How to Homeschool in Louisiana (2026): Notice, Annual Assessment, and What the Law Requires

Louisiana's Home School Law

Louisiana Revised Statutes §17:236.1 provides the legal framework for home schooling in Louisiana. The law requires four things: annual written notice to the local superintendent, a teaching parent with at least a high school diploma or GED, at least 180 days of instruction per year, and an annual assessment of each child's progress. The assessment must be either a nationally standardized test or a portfolio evaluated by a Louisiana state-certified teacher, and the family selects which method to use.

Louisiana's compulsory school age runs from 7 through 18, slightly narrower on the lower end than many states. Children in that range who are not enrolled in a public school, a private school, or a registered home school program are subject to the attendance law. Children who turn 7 after the school year has already begun must be enrolled or registered before the next school year starts.

Louisiana does not license or accredit home schools. The notice filing is a registration step, not an approval process. The superintendent's office records your notice; it does not review your curriculum, approve your program, or set conditions on your home school year. You file the notice, and the year is yours to run.

Filing Annual Notice

Before September 1 each year, file written notice of your intent to home school with the superintendent of your city or parish school system. Louisiana does not require a specific state form for this notice. A written letter identifying each child by name and age and stating your intent to provide home instruction that meets the requirements of §17:236.1 is sufficient.

Contact your city or parish school board office at the start of each year to confirm the preferred submission method. Some offices accept email; others require delivery by mail or in person. Confirm the address and the preferred format before you send. File by September 1 regardless of when your household school year begins. The statute sets September 1 as the annual deadline; missing it creates technical noncompliance even if your instruction is otherwise on track.

Keep a copy of every notice you file and any written acknowledgment you receive from the superintendent's office. That documentation forms the record of your child's legal home school enrollment for that year. If you move to a different city or parish, file a new notice with the new superintendent as soon as the move is complete.

Parent Credential Requirement

At least one parent or guardian providing home instruction must hold a high school diploma or GED. Louisiana is among the states that impose this floor on the teaching parent, setting it apart from states like Illinois, Indiana, or New Jersey where no parent credential is required at all.

If neither parent holds a diploma or GED, the path forward is to obtain one before beginning a home school program, or to enroll the child in a correspondence or distance learning program delivered by a credentialed provider. Families in that situation should consult a Louisiana home school organization or HSLDA for guidance on the available options. The credential requirement applies only to the parent providing instruction, not to tutors, co-op teachers, or outside instructors who supplement the home program.

The 180-Day Requirement

Louisiana requires at least 180 days of instruction per year. The law does not specify a minimum number of hours per school day. A school year running 36 weeks at 5 days per week satisfies the 180-day threshold. Families who school four days per week, take extended breaks for travel or family reasons, or operate on a year-round calendar should count their instructional days to confirm they are meeting the minimum by the end of the year.

Keep a simple attendance log throughout the year. A calendar with school days marked, a lesson planner with completed entries, or a basic spreadsheet with dates all work. Louisiana does not require you to submit attendance records to the superintendent, but a running day count helps with annual assessment scheduling and gives you a document if questions ever arise.

The Annual Assessment: Two Options

This is the requirement that takes the most planning in Louisiana, and the one where the right choice varies most by family. Each year, you must assess each home-schooled child's academic progress. Louisiana gives you two ways to do it. Choose one before the school year begins and plan the year around that choice.

Option 1: Nationally Standardized Test

Administer a nationally normed standardized achievement test. Commonly used instruments include the Iowa Assessments, the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-10), the California Achievement Test (CAT), and similar nationally recognized tests. Louisiana does not specify a minimum score or threshold the child must reach. The requirement is that the test be administered and that results be kept in your home school records. You do not submit results to the superintendent unless the office requests them.

Plan the test date in spring so your child's learning from the year is fresh and the school calendar is largely complete. Most test publishers allow parents to administer the test at home; confirm the administration procedures for your chosen instrument before purchasing. Order the test in late winter -- February or March -- so materials arrive with time to schedule and complete testing before the school year closes. Keep the score report in your home school records file.

Option 2: Portfolio Evaluated by a Louisiana State-Certified Teacher

Compile a portfolio of your child's work from the school year -- samples from across the required subject areas -- and have it reviewed by a Louisiana state-certified teacher. The teacher examines the portfolio and provides a written assessment of the child's academic progress. Keep that written evaluation in your records.

