The initial application must be made on a current application form within 15 days after the beginning of the home study program. First time applicants are automatically approved; they must enclose a copy of the birth certificate for each child. (A clear Xeroxed copy may be sent if the notary seal is readable. The Department of Education is not responsible for lost or damaged birth certificates.) Send the application by registered mail for verification of receipt to: SBESE-Approved Home Study Program, Louisiana Department of Education, P.O. Box 94064, Baton Rouge, LA 70804.
According to Department of Education's Home Study Guidelines, home study applications are approved by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, which meets monthly. Applications received by the second Monday of the month will be submitted for approval that month. Applications received after that day will be submitted to the BESE Board the following month.
Click on this link for the packet of information and application for the Home Study Program: SBESE Approved Home Study Program
A letter is sent to the State Superintendent of Schools informing him that you are starting a private school. Do not send the "Application for Home Study Program" form. Write the letter on your school letterhead. Include the following information: Number of pupils, when the school starts, and number of school days. The following is a sample letter:
"In accordance with LA Rev. Statute 17:232, (name of school) began classes on (date) for the (year) school term of 180 days. The total enrollment is (number of school-
This notification regarding your school should be sent within thirty days of the beginning of the school year. It is recommended that this notification be sent registered mail for verification of receipt; mail to:
Dr. Susan A Aysenne, Director
School Standards, Accountability, and Assistance
P.O. Box 94064-
Baton Rouge, LA 70804
(Revised 1999 - Enacted June 18, during Louisiana's legislature's regular 1999 session, SB-252 impacts home schoolers operating as private schools - Under the new law, every non-approved private school (including those operated by home schoolers) shall provide a written notification of enrollment for every student who attended public school immediately prior to enrollment in the private school. Notification is required whether the private school enrollment occurs at the beginning or at any other part of the school year. The notification, which must be in writing and may be in the form of a request for the student's transcript, shall occur within 10 days of the enrollment of such student. The request or notification shall contain, as a minimum, the student's legal name, birth day, gender, and race. HSLDA's legal staff does not believe this is an effort to regulate home or private schools.) The Home School Court Report - Nov/Dec 1999 Issue.
