Homeschooling in Louisiana

Homeschooling is becoming increasingly popular in Louisiana. The laws are favorable, the environment is acceptable to homeschoolers, and there is a great community of families who enjoy their quest to individually educate their children.

Families are individually responsible for choosing their method of home education. You may educate under either the “home study” program or under the “private school” definition (La. R.S. 17:236, Act 828 of 1980). For more details, visit our FAQs. Important: Your family chooses your own curriculum and you are independently responsible for meeting state requirements. CCHSA is not responsible for these aspects of your homeschool.

Registering as a Private School (Nonpublic School)
This is your likely option if you have children 10^th grade and below. (It does not allow high school seniors to qualify for TOPS.) You simply register as a private school and are only required to give the name of your “school”, number of students and name of the parent/educator. If you plan to homeschool in a Private School setting, you must inform the state in writing or online, no later than 30 days after commencing classes. See this Sample Letter to File with the State of Louisiana for an example of what you need to send. You may also download this Microsoft Word file and personalize.  See links below to file with the state using the new online registration forms.

Using the Home Study Program
This is an option you will want to consider if you have a child in high school or you have a student who would like to participate in the Interscholastic Athletics program. It allows the high school senior to qualify for TOPS (Tuition Opportunity Program for Students) which is a scholarship program for Louisiana students who attend a Louisiana college or university. If you will be homeschooling using the Home Study program, you will need to send in your paperwork within 15 days of commencing classes. The home study application, general information, guidelines, athletics guidelines and curriculum information can be found at http://www.louisianabelieves.com/academics/graduation-requirements

Effective August 2010 and thereafter, high school diplomas awarded through your home study program approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education are now recognized by all public postsecondary educational institutions, all state departments, agencies, boards, and commissions and all other state and local government entitles to have all of the rights and privileges as those awarded by a state-approved nonpublic school [R.S. 17:236.1.G]. 

For details about this, please refer to page 4 of the CHEF of Louisiana Information Booklet (now called Homeschool Louisiana).
 

Additional Information
Please refer to HSLDA for more information on the legality and details of homeschooling in Louisiana.

If you have additional questions about your particular situation, please don’t hesitate to contact us for ideas or information on how to begin your homeschool or transition your existing homeschool to Louisiana. We invite you to consider membership in CCHSA to take advantage of our member benefits.

Please keep in mind that CCHSA is not a group that can provide you with curriculum or a location to bring your children for education, but we are a group of like-minded individuals who stay in close contact to encourage each other in our homeschooling pursuit. We would love to share our stories with you, our ideas for curriculum options, and the way we homeschool. It might give you some new insights! Anyone on our board of directors would be happy to speak with you. Please visit Contact CCHSA for our contact information.

Another facet of our group is that CCHSA is a member group of Homeschool Louisiana (formerly CHEF of LA), a state-wide homeschool umbrella organization. Homeschool Louisiana attempts to connect, inform, and distribute current legislative information concerning homeschoolers, and works to assist all of the different Christian homeschool groups in the state of Louisiana. More information is available at Homeschool Louisiana.