LA GATOR Scholarship Program

Education savings account run by the Louisiana Department of Education.

Last updated October 17, 2026

Official pages: Apply or sign up What the money can buy

Free during the beta. Record your award, deposits, purchases and receipts, see what each category needs, and print a family record of it. Corral never connects to the program portal, never asks for its password, and never moves money.

Following puts its announced application dates on your My Homeschool page. Email about it is a separate choice.

Homeschool students

Not as a home study student. State law bars a student from taking part in LA GATOR at the same time as either legal homeschool option in Louisiana: a BESE-approved home study program, or a home study program registered with LDOE as a nonpublic school not seeking state approval. LA GATOR instead offers a "Home-based Education" setting: the child learns primarily or partially at home using approved LA GATOR service providers bought through the Odyssey marketplace, and in that setting the funds cannot pay school tuition and fees. A home study family that wants LA GATOR must withdraw from home study (LDOE's home study withdrawal form) and select Home-based Education in Odyssey; LDOE checks for cross-enrollment and puts flagged students on hold. The signed program agreement then satisfies compulsory attendance, and the parent must teach at least English language arts, math, social studies and science and arrange an approved annual test. [S1]

Who can apply

• Student lives in Louisiana and is at least 5 (but not older than 21) by September 30, 2026. [S7]
• For 2026-27 the student also meets one of: returning LA GATOR recipient approved and funded in 2025-26 (or a 2024-25 Louisiana Scholarship Program participant); entering kindergarten; enrolled in a public school on both October 1 and February 1 of 2025-26; or household income at or below 250% of the federal poverty level. [S7]
• The parent applies through Odyssey during the window and agrees in writing to teach at least English language arts, math, social studies and science, to use funds only for qualified education expenses, and to follow all program rules. Eligibility is reverified every year. [S2]
• After an award the family must choose an educational setting: a BESE-approved nonpublic school, or Home-based Education using approved LA GATOR service providers. [S7]
• The student cannot at the same time be in a BESE-approved home study program, a home study program registered as a nonpublic school not seeking state approval, the Course Choice Program, or the School Choice Program for Certain Students with Exceptionalities, and cannot be enrolled full-time in a public school. [S2]
• Each year the student must take an approved assessment in English language arts and math (the state test or a BESE-approved norm-referenced test). Students not enrolled in a nonpublic school must set aside enough account funds to cover the test. [S6]
• Eligibility ends if the student enrolls full-time in a public school, leaves Louisiana, gives fraudulent information, graduates or withdraws from school, or the account is inactive for two consecutive years. [S6]

How much

Home study students: no award, because they cannot take part while registered for home study. For 2026-27 the program manager lists: up to $15,253 (160% of the prior-year MFP per-pupil amount) for a student with a disability under IDEA, set by disability tier and income; $7,626 (80%) for a student from a family at or below 250% of the federal poverty guidelines; and $5,243 (55%) for any other eligible student. The LDOE page and the BESE policy still label these figures 2025-26, and LDOE says all awards depend on final funding by the Legislature and Governor. Former Louisiana Scholarship Program students who stay at the same school keep their 2024-25 award.

How it's paid: Funds are deposited into the student's Odyssey account quarterly (four deposits a school year). Families spend them only through the Odyssey platform: tuition payments to a participating school, or marketplace purchases from approved providers.

Left over at year end: Unused funds stay in the account for future years while the student remains eligible and renews each year. When a student becomes ineligible or withdraws, the account is closed and the remaining funds go back to LDOE.

Dates

Spending

All purchases and tuition payments go through the Odyssey platform: marketplace purchases from approved providers, or tuition to a participating school. Families cannot be reimbursed for out-of-pocket purchases. [S5]

How Corral reads each kind of purchase for this program. These are starting points from the program’s own lists, not decisions: the program approves or denies each purchase.

Allowed, as the program lists it

• Tuition or fees at a participating nonpublic school or for nonpublic online learning programs. [S6]
• Curricula and textbooks or other instructional materials, including supplemental materials or online instruction required by a participating nonpublic school or service provider. [S6]
• Tuition, fees, instructional materials and examination fees at a career or technical school. [S6]
• Fees for assessments approved by LDOE, Advanced Placement, CLEP and International Baccalaureate exams, and other exams related to college admission. [S6]
• Educational services and therapies, including occupational, behavioral, physical, speech-language and audiology therapies. [S6]
• Tuition and fees at a postsecondary institution for a student in dual enrollment. [S6]
• Tutoring provided by a tutor or a tutoring service. [S6]
• Services contracted for and provided by a participating public school, including individual classes and extracurricular activities and programs. [S6]
• Computer hardware or other technological devices primarily used to help meet the student's educational needs, and educational software applications (price caps apply). [S6]
• School uniforms. [S6]
• Tuition or fees for summer education programs and before- or after-school education or childcare programs that offer academic support. [S6]
• Parent navigation services: professional help choosing and enrolling in educational services, curriculum selection, and career and college advice. [S6]
• Any other educational supplies or expenses approved by BESE. [S6]

