Louisiana

Overview

During the 2021-2022 school year, Louisiana preschool enrolled 17,995 children, an increase of 532 from the prior year, as the program began to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. State spending totaled $40,156,178 and an additional $50,495,657 in TANF funds supports the program, down $8,395,125 (8%), adjusted for inflation since last year. State spending per child (including TANF) equaled $5,038 in 2021-2022, down $634 from 2020-2021, adjusted for inflation. Louisiana met an average of 7.9 of 10 quality standards benchmarks.

What's New

In June 2022, the State Legislature approved an increase of $17,076,000 for the Cecil J. Picard LA 4 Early Childhood Program (LA 4) and $1,404,000 for the Nonpublic Schools Early Childhood Development Program (NSECD). These funds will be used to increase the reimbursement rate per student for in LA 4 and NSECD during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Background

Louisiana has three distinct state funded preschool programs: the 8(g) Student Enhancement Block Grant Program (8(g)), the Cecil J. Picard LA 4 Early Childhood Program (LA 4), and the Nonpublic Schools Early Childhood Development Program (NSECD). Many school districts also use federal Title I funding to provide high-quality pre-K to 4-year-olds in public schools, typically adopting the same standards as LA 4. 

The first of Louisiana’s state-funded pre-K programs, initially established in 1988, is the 8(g) program. It was created to compensate for the loss of the Model Early Childhood Program when matching annual appropriations for that program ended. The 8(g) program serves 4-year-old children and priority is given to students living at or below 200% FPL. However, if all income-eligible children are served, additional students may be served if they are deemed “developmentally unprepared.” 

The largest of the three state-funded pre-K programs, the LA 4 program (formerly LA 4 and Starting Points), was established in 2001 and serves 4-year-old children in public schools, independent LEA charter schools, and tribal schools. Programs can subcontract with Head Start, Type III licensed child care centers, and non-independent LEA charter schools to deliver the LA 4 program. Teachers in LA 4 are required to have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree and meet all the qualifications required for public school teachers, regardless of where the program is located. Eligibility for this program is based on income: all children must be at or below 200% FPL to enroll. 

Also established in 2001, the NSECD program supports high-quality pre-K for 3- and 4-year-olds in nonpublic settings. Teachers in the NSECD program are required to have a bachelor’s degree and assistant teachers are required to have at least a CDA. NSECD has the same eligibility requirements as the LA 4 program and funding is available for this program on a competitive basis. 

During the 2012 session, the Louisiana Legislature passed Act 3, unifying multiple early childhood initiatives under the DOE and in collaboration with other state agencies. This system contains aligned program standards, a quality rating and improvement accountability system in which all programs receiving state and/or federal funds are required to participate, a unified professional development system, birth-through-five early learning and development standards, and a cross-agency integrated data system. 

During the 2016-2017 school year, Louisiana completed its first full year of the unified quality rating and improvement system for all publicly funded childcare, Head Start and pre-K sites. The state shared information for all programs serving children birth to age five via a family friendly website, www.louisianaschools.com, which provides comparable information about program quality.