Homeschool Requirements in Louisiana
Louisiana is one of the more demanding states. Louisiana asks for more than most. It is entirely manageable once it is written down in one place, which is what this page is for. Nothing here is harder than it looks; there is just more of it.
What you file, and by when
Two distinct legal routes with different filings. (1) BESE-approved Home Study Program: apply to the Louisiana Department of Education/BESE within 15 days of beginning home instruction; renew annually by October 1 of the school year, or within 12 months of approval of the initial application, whichever is later, with evidence of a sustained quality curriculum. Immunization documentation required at ages 11 and 16 unless exempted. (2) Registered nonpublic school not seeking state approval: submit a signed annual letter of registration to LDOE by the 30th day after the school session begins, giving school year, school name, contact information, and total enrollment; also give written notice to the prior public school within 10 days of withdrawal. This route forfeits BESE-approval benefits (notably TOPS eligibility via the home study route) and the school may not accept federal or state funds.
Days or hours
180 days per school year under both routes. The nonpublic-school-not-seeking-approval route additionally carries the nonpublic school standard of 330 minutes of instruction per day for grades 1-12 (165-330 minutes for kindergarten).
Subjects you must cover
Home study: curriculum at least equal in quality to that of public schools at the same grade level. Louisiana specifically requires instruction in the Declaration of Independence (elementary) and the Federalist Papers (high school), plus the standard state civics/US history content. No mandated subject list for the nonpublic-school-not-seeking-approval route beyond the general nonpublic school standards.
Records you keep
Home study route: maintain evidence of a sustained curriculum at least equal in quality to that offered by public schools at the same grade level, retained for the annual renewal (test scores, work samples/portfolio, or a certified teacher's statement). Nonpublic-school route: maintain attendance records, permanent cumulative student records documenting academic progress, and health records for PK-12.
Testing or evaluation
No mandatory standardized test as such, but the BESE home study renewal requires documentation of sustained quality, satisfied by any one of: standardized test scores at or above grade level (LEAP, California Achievement Test, or comparable), a statement from a certified teacher that the child is performing at grade level, evidence such as a portfolio of work/curriculum records, or the child's attainment of grade-level achievement. Families using the nonpublic-school route have no evaluation requirement.
Diplomas and transcripts
Louisiana is one of the few states with statutory recognition of a homeschool diploma: since 2010, diplomas issued by a BESE-approved home study program are treated the same as diplomas from state-approved nonpublic schools for state purposes. TOPS scholarship eligibility requires the student to have been enrolled in the BESE-approved home study program no later than the start of 10th grade, plus specified core coursework and ACT scores, so families intending to claim TOPS must be on the approved route early, not the unapproved nonpublic route. Keep a detailed 9-12 transcript with course titles, credits, and grades. Recent change: the LA GATOR ESA launched for 2025-26; participating families must receive instruction through an approved LA GATOR provider and generally withdraw from their existing BESE-approved/nonpublic homeschool registration, this materially changes compliance posture, so verify current LDOE guidance before enrolling.
Where this comes from
Statute: La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 17:236.1 (home study program); § 17:236 (compulsory attendance / approved and nonapproved nonpublic schools); § 17:221; La. Admin. Code tit. 28 (BESE Bulletin 741 Nonpublic); La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 17:5001 et seq. (TOPS); LA GATOR Scholarship Program (Act 1 of 2024, R.S. 17:4041 et seq.).
Last reviewed: July 2026 · our confidence in this entry: medium
Homeschool law changes, and a page like this goes stale without announcing it. Check the statute above against your own reading before a filing deadline. If we are out of date, we would rather hear it from you than have you find out at the district office.
Keeping the records is the other half of this. Our Records System has the editable transcript with the GPA already wired, 131 course descriptions, and this same statute-cited summary for all fifty states and DC. Thirty-nine dollars, one household, however many children you have.