KEEPING PACE WITH K-12 DIGITAL LEARNING
Louisiana
DIGITAL LEARNING
STATE SNAPSHOT
The statewide Supplemental
Course Academy (SCA) opened
in SY 2014–15, replacing the
SY 2013–14 Course Choice
that served 2,479 course
enrollments in SY 2013–14.
Availability of online learning options
SUPPLEMENTAL
FULLY ONLINE
K-5 (ES)
6-8 (MS)
9-12 (HS)
K-5 (ES)
6-8 (MS)
9-12 (HS)
NONE
SOME
MOST
MOST
MOST
MOST
Does this state have…
Y
KPK12.COM
Availability
of info:
Great
Good
Fair
Poor
Minimal
N
Student choice for publicly funded fully
online schools?
Student choice for publicly funded supplemental
online courses?
SVS or another publicly funded option for private /
homeschool students?
Prior public school attendance requirement for
online schools?
Online caps by class, school, district, or statewide?
2 fully online
statewide schools.
Though with
limited funding.
Online charter
schools have
enrollment caps.
PD requirement for online teachers?
State approval process for online providers?
State approval process for online courses?
Only to participate
in SCA.
Online learning requirement for students?
Two fully online charter
schools served 3,026
students in SY 2013–14.
End-of-course exams?
In 6 subjects.
Separate state reporting of online course
enrollments?
Louisiana has two fully online charter schools, a number of district programs, and
a statewide Supplemental Course Academy (formerly its Course Choice program).
Blended schools are growing in popularity in New Orleans, which from SY 2014–15 is home to the country’s
first school district that consists primarily of charter schools (Recovery School District). From 2000 through
2013, Louisiana had a state virtual school, Louisiana Virtual School (LVS). In 2012, Act 2 (HB976) enacted
sweeping reforms to public K–12 education, including initial implementation of the Course Choice program.244
Through Course Choice in SY 2013–14, students were permitted to select their own online, hybrid, and
face-to-face course offerings from 21 authorized private and out-of-district providers, including commercial
vendors, Louisiana community colleges, and school districts. Ongoing legal challenges to the program’s
funding model were raised, and the Louisiana Supreme Court found mid-2013 that the funding model was
unconstitutional; as an interim measure, the department of education (LDOE) reallocated about $2 million in
alternative funding for the SY 2013–14 pilot.
With SB179 (2014),245 Course Choice has been replaced by the Supplemental Course Academy (SCA),
through which high school courses from 44 providers are offered to grades 7–12 students statewide. Funding
is now through the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP), provided as an incremental funding stream in
addition to the regular public education funding formula. During the transition from LVS to Course Choice and
now SCA, the number of student enrollments in supplemental courses (online and other) decreased by 61%,
244
HB976 (Act 2); retrieved June 17, 2014; http://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/BillInfo.aspx?i=220608
SB179 (Act 482); retrieved June 18, 2014; http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=913666
245
107
3
PROFILES
from 6,414 in SY 2012–13 to 2,479 course enrollments in SY 2013–14.246 A state-run Counselor Assistance
Center supports parents, students, school counselors, and course providers implementing SCA programs.
Louisiana has two fully online charter schools, Louisiana Connections Academy (LACA) and Louisiana Virtual
Charter Academy (LAVCA). LACA enrollment is capped at 1,800 students for SY 2014–15, an increase from
1,200 in SY 2013–14. For SY 2013–14, LACA enrolled 350 students in grades K–5, 385 students in grades 6–8,
and 465 students in grades 9–12, the same distribution as in SY 2012–13.247 LAVCA is available to Louisiana
students in grades K–12; in SY 2013–14 it served 1,826 students, an increase of 2% over SY 2012–13.248
District programs operate in Vermilion, St. Mary, St. Martin, Lafourche, and St. Tammany parishes, among
others, providing fully online and supplemental options to students. Typically, in-district students attend such
schools for little or no tuition, and out-of-district students can enroll for tuition if there is space. One parish
school system (St. James) and one parish technical center (Caddo Career & Technology Center) participated
in SY 2013–14 as Course Choice providers.
State policies
Act 2 (2012) also amended the application process for charter schools and provided for a new type of board
of elementary and secondary education (BESE)-certified chartering authority, “local charter authorizers,”
which may be a state agency, a nonprofit corporation, a Louisiana public postsecondary education institution,
or a nonprofit corporation established by the governing authority of a parish or municipality.249
Act 772 (SB622, 2014) requires the LDOE to develop and implement a statewide educational technology
plan, ensuring that “every public elementary and secondary school and classroom has the infrastructure and
capacity necessary to provide a high-quality, digital instructional environment that maximizes the integration
of technology into the classroom and enhances and improves student engagement and learning.”250 The
superintendent of education must update the plan at least once a year to keep current with technological
advances, and the LDOE must submit a written report to the Senate and House education committees by
January 15 of each year regarding plan implementation and the status of technology readiness of each
school and school system.
In 2013, the LDOE published updated state standards for distance education in Bulletin 741 (Louisiana
Handbook for School Administrators);251 some sections were specific to Course Choice and apply also to
SCA. Per Bulletin 132,252 BESE authorizes the operation and eligibility of providers to participate in SCA for
three years, and will monitor and evaluate each by student achievement metrics—e.g., success on exams,
logical course pathways, and proven assessment methods for all courses. Online course providers must
follow the iNACOL course, teaching, and program standards.253
Districts, charter schools, and special schools receive $26 per grades 7–12 student for all students statewide
(an estimated $7.5 million in SY 2014–15) to cover the cost of SCA courses. Districts and schools must
commit at least 90% of their SCA funding by the close of fall registration or the balance of these funds
is reallocated to other districts / schools.254 The LDOE will make all course provider payments directly for
districts and eligible schools that choose to execute cooperative endeavor agreements (CEAs) based on that
of the former LVS; 50% of course costs are paid to the provider upon student enrollment, with the remaining
50% paid upon timely completion (though providers may still receive 40% if a student eventually completes
and receives credit for the course).
246
Personal communication with Deputy Superintendent, Louisiana Department of Education, July 19, 2014
Personal communication with Glenda Jones, Assistant Principal, LACA, June 19, 2014
The source for the LAVCA enrollments changed from 2013 to 2014, resulting in a significant increase in the total number of enrollments. Retrieved August
7, 2014; http://www.louisianabelieves.com/resources/library/data-center
249
Bulletin 126 (Charter Schools); retrieved June 20, 2014; http://www.doa.louisiana.gov/osr/lac/28v139/28v139.doc
250
SB622 (Act 722); retrieved July 14, 2014; http://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=895301
251
Bulletin 741 (Louisiana Handbook For School Administrators); retrieved June 17, 2014; http://www.doa.louisiana.gov/osr/lac/28v115/28v115.doc
252
Bulletin 132 (Louisiana Course Choice Program); retrieved June 18, 2014; http://www.doa.louisiana.gov/osr/lac/28v151/28v151.doc
253
iNACOL National Quality Standards; retrieved June 18, 2014; http://www.inacol.org/resources/publications/national-quality-standards/
254
LDOE press release; retrieved August 25, 2014; http://www.louisianabelieves.com/docs/default-source/course-choice/sca-fact-sheet-final.pdf?sfvrsn=2
247
248
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