Homeschooling in Louisiana— two pathways — BESE-approved home study, or register as a nonpublic school.
Louisiana gives families two distinct legal pathways. The BESE-Approved Home Study path means applying to the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education within 15 days of starting, renewing by October 1 each year, and submitting annual evidence that your child is progressing — and it keeps TOPS scholarship eligibility intact. The Nonpublic School path skips state approval: you notify the principal of the public school last attended within 10 days, then report attendance to the Louisiana Department of Education within 30 days of the school year's start, but you give up TOPS. Both paths require 180 days of instruction a year at public-school quality. Lightstead tracks whichever path you choose — the deadlines, the day count, and the annual portfolio or test evidence.
What Louisiana requires, at a glance.
- Notice (Home Study)
Apply within 15 days
BESE-Approved Home Study: apply to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education within 15 days of beginning, then renew by October 1 annually.
- Notice (Nonpublic)
10 days · then 30 days
Nonpublic School path: notify the principal of the public school last attended within 10 days of enrollment, then report attendance to LA DOE within 30 days of the school year's start each year.
- Days / year
180 days
Both pathways require 180 days of instruction per year. There is no separate hour count specified.
- Curriculum
Public-school quality
Instruction must equal the quality offered in public schools. Required texts: the Declaration of Independence in elementary, the Federalist Papers in high school.
- Annual evidence (Home Study)
Portfolio or test
Renewal requires either a portfolio (subject outlines, materials, student work, test copies, third-party statements) or a standardized test at/above grade level or showing one grade-level of progress per year.
- Approved tests
LEAP · CAT · BESE-approved
Standardized-test evidence may use LEAP, the California Achievement Test (CAT), or any other test approved by BESE.
- TOPS scholarship
Home Study only
BESE-Approved Home Study students stay TOPS-eligible. Nonpublic-school-path students are TOPS-ineligible and receive no federal or state funding.
- Pathways
2 options
BESE-Approved Home Study (state approval + annual evidence) or registration as a Nonpublic School (no state approval).
§1
Apply within 15 days — renew every October 1.
Louisiana's primary homeschool pathway is the BESE-Approved Home Study Program. Families apply to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education within 15 days of beginning home instruction, and renew the approval by October 1 of each year. The program must offer instruction of a quality at least equal to that of the public schools and run for 180 days a year. The application and renewal are the spine of this path. Renewal is where the annual evidence of progress is submitted, so the October 1 deadline carries the full year's recordkeeping with it — a missed renewal date is the most common way an otherwise-compliant Home Study family falls out of approval.
La. Rev. Stat. § 17:236.1
The LA filing wizard captures your initial BESE application within the 15-day window and surfaces the October 1 renewal on your dashboard from September onward, so the renewal never slips. Each child's data is pre-filled and the output is ready to submit.
LA Home Study filings
§2
Portfolio or standardized test — prove the year worked.
Each BESE Home Study renewal is accompanied by evidence that the child is being taught at a level equal to the public schools. Families choose one of two forms: a portfolio — subject outlines, instructional materials, samples of the student's work, copies of tests, and statements from a third party who has reviewed the program — or a standardized test result showing the child performing at or above grade level, or progressing at least one grade level per year. The standardized-test option may use the LEAP, the California Achievement Test (CAT), or any other test approved by BESE. Most families pick whichever form fits the year: the portfolio for younger or test-averse children, the standardized test when a clean grade-level result is easy to produce.
La. Rev. Stat. § 17:236.1 (renewal evidence)
The records packet pulls your subject outlines, work samples, and test copies into a single portfolio for the renewal — or holds your LEAP/CAT score and grade-level note if you go the test route. Either way it assembles into one document, ready for the October 1 deadline.
Records & portfolio packet
§3
The second route — no state approval, no TOPS.
Louisiana families may instead register as a nonpublic school rather than seek BESE approval. This path requires no state approval of the program. Instead, the family notifies the principal of the public school the child last attended within 10 days of enrollment, and then reports attendance to the Louisiana Department of Education within 30 days of the start of the school year, each year. The 180-day requirement still applies. The trade-off is funding and scholarship eligibility: a nonpublic-school-path homeschool receives no federal or state funding and the student is not eligible for the TOPS scholarship. Families weighing the two paths usually choose Home Study specifically to keep TOPS on the table.
