When will Louisiana parents be able to apply for new private school tuition program?

Louisiana parents will be able to apply next spring for the first round of state government funding for private school tuition, tutoring and other educational expenses for the 2025 academic year under the state's new LA Gator Schoolarship Program.

State public schools Superintendent Cade Brumley said the first famillies eligible for what are known as educational savings accounts will be the 6,000 students who already particpate in Louisiana's existing private school tuition voucher program followed by students from low income families and students with disabilities.

Brumley testified Tuesday during a House Education Committee hearing.

Brumley called the new law creating the scholarship program a "bold step" that is new Republican Gov. Jeff Landry's "signature" education initiative.

Landry hailed Senate Bill 313 by Republican Baton Rouge Sen. Rick Edmonds after signing it this summer.

"I made a pledge to enact bold change that improves our education system," Landry said. "With the Legislature’s help, we did just that. The LA Gator Program puts parents in the driver’s seat and gives every child the opportunity for a great education. When parents are committed to the value of their child’s education, government should never get in the way.”

Eventually, the goal of the new law and Landry is for all students to be eligible for the program regardless of their family's income or status.

But expansion will ultimately depend on the Legisalture, which must decide how much funding to appropriate for LA Gator each year.

Full eligibility and participation could cost as much as $500 million by some estimates, which lawmakers say is unrealistic at a time when the state is facing a $300 million budget hole next year.

But Brumley said the program is a key component to one of his agency's broad tenets.

"It fits well with our educational choice for families (goal)," Brumley said.

Louisiana's Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has already chosen a private vendor, Odyssey, to oversee the program with a contract value of up to $11.3 million over three years if the Joint Legislative Budget Committee approves it as expected this month.

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1.

This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: When will Louisiana parents be able to apply for new private school tuition program?