What is required to homeschool in Louisiana?

One of two routes. BESE-approved home study: apply within 15 days of starting and renew each year with a packet, a test or a certified teacher's statement. A registered nonpublic school: an enrollment report once a year. Either way, at least 180 days of instruction, a curriculum of your choice, and no teacher certification.

How do I start homeschooling in Louisiana?

Pick the route, file online (the home study application, or the school's enrollment), withdraw your child, and plan 180 days.

Are standardized tests required for Louisiana homeschoolers?

No state test on either route. A home study family may book the state tests through the local school board in January (a fee of up to $35) and may use a test for its renewal; a registered school may ask for the grade 4 and 8 LEAP.

How many instructional days does Louisiana require?

At least 180 a year, on either route.

Which Louisiana route gives a diploma?

Both, differently: a home study diploma carries the weight of a state-approved school's and keeps TOPS eligibility; a registered school's diploma follows that school's policy, and its students are not TOPS-eligible.

Can I homeschool kindergarten in Louisiana?

Yes. Compulsory attendance begins at five (by September 30) unless you defer kindergarten, so the filing starts with the kindergarten year or the deferral.

2026–2027 Homeschool Laws and Requirements

How to Homeschool in Louisiana

Yes, you can homeschool your child in Louisiana. You do not need a teaching license or an approved curriculum; you choose your books and your methods, and the Department keeps no list of approved programs. Louisiana gives you two routes: a BESE-approved home study program, which you apply for and renew each year, or your own nonpublic school not seeking state approval, which you register once a year. Both teach 180 days.

Updated 9 October 2026 · Sources read 8 October to 9 October 2026

Free printable guide

The Louisiana homeschool quick reference, 2026–2027

Two pages to keep: what Louisiana requires, the dates, and the official links, checked for the 2026–2027 school year. Open it here first, then download it.

Download the PDF (325 KB)

What Louisiana homeschool law requires

The whole list for the 2026–2027 school year, from the Revised Statutes and the Department of Education's guidelines of March and July 2026:

Louisiana: homeschool requirements at a glance
Requirement	What Louisiana asks	Where it says so
Route one: BESE-approved home study	Apply online to the Department within 15 days of starting, with your child's name, grade and date of birth, a certified copy of the birth certificate and your signed assurances. Approval lasts one year. Renew by October 1, or within 12 months of the first approval, whichever is later, attaching one of three things: a packet (an outline of the year's subjects, the books used, a few work samples, a note from someone who has watched your child's progress, a report card or test scores), a standardized test showing grade level or a year's growth, or a certified teacher's statement that your program equals the public schools' at that grade.	R.S. 17:236.1; LDOE home study guidelines (March 2026)
Route two: a registered nonpublic school	Name your school and submit its enrollment online once a year (its attendance as of the thirtieth day of your term). Nothing is approved and no renewal packet is asked for. If your child was in a public school, send that school a written notice of enrollment within ten days.	R.S. 17:232; R.S. 17:221.3; LDOE guidelines (July 2026)
On either route	At least 180 days of instruction a year; a parent or tutor teaches, with no certification required; the curriculum is yours to choose. Home study must offer a sustained curriculum of a quality at least equal to the public schools' at the same grade.	R.S. 17:236
Tests	No state test on either route. A home study family may book the state tests through the local school board in January (a fee of up to $35); a registered school may ask for the grade 4 and 8 LEAP.	LDOE guidelines
Diplomas and ages	A home study diploma carries the weight of a state-approved school's and keeps TOPS eligibility; a registered school's diploma follows that school's policy and its students are not TOPS-eligible. Compulsory attendance from 5 (by September 30, unless you defer kindergarten) through 18.	R.S. 17:221; LDOE guidelines

LDOE: BESE-Approved Home Study Apply or renew home study online Register a nonpublic school not seeking approval

How to start homeschooling in Louisiana

Choose your route: BESE-approved home study (an application to the Department within 15 days of starting, renewed each year with evidence of progress; its diploma carries a state-approved school's weight and keeps TOPS eligibility), or a registered nonpublic school (named by you, with an enrollment report once a year and no renewal packet).
Home study: apply online within 15 days of starting with your child's name, grade and date of birth, a certified copy of the birth certificate and your signed assurances. Registered school: submit the school's enrollment online (its attendance as of the thirtieth day of your term).
Withdraw your child from the public school; on the registered-school route, send that school a written notice of enrollment within ten days.
Plan at least 180 days of instruction. Louisiana names no subjects, and home study must offer a sustained curriculum at least equal in quality to the public schools' at the same grade; Faith Schooling's reading, language arts and mathematics textbooks are that kind of curriculum, and you add the rest.
Home study: renew by October 1, or within 12 months of the first approval, whichever is later, attaching a packet (the year's subjects, the books used, work samples, a note from someone who has watched your child's progress, a report card or test scores), a standardized test showing grade level or a year's growth, or a certified teacher's statement that your program equals the public schools'. Keep the pages dated through the year.