La. Rev. Stat. § 17:236.1 (nonpublic school option)
If you take the nonpublic-school route, Lightstead tracks the 10-day principal notice and the annual 30-day attendance report to LA DOE as dashboard deadlines, and keeps the attendance log that the report draws from — so the once-a-year filing is a few minutes, not a scramble.
Attendance log
§4
180 days of public-school-quality instruction.
Both Louisiana pathways require a sustained, full-year program: 180 days of instruction per year, of a quality at least equal to that offered by the public schools. Louisiana also names specific required texts — the Declaration of Independence must be taught at the elementary level, and the Federalist Papers at the high school level. Beyond the named documents and the equal-quality standard, the state does not prescribe a fixed scope and sequence — the family chooses curriculum and materials, then demonstrates equivalence through the renewal evidence (Home Study) or simply maintains the 180-day program (nonpublic path). Tracking days as you go is the simplest way to be ready to show the year met the standard.
La. Rev. Stat. § 17:236.1 (180 days; required documents)
The attendance and hours log counts your 180 days as you record them, and the subjects list keeps your curriculum — including the Declaration of Independence and Federalist Papers requirements — organized by child and grade so nothing required is missed.
Subjects & curriculum
What people search for when they look up Louisiana homeschooling.
Do I have to register my homeschool in Louisiana?
It depends on the path. Under the BESE-Approved Home Study Program you apply to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education within 15 days of starting and renew by October 1 each year. Under the nonpublic-school path there is no state approval — instead you notify the principal of the public school last attended within 10 days, then report attendance to the Louisiana Department of Education within 30 days of the school year's start.
What's the difference between Louisiana's two homeschool options?
Option 1 is the BESE-Approved Home Study Program: state approval, annual renewal by October 1, annual evidence of progress, and the student stays eligible for the TOPS scholarship. Option 2 is registering as a nonpublic school: no state approval, a 10-day notice to the prior school's principal plus an annual 30-day attendance report, but no federal or state funding and no TOPS eligibility.
How many days does Louisiana require for homeschool?
Both pathways require 180 days of instruction per year, of a quality at least equal to that offered in the public schools. Louisiana specifies days rather than a separate hour count.
Does Louisiana require homeschool testing?
Only on the BESE Home Study path, and only as one of two evidence options at renewal. You may submit a portfolio instead — subject outlines, materials, student work, test copies, and a third-party statement — or a standardized test (LEAP, the California Achievement Test, or another BESE-approved test) showing the child at or above grade level, or progressing at least one grade level per year.
When do I renew my Louisiana home study application?
By October 1 each year for the BESE-Approved Home Study Program. The renewal is where the year's evidence of progress is submitted, so the October 1 date carries your portfolio or standardized-test result with it.
Does homeschooling in Louisiana affect the TOPS scholarship?
Yes — the path matters. Students in the BESE-Approved Home Study Program remain eligible for the TOPS scholarship. Students homeschooled under the nonpublic-school registration path are not TOPS-eligible and receive no federal or state funding.
What curriculum does Louisiana require homeschoolers to use?
Louisiana does not prescribe a full scope and sequence, but instruction must be of a quality at least equal to the public schools, and two documents are named: the Declaration of Independence must be taught at the elementary level and the Federalist Papers at the high school level. Otherwise the family chooses curriculum and materials.
What goes in a Louisiana home study portfolio?
For the BESE renewal portfolio option: subject outlines, the instructional materials used, samples of the student's work, copies of tests, and a statement from a third party who has reviewed the home study program. It is the alternative to submitting a standardized-test result.
Which standardized tests does Louisiana accept for homeschool?
For the BESE Home Study test-evidence option, the LEAP, the California Achievement Test (CAT), or any other test approved by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. The result must show the child at or above grade level, or progressing at least one grade level per year.
How soon do I have to notify Louisiana when I start homeschooling?
On the BESE Home Study path, apply to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education within 15 days of beginning. On the nonpublic-school path, notify the principal of the public school the child last attended within 10 days of enrollment.
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