The portfolio review option works well for families whose children do not perform well under standardized test conditions, or whose curriculum covers content that commercial test instruments do not map cleanly onto. Finding a certified Louisiana teacher to review the portfolio takes advance planning. Home school co-ops, local private schools, and Louisiana home school organizations can help identify available reviewers. Contact potential reviewers in the fall -- not the spring -- to confirm their availability and understand their process for reviewing and writing up the evaluation.

What "Equivalent Instruction" Means in Louisiana

Louisiana's statute does not list specific required subjects. Instead, it requires that the home school program provide a "sustained curriculum of a quality at least equal to that offered by the public schools." That standard means covering the core academic areas -- English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies -- at a level consistent with the child's grade and age. Louisiana does not require alignment to state curriculum frameworks, use of specific textbook publishers, or exact grade-level content sequencing.

Most established home school curriculum packages address all the core areas and meet this standard without additional effort. If you design your own curriculum, build it on a foundation of language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies, and supplement with any additional subjects you choose: foreign language, fine arts, physical education, logic, coding, or electives that fit your student's interests or college preparation goals. The statute asks for quality; it does not prescribe the exact path.

Withdrawing from a Louisiana Public School

Send a written notice to your child's school that you are withdrawing them to provide home instruction. The school updates its enrollment records. Then file your written notice with the city or parish superintendent by September 1, or right away if you are withdrawing mid-year. Keep copies of both the withdrawal letter and the superintendent notice filed together.

If your child has an IEP, mandatory special education services through the public school end at withdrawal. Louisiana allows school boards to make certain services available to non-public school students with disabilities on a voluntary basis, but the mandatory IEP entitlements end when the child leaves the public system. Speak with your parish's special education office before withdrawing if services are in place and you want to understand what your options are going forward.

Louisiana School Choice and Home School Funding

Louisiana has a history of school choice programs including the Louisiana Scholarship Program. Eligibility for home school families under these programs has shifted over time since their passage. Verify the current eligibility requirements, the application process, and the funding amounts available to home school families at louisianabelieves.com before planning your curriculum budget around any state program. A reading and academic assessment before curriculum selection gives you a factual starting point regardless of whether state funding is available to you.

High School, Transcripts, and Diplomas in Louisiana

Louisiana does not set graduation requirements or diploma standards for home school families under §17:236.1. You establish the requirements, track credits through grades 9 to 12, and issue the diploma when your student meets them. A parent-issued Louisiana home school diploma and transcript are accepted by Louisiana's public universities, community colleges, the Louisiana Board of Regents system, employers, and licensing bodies.

Louisiana State University, Tulane University, and Louisiana's public university system are experienced reviewing home school applications. Most ask for ACT scores alongside the parent-issued transcript. Louisiana is an ACT-focused state: most high school students sit for the ACT, and home school applicants should plan for it beginning in grade 10 or 11. A well-organized transcript listing courses by name, credit hours, and grades by year is the standard document. For competitive programs, brief course descriptions that explain the content covered strengthen the application.

Louisiana's community and technical colleges are broadly accessible to home school graduates. Dual enrollment for high school students is available at many Louisiana institutions; contact the specific institution for their home school applicant requirements. The full planning guide walks through building a high school transcript, planning dual enrollment, and preparing the full college application file from a Louisiana home school.

A Note from Homeschool Teacher Guide: What This Really Means for You

Louisiana's framework is manageable once you plan the assessment piece in September rather than May. Decide before your school year begins which method you will use -- the standardized test or the portfolio review -- and work backward from that choice. If you are using a standardized test, order it in February or March and schedule it in April so results are back before summer. If you are using the portfolio review, start collecting work samples from the first week of school so the portfolio builds itself over the year rather than needing to be assembled in a rush at the end.

The notice filing and the parent diploma requirement are one-time or once-a-year tasks. The assessment is the annual planning anchor. Get it on the calendar early, and the rest of Louisiana's framework is lighter than it first appears. Mark August 15 as your annual reminder date: pull the notice letter, confirm the superintendent's submission method, send it, and file your copy. Done. Then turn your attention to the assessment method you chose in September and confirm your spring timeline is still on track.