Not allowed

• Tuition or fees at a non-participating nonpublic school. [S6]
• Tuition and fees for a student in the Home-based Education setting. [S1]
• Reimbursing a family for out-of-pocket purchases: all purchases and tuition payments go through the Odyssey platform. [S5]
• Paying ESA funds directly to the account holder's family members or to a business they own (conflict of interest and misuse of funds). [S6]
• Refunding, rebating or sharing account funds with a parent or student; any refund must go back to the account. [S4]
• Using one student's funds for another student. [S6]
• School registration or reservation fees paid up front: the program manager (Odyssey) tells families these are the family’s responsibility and cannot be paid or reimbursed with LA GATOR funds. [S17]
• Note: the state board’s LA GATOR policy allows LDOE to send a required partial tuition payment to a participating school before the school year to hold the student’s spot, and deduct it from later quarterly deposits; Odyssey’s current guidance still tells families to pay these up-front fees themselves. [S20]
• Gaming computers and entertainment or streaming subscriptions (Odyssey expense list). [S11]

Category limits

• Therapy providers must be licensed in the therapy they offer. [S11]
• Postsecondary dual enrollment is limited to courses already approved for the Course Choice program. [S11]
• Tutors are not required to be licensed; the platform should tell families whether a tutor is licensed. [S11]
• Uniforms may only be bought through a participating school, and only items required during the school day. [S11]
• Desktops and laptops: no gaming computers. [S11]
• Tablets, laptops and desktops: $1,000 price cap each, 1 purchase every 3 years. [S10]
• Monitors: $200 price cap. [S10]
• Printers: $100 price cap, 1 purchase every 5 years. [S10]
• Printer ink: $200 price cap. [S10]
• 3D printers: $400 price cap, 1 purchase every 5 years. [S10]
• Keyboard, mouse and stylus: $50 price cap each. [S10]
• Calculators: $150 price cap. [S10]
• Cameras: $800 price cap. [S10]
• Disability assistance devices: $1,000 price cap. [S10]
• E-readers: $200 price cap, 1 purchase every program year. [S10]
• Robotics kits: $500 price cap, 1 purchase every 3 years. [S10]
• Musical instruments: $500 price cap, 1 purchase every 2 years. [S10]
• Backpacks: $75 price cap. [S10]
• AP exam: $100 price cap. [S10]
• Parent navigation services: $375 price cap (Odyssey's support-agent expense list also mentions a cap of 5-10% of account use). [S10]

Receipts and records

All purchases and tuition payments are made in the Odyssey platform, so the platform holds the record. No separate parent receipt rule was found. LDOE contracts an independent auditor to check that funds were used only for allowed expenses, and must provide account holders a written explanation of allowable uses.

Approval before buying

Every vendor and each of its offerings is reviewed by LDOE and Odyssey before it appears in the marketplace, and items over a price cap are not approved. No separate per-purchase parent preapproval step was found.

Vendors

Marketplace only. Funds go to participating nonpublic schools (tuition, quarterly) or to approved service providers through the Odyssey marketplace; families cannot be reimbursed. Service providers apply on a rolling basis as full-time providers (for example microschools or online schools that are not BESE-approved), part-time providers (for example tutors), public school governing authorities, therapists, BESE-approved schools, or other vendors (retailers, curriculum providers, test providers).

Four separate questions: is the vendor approved by the program, is the kind of purchase allowed, does this item meet the program’s conditions, and did the program approve the claim. A yes to one is not a yes to the others.

Family members as vendors

BESE policy treats it as a conflict of interest and misuse of funds for an account holder to pay ESA funds to his or her family members (spouse, parent, step-parent, parent-in-law, child, step-child, son- or daughter-in-law, brother, sister, or anyone living in the student's household) or to a business they own. A parent cannot pay themselves.

