Louisiana

NCAI Region: Southeast

Total Population: 4,533,372

Native American Population: 55,079

Percentage of population: 1.2%

Number of Tribes: 4

Number of BIE Tribally Controlled Schools: 1

Total Number of Native American Schools: 1

State Public Education Department: Louisiana Department of Education

State Average Per Pupil Funding: $12,153

Charter Support Organizations: 1) Louisiana Associationof Public Charter Schools2) New Schools for New Orleans

Year Charter Law Enacted: 1995

2020 Model Law Ranking: 8

Estimated Number of Charter Schools: 156

Estimated Number of Charter Students: 86,437

Louisiana law requires a local school board to provide a per-pupil portion of local revenues approved by voters for capital outlay or debt service to charter schools that are not housed in facilities provided by the district.Louisiana law requires local school boards to make available to chartering groups any vacant school facilities or any facility slated to be vacant for lease or purchase at fair market value. For conversion charter schools, the facility and all the property within the existing school must be made available to the chartering group. If such facilities were constructed at no cost to the local school board, then such facilities including all equipment, books, instructional materials, and furniture within such facilities shall be provided to the charter school at no cost. Otherwise, the chartering group is required to pay a proportionate share of the local school board’s bonded indebtedness.
Louisiana law provides the Louisiana Charter School Start-Up Fund, which provides zero-interest loans for both new and existing charter schools of up to $100,000 with terms of up to three years. It allows the loans to be used for facility acquisition, upgrade, and repairs. The state is not currently funding this program.
Louisiana law provides that charter schools are eligible to access tax-exempt financing through the Louisiana Public Facilities Authority.