expansion as the state faced a revenue shortfall. The budget that passed when the session ended June 1 did not include the extra money.
The practical result: returning students and the priority groups get funded first, and many group-four families, those above 250% of poverty without an IEP, are on the waitlist. Odyssey awards waitlisted students as seats open, for example when a current participant leaves.
What this means for a Baton Rouge family
Baton Rouge has a lot of schools that can take the account. East Baton Rouge, Ascension, Livingston and West Baton Rouge alone have 55 BESE-approved nonpublic schools in our directory, from St. Aloysius and St. George, each with about 1,000 K-12 students, to small church schools with fewer than 150. BESE approval is what a school needs to accept LA GATOR tuition. So the limit for most families isn't finding a school. It's whether they get funded, and at which amount.
A few ways to plan around that:
- Check your priority group honestly. If your child has an IEP, or your income is near 250% of poverty, make sure your application documents show it. Those details decide your place in line.
- Don't build your budget on the account alone. If you're in group four, plan the year as if the account may come late or not at all, and treat an award as a bonus.
- Ask about Tuition Donation Credit scholarships. Lower-income families can combine an STO scholarship with LA GATOR at participating schools. More than half the approved schools in our directory were on the 2024-25 participating list. Our LA GATOR guide explains the stacking rule.
- Use school aid. Parishioner rates at diocesan schools and need-based aid at independent schools are still the biggest source of help for many families.
When to act for 2027-28
The state hasn't announced 2027-28 dates. Based on the last two years, expect a short window in early March, with award notices in early summer after the Legislature sets the budget. If you're already in the program, the most important thing you can do is renew on time. If you're new, apply on the first day the window opens, since earlier applications win ties within each priority group.
Two other things are coming. The federal Education Freedom Tax Credit starts January 1, 2027, and Louisiana has opted in, which should create new scholarship money for families at or below 300% of area median income. And the Legislature will see the first LA GATOR test results before the 2027 session, which may shape whether the program grows.
The short version
LA GATOR is worth applying for even with a waitlist, but the amount you get and whether you're funded at all depend on your income, your child's IEP status and how early you apply. If you'd like help working out your number and a backup plan for the balance, our two-minute funding check is a good place to start.
Sources
- Odyssey: How Much Funding Will the LA GATOR Program Provide (2026-27)
- LDOE: LA GATOR Scholarship Program
- LDOE: LA GATOR application window for 2026-2027 opens March 1
- Pelican Institute: 17,000 Students, One Clear Message: Fully Fund LA GATOR
- WAFB: Senate president wants test scores before expanding LA GATOR funding (Apr. 22, 2026)
- WBRZ: Legislative session ends as Louisiana's $47B budget passes (June 1, 2026)
- EdChoice: LA GATOR program profile