Links

• Apply or join the interest list (doe.louisiana.gov)
• What you can buy (support.withodyssey.com)
• Help: Odyssey support center: https://support.withodyssey.com/hc/en-us/categories/31145573599259-Louisiana-GATOR-Program; LA GATOR call center 225-422-1538; email listed on the LDOE LA GATOR page

Questions to ask the program

The official sources don’t settle these. Ask the Louisiana Department of Education before you count on them:

• My child is on the waitlist. Where are we on the list, and how likely is funding this year? Waitlisted students can be funded later in the year at a reduced amount.
• Are the 2026-27 award amounts $15,253, $7,626 and $5,243, or will they change? The state's own page still labels these figures as 2025-26 amounts.
• Does the program or Odyssey take any fee out of my child's account? No official page says whether anything is withheld from family accounts.
• For home-based education, must I buy curriculum only from the approved list, or can I choose other curriculum in the marketplace? The official pages don't say whether home-based families are limited to the approved list.
• Can LA GATOR pay for field trips, internet service, or music, art or sports lessons? These are not addressed in the official spending rules found.
• What receipts or records do I need to keep for purchases? No parent record-keeping rule was found.
• If our school asks for a deposit or registration fee to hold my child’s spot, can LA GATOR pay it, or do we have to pay it ourselves? The state board’s policy allows the state to advance part of the tuition to hold a spot, but the program manager tells families to pay these fees themselves.

Sources

1. [S1] What Schools and Programs are Eligible Through the LA GATOR Scholarship Program? (Odyssey support center, program manager) · Eligible: Home-Based Education; Ineligible · dated May 6, 2026 · checked October 6, 2026
2. [S2] La. R.S. 17:4037.7, Student eligibility; initial and continuing (Louisiana State Legislature) · §4037.7(A), (B), (C) · checked October 6, 2026
3. [S3] La. R.S. 17:4037.3, Definitions (Louisiana State Legislature) · §4037.3(9), qualified education expenses · checked October 6, 2026
4. [S4] La. R.S. 17:4037.6, Account funds (Louisiana State Legislature) · §4037.6(A), (B), (D), (E) · checked October 6, 2026
5. [S5] About LA GATOR (Louisiana Department of Education) · 2026-2027 Application Window; Who's Eligible; How Much Can Students Receive?; What Can LA GATOR Funds Be Used For? · checked October 6, 2026
6. [S6] LA GATOR Scholarship Program Policy (BESE Bulletin 133, Scholarship Programs; posted by the Louisiana Department of Education) · Student Eligibility; Funds Transfer and Management; Use of Funds; LA GATOR Program Funding; Assessments; Conflict of Interest · checked October 6, 2026
7. [S7] Eligibility Requirements for the 2026-2027 LA GATOR Program (Odyssey support center) · Educational Setting Requirement; Participation in Other Programs · dated August 12, 2026 · checked October 9, 2026
8. [S8] How Much Funding will the LA GATOR Program Provide? (Odyssey support center) · Award Amounts; Eligible (Waitlisted) Students · dated August 27, 2026 · checked October 6, 2026
9. [S9] My Student is in an Approved On Hold Status, What Do I Do? (Odyssey support center) · BESE-Approved Home Study Cross-enrollment · dated May 7, 2026 · checked October 6, 2026
10. [S10] Price Caps/Purchase Restrictions of Eligible Expenses for the LA GATOR Scholarship Program (Odyssey support center) · Price cap table · dated July 30, 2026 · checked October 9, 2026
11. [S11] Approved Expenses for the LA GATOR Scholarship Program (Odyssey support center, article for support agents) · Expense list by category · dated December 11, 2025 · checked October 6, 2026
12. [S12] How Often Will Tuition Payments be Sent to the School? (Odyssey support center) · Whole article · dated May 7, 2026 · checked October 6, 2026
13. [S13] Waitlist Award Funding (Odyssey support center) · Award Percentages · dated May 7, 2026 · checked October 6, 2026
14. [S14] How to Select the Educational Setting for Your Child and Confirm Tuition & Fees (Odyssey support center) · Important; Selecting an educational setting · dated May 6, 2026 · checked October 6, 2026
15. [S15] How to Become a Vendor or Service Provider for the LA GATOR Program (Odyssey support center) · Provider types and documents · dated May 20, 2026 · checked October 6, 2026
16. [S16] How Will Students be Prioritized for Funding in the 26-27 LA GATOR Program? (Odyssey support center) · Whole article · dated May 7, 2026 · checked October 6, 2026
17. [S17] What if the school requires a registration fee? (Odyssey support center) · Whole article · dated May 15, 2026 · checked October 9, 2026
18. [S18] What are the Testing Requirements to Participate in the LA GATOR Program? (Odyssey support center) · Approved assessments · dated May 7, 2026 · checked October 6, 2026
19. [S19] LA GATOR Scholarship Program Attestations (Odyssey support center) · Educational Requirements; Funding Compliance · dated December 11, 2025 · checked October 6, 2026
20. [S20] LA GATOR Scholarship Program Policy (BESE Bulletin 133, Scholarship Programs; posted by the Louisiana Department of Education) · Funds Transfer and Management · checked October 9, 2026

Last updated October 17, 2026 · rule version 4 · next check by December 31, 2026. Found something out of date? Tell us.