Louisiana lawmakers are proposing measures that would benefit homeschool families by making it easier to access state scholarships and removing some state oversight.
Two bills would lower the test-score minimum for approved homeschool students to receive Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, or TOPS, scholarships. Another would no longer require families to submit information to the state about their program but would still allow homeschooled graduates to receive a high school diploma that would be accepted by state agencies.
All three bills have moved to the full House for a vote.
Critics argue that oversight is necessary to ensure students receive the same quality education regardless of where they attend school. But homeschool advocates say the regulations put unnecessary burdens on families who want to have control over their children’s education.
“These bills will level the playing field and it’ll finally create equity,” said Christopher Chin, president of Homeschool Louisiana, a nonprofit that supports homeschool families.
The bills, filed by Republicans, come as lawmakers push to expand families’ access to nonpublic education options, including private and home schools.
The efforts to deregulate homeschooling come as the number of families choosing that option has soared. About 40,000 children in Louisiana attend homeschools and small unregistered private schools, double the number who did so a decade ago. The pandemic accelerated the increase in homeschooling even as public school enrollment fell.
Homeschoolers with lower test scores would qualify for TOPS
The two Republican-sponsored TOPS bills that make it easier for homeschoolers to receive scholarships passed in committees last week with bipartisan support, and now move to the full House.
Louisiana students must meet certain academic standards to qualify for TOPS scholarships, which cover the cost of tuition for in-state colleges and universities.
Students in public and approved private schools must take certain core classes during high school, such as math and a foreign language, and earn a minimum ACT score and grade point average. To be eligible for a four-year scholarship, students need at least a 2.5 GPA and 20 out of 36 on the ACT.
Students in approved homeschool programs do not have to take those core classes or meet the grade point average requirement. However, they must earn a minimum ACT score of 22 for the four-year scholarship — two points higher than the cutoff for public and private school students.
The ACT policy was initially created to make up for the lack of course and exam requirements for homeschooled students.
But a bill by Rep. Brian Glorioso, R-Slidell, would reverse that policy, lowering the required ACT score for homeschoolers to match the cutoff for public and private school students. During a House education committee meeting, Glorioso made the case that if students demonstrate the same proficiency on the ACT score, scholarships should be awarded equally.
“Whether or not your parents called your class Calculus II or just math,” he said, “but you learned the same thing and you demonstrated the competency on the ACT, shouldn’t we treat those kids equal?”
Glorioso said he authored the bill after he heard frustrations from a constituent.
A legislative analysis estimates the bill would only slightly increase state spending on homeschoolers, who get about $1.5 million annually in TOPS scholarships. If all qualifying homeschool students receive TOPS funding, it would cost about $126,000, according to the analysis, though the actual amount would depend on the number of recipients.
Invest in Louisiana Executive Director Jan Moller said expanding access to higher education is good for students and the state. But he said he worries that making it easier for homeschool students to get scholarships could leave less aid for low-income public school students.
“When you give more public dollars to families that aren't in financial need, you make it harder to provide for the families that truly need it,” he said.
Rep. Barbara Freiberg, R-Baton Rouge, raised concerns about simply lowering the ACT requirement for homeschooled students without ensuring the same course material was learned.
She said a “more palatable bill” was filed by Rep. Beryl Amedee, R-Houma. That bill would allow homeschool students to qualify for TOPS in two ways: meet the higher ACT requirement or meet the same course and grade requirements as public school students.
“With the core curriculum, an equal ACT would make sense,” Freiberg said. “It was the inequality of the curriculum that bothered me (with Glorioso’s bill).”
Homeschool families wouldn't have to seek state approval
Another of the proposed laws would scrap the state's homeschool approval process.
Currently, for homeschool students to qualify for TOPS and earn a diploma recognized by public universities, families must submit an annual application to the state that includes their children’s immunization records. Families also must show their homeschool program is of comparable quality to a public education, which they can do by sending test scores, a teacher statement or curriculum materials.
Amedee, who homeschooled her three children, argued the approval process is cumbersome for families and bogs down the state board of education. She filed a bill that would no longer require the board to approve homeschool programs, and families would have to submit less information to the state.
“The bill is an attempt to take the lengthy process of explaining how to homeschool and the paperwork requirements that put a burden both on parents and the department and streamline that so it’s a win-win situation,” she said during a committee hearing.
Approved homeschool families can issue diplomas that carry the same weight as those given by public and private schools — even though homeschoolers don't have to meet the same course and test requirements. Under Amedee's bill, homeschoolers would no longer need to get state approval but could keep issuing diplomas.
Despite support from homeschool advocacy groups such as Homeschool Louisiana, the proposal received pushback from some lawmakers who bristled at giving homeschool students state diplomas without making them take the state graduation exams.
Freiberg questioned how institutions that accept those diplomas know if students met the requirements if there is no state oversight.
Rep. Sylvia Taylor, D-LaPlace, said she supported homeschool programs but wants accountability across the board.
“I don’t think there should be a different standard with reference to what’s required,” she said.
The bill moved favorably out of the committee with a 7-6 vote. Two Republicans, Freiberg and Rep. Michael Melerine, joined Democrats in voting against the bill.