BATON ROUGE, La. – Legislation that allows education funding to follow students to the school of their choice using education savings accounts (ESA) received approval in the House by a vote of 67-29 after substantial committee amendments. 

Senate Bill 313 creates the Louisiana Giving All True Opportunity to Rise (LA GATOR) program and begins the phase-in of ESAs for K-12 schools by the year 2025. The instrument now heads back to the Senate for concurrence.

Speaker of the House Phillip DeVillier says school choice and education reform have been a top priority for representatives this session.

“I cannot overstate the transformation Education Savings Accounts could bring to the status of education in Louisiana. I thank Representative Julie Emerson and Senator Rick Edmonds for working hard together to finalize this historic legislation,” said Speaker Phillip DeVillier.

SB 313 directs the Louisiana Department of Education to determine student eligibility, identify allocation amounts, provide relative to testing/accountability and report annually to the legislature.  Additionally, the version adopted today by the House also requires Joint Committee on the Budget approval before the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education hires any vendor to administer the program.

“I thank my fellow House Education Committee members for the hard work they put in to refine the Senate version of this legislation,” said House Education Chair Laurie Schlegel.

The 2024 Regular Legislative Session must adjourn no later than Monday, June 3 at 6 p.m., but many believe the legislature could wrap up their business, including the budget, as early as Friday.