Louisiana Homeschool Laws
Enacted June 18, during the Louisiana legislature's regular 1999 session, Senate Bill 252
impacts homeschoolers operating as private schools.
Under the new law, every non-approved private school (including those operated by home schoolers) shall provide a written notification of enrollment for every student who attended public school immediately prior to enrollment in the private school. Notification is required whether the private school enrollment occurs at the beginning or at any other part of the school year.
The notification, which must be in writing and may be in the form of a request for the student's transcript, shall occur within 10 days of the enrollment of each student. The request shall contain, as a minimum, the student's legal name, birth date, gender and race.
HSLDA has been informed that S.B. 252's purpose is to reduce the number of
public school students categorized as "dropouts." Their legal staff does not
believe this is an effort to regulate home or private schools.
Reprinted
with permission, Home School Court Report, Vol. 15, Number 6.
The following is for informational purposes only and is not meant to be legal advice. For more information, please go to Home School Legal Defense Association web site.
Compulsory School Age in Louisiana is currently from the child's 7th birthday until his 17th birthday.
Attendance required is 180 days per year.
You are required to give an education at least equal to the quality of that in the public schools including the Declaration of Independence and the Federalist papers.
There are no teacher qualifications.
There are two options under which you can homeschool.
Home Study
1) You can establish and operate a home school as approved by the board of education
2) You must file an application an a copy of the child's birth certificate, with
board of education, within 15 days after start of home school and annually thereafter
3) Testing is not required. For renewal you must submit, with your application,
documents showing satisfactory evidence that the program is at least equal to that offered
by the public schools. You MAY submit standardized testing scores in lieu of
documentation.
Private School
1) You can establish a private school in your home.
2) Education given must be equal to the quality of that in the public schools
including the Declaration of Independence and Federalist papers.
3) You must submit notification to the state department of education within the first 30
days of the school year. Notice must be given each year that you continue to operate a
private school.