How Faith Schooling covers Louisiana's requirements

Louisiana asks for at least 180 days of instruction a year on either route, with no hour count: 36 weeks of five days, or 45 weeks of four.

Louisiana's home study route asks for a sustained curriculum of a quality at least equal to the public schools', and its renewal packet asks for the year's subjects, the books used and work samples. Faith Schooling's programs are that curriculum for reading, language arts and mathematics: a sequenced textbook for every grade from Kindergarten to Grade 5 with teaching guides, named on the application, and their dated, finished pages are the work samples in the packet. Science and social studies are yours to choose.

Louisiana asks for on the home study route, a renewal packet each year: the year's subjects, the books used, work samples and a note on your child's progress. The dated, finished pages of each program are that record, and a HARVEST report is a placement note for the file.

Reading: Phonics, Decoding, and Early Fluency K–5 reading textbooks in four quarterly volumes a year, with complete teaching guides
Language arts and writing: Grammar Garden K–5 language and writing coursebooks, four a year, with Preceptor Guides
Mathematics: Building Number Sense K–5 mathematics textbooks; Kindergarten to Grade 2 add practice workbooks and teaching guides
Everything else: Your choice Louisiana names no subjects; science, social studies, health and the arts are yours to choose
Bible: The Apostolic Academy not something Louisiana requires; free: Scripture memory, Bible study and printables for the family

The curriculum map Phonics, Decoding, and Early Fluency Grammar Garden Building Number Sense HARVEST placement Homeschool Rhythm Builder

Financial assistance for Louisiana homeschoolers

Louisiana's School Expense Deduction includes home-schooling. For 2024 and later tax years a parent or guardian who claims the child as a dependent may deduct 50 percent of the actual qualified educational expenses paid for home-schooling a child in kindergarten through grade 12, up to $6,000 per dependent. Qualified expenses are amounts paid for the textbooks and curricula necessary for home-schooling; keep every receipt.

A deduction for educational expenses paid by a taxpayer for home-schooling children for kindergarten through the 12th grade; for 2024 and forward, 50 percent of the actual qualified educational expenses paid for the home-schooling per dependent, limited to $6,000 per dependent. Source: Louisiana Department of Revenue, School Expense Deduction, read 9 October 2026.
Qualified educational expenses include amounts paid for the purchase of textbooks and curricula necessary for home-schooling; the deduction is for the parent or guardian who claims the student as a dependent for the current tax year or claimed the student as a dependent on the prior year's return. Source: Louisiana Department of Revenue, School Expense Deduction, read 9 October 2026.

School Expense Deduction (Louisiana Department of Revenue)

Public school access and other opportunities in Louisiana

Louisiana's state tests and TOPS eligibility differ by route, which is worth weighing before you choose one:

A home study family may book the state tests through the local school board in January (a fee of up to $35); a registered school may ask for the grade 4 and 8 LEAP. Source: Louisiana Department of Education, BESE-Approved Home Study Program Guidelines (27 March 2026), read 8 October 2026.
A home study diploma carries the weight of a state-approved school's and keeps TOPS eligibility; a registered school's diploma follows that school's policy and its students are not TOPS-eligible. Source: Louisiana Department of Education, BESE-Approved Home Study Program, read 8 October 2026.

What Louisiana does not require, and you should still do

Place your child. Neither route tests a homeschooled child; HARVEST, the free placement check, names the grade and quarter to start in reading and math.
Plan the 180 days. The Homeschool Rhythm Builder turns your week into a printable plan, which is the outline of the year a renewal packet opens with.
Keep the pages dated. A renewal packet, or a registered school's own records, rests on finished work with dates on it; set a few pages aside each month and the October renewal writes itself.

HARVEST free placement Homeschool Rhythm Builder The Apostolic Academy

Common questions

What is required to homeschool in Louisiana?: One of two routes. BESE-approved home study: apply within 15 days of starting and renew each year with a packet, a test or a certified teacher's statement. A registered nonpublic school: an enrollment report once a year. Either way, at least 180 days of instruction, a curriculum of your choice, and no teacher certification.
How do I start homeschooling in Louisiana?: Pick the route, file online (the home study application, or the school's enrollment), withdraw your child, and plan 180 days.
Are standardized tests required for Louisiana homeschoolers?: No state test on either route. A home study family may book the state tests through the local school board in January (a fee of up to $35) and may use a test for its renewal; a registered school may ask for the grade 4 and 8 LEAP.
How many instructional days does Louisiana require?: At least 180 a year, on either route.
Which Louisiana route gives a diploma?: Both, differently: a home study diploma carries the weight of a state-approved school's and keeps TOPS eligibility; a registered school's diploma follows that school's policy, and its students are not TOPS-eligible.
Can I homeschool kindergarten in Louisiana?: Yes. Compulsory attendance begins at five (by September 30) unless you defer kindergarten, so the filing starts with the kindergarten year or the deferral.

Official Louisiana homeschool resources

Read from the state's own pages for the 2026–2027 school year on the date shown. The Revised Statutes, BESE and the Department of Education are the final word; this page is a plain-language guide, not legal advice.

Homeschool laws in nearby states

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