Listen to this guide as a 6-minute podcast episode, or read on. Hosts Andre and Celine are AI-generated voices.
Episode transcript
Andre: Welcome to the New Orleans Education Funding podcast. I'm Andre.
Celine: And I'm Celine. Today we're on a question that comes up in car lines from Lakeview to Marrero every October: my child is in 7th grade at a parish school, and does the LA GATOR money go with her to high school?
Andre: Right, because New Orleans does this differently. Elementary ends at 7th grade and high school starts at 8th.
Celine: That's the New Orleans pattern. Most parish schools run pre-K through 7, and the archdiocesan high schools admit at 8th grade. So the move happens a year earlier than in most of the country, and the two calendars don't line up neatly.
Andre: Let's start with the big one. Does the LA GATOR award follow the student to a new school?
Celine: It does. LA GATOR is an education savings account in your child's name, administered through Odyssey. The state deposits the year's amount in quarterly installments, and whichever school you've enrolled at bills the account. Nothing ties the money to a particular school.
Andre: So when my daughter leaves her PK-7 school and starts 8th grade somewhere else...
Celine: The next school year's deposits go to the new school once it registers her in the platform. The only condition is the one that applies everywhere: the high school has to be on the state's BESE-approved nonpublic school list, and it has to have signed up with Odyssey for the year.
Andre: Are the big New Orleans high schools on that list?
Celine: Every Archdiocese of New Orleans high school is, and so are the Lutheran, Episcopal and larger Christian and independent high schools in the area. Our 8th-grade entry guide on the site lists all of them with enrollment and STO status.
Andre: You said the calendars don't line up. Walk me through the high school side first.
Celine: High school admissions here run early. Open houses are in October and November of 7th grade. Applications are due in December or January. The placement test is in winter, on a common date for most archdiocesan high schools. Acceptance letters come in February or early March, and most schools want a deposit within a couple of weeks.
Andre: And LA GATOR?
Celine: LA GATOR runs later. For 2026-27 the application and renewal window opened March 1 and closed March 16. Awards weren't confirmed until after the Legislature set the budget at the start of June.
Andre: So what happens if I wait to renew until I know where she's going?
Celine: You miss the window. And a missed renewal means your child drops out of the program and reapplies as a new applicant, at the back of the priority line. That's the mistake that costs families the award.
Andre: So the rule is...
Celine: Renew in March no matter what. You don't have to name the school in the renewal. Odyssey ties the account to a school when the school enrolls your child in the platform over the summer.
Andre: Here's one I hear a lot. The high school wants a deposit in the spring. Can the account cover it?
Celine: Not directly, and that's where real money gets lost. The enrollment deposit is due in late winter or spring. The first LA GATOR deposit for the new school year doesn't arrive until July or August. Families who assumed the account would cover the deposit have had to find it elsewhere.
Andre: What should I ask the admissions office about that?
Celine: Two questions. Can the deposit be credited against a later quarter once LA GATOR starts paying? And does the school bill the account quarterly, to match the state's deposits, or does it expect the whole fall semester up front? Schools that handled Louisiana Scholarship Program students for years usually have a clean answer. Newer participants may not.
Andre: Let's talk about those voucher families. My son had a Louisiana Scholarship Program voucher at his parish school. Does anything change for him?
Celine: Yes, and this one surprises people. Students who moved from the old voucher program into LA GATOR kept a protected amount, equal to what the voucher paid in 2024-25, as long as they stay at the same school. The protection ends when the student finishes the school's last grade.
Andre: Which for a PK-7 school is 7th grade.
Celine: Exactly. In 8th grade he becomes an ordinary LA GATOR participant at the standard tiers: $5,243, or $7,626 for households at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty level, or up to $15,253 with an IDEA disability.
Andre: And if the old voucher amount was higher than the tier he qualifies for now?
Celine: Then the balance at the high school goes up. Plan for that in the fall of 7th grade, not the summer after.
Andre: One more New Orleans wrinkle. A lot of these high schools are boys' schools or girls' schools.
Celine: Most of the archdiocesan high schools are single-sex. So a family with a son and a daughter at the same PK-7 school may be applying to two high schools in the same winter, each with its own test date, deposit and aid office. Each child has a separate LA GATOR account and renews separately.
Andre: Does having one child already in the program help the other?
Celine: Siblings of current participants sit in the third priority group, which helps a younger child entering the program for the first time. It doesn't speed up a child who's already in it. Keep the two timelines on one sheet of paper, because the dates rarely match.
Andre: Last question. Realistically, how much of a New Orleans high school bill does the account cover?
Celine: At a parish elementary school at the parishioner rate, the account can cover most or all of tuition. At a New Orleans high school it usually covers a third to a half.
Andre: And the rest?
Celine: An STO scholarship if your income qualifies, and you apply in the spring before awards run out. Then the archdiocese's tuition assistance program, and the school's own aid. Our stacking guide walks through the order those apply in.
Andre: So: renew in March, ask about the deposit, and know your number before 8th grade.
Celine: That's the whole plan. If you'd like someone to lay out the dates and the numbers for your child specifically, the funding check takes two minutes and an advisor calls you back. The link is in the description.
Andre: Thanks, Celine. See you next time.
Every October the same conversation happens in car lines from Lakeview to Marrero. Your child is in 7th grade at a parish school, the high school open houses have started, and someone asks whether the LA GATOR money "goes with you." It does. But the way the two calendars overlap in New Orleans catches families every year, so here is the whole sequence in one place.
The award belongs to the student
LA GATOR is an education savings account in your child's name, administered through Odyssey. The state deposits the year's amount in quarterly installments and the school you've enrolled at bills the account. Nothing ties the money to a particular school. When your child leaves a PK-7 school at the end of 7th grade and enrolls at an approved 8-12 school, the next school year's deposits simply go to the new school once it registers your child in the platform.
The only condition is the one that applies everywhere: the new school has to be on the state's BESE-approved nonpublic school list, and it has to have signed up with Odyssey for the year. Every Archdiocese of New Orleans high school is on the approval list, as are the Lutheran, Episcopal and larger Christian and independent high schools in the area. Our 8th-grade entry guide lists all of them with enrollment and STO status.
Two calendars that don't line up
High school admissions in New Orleans run early. Open houses are in October and November of 7th grade. Applications are due in December or January. The placement test is in winter, on a common date for most archdiocesan high schools. Acceptance letters arrive in February or early March, and most schools want a deposit within a couple of weeks.
LA GATOR runs later. The 2026-27 application and renewal window opened March 1 and closed March 16. Awards weren't confirmed until after the Legislature set the budget at the start of June. If you wait to renew until you know where your child is going, you will miss the window, and a missed renewal means your child drops out of the program and reapplies as a new applicant, at the back of the priority line.
So the rule is: renew in March no matter what. You don't have to name the school in the renewal. Odyssey ties the account to a school when the school enrolls your child in the platform over the summer.
The deposit problem
Here is the part that costs real money. The high school's enrollment deposit is due in late winter or spring. The first LA GATOR deposit for the new school year doesn't arrive until July or August. Families who assumed the account would cover the deposit have had to find it elsewhere.
Ask the admissions office two questions: can the deposit be credited against a later quarter once LA GATOR starts paying, and does the school bill the account quarterly to match the state's deposits or expect the whole fall semester up front? Schools that have handled Louisiana Scholarship Program students for years usually have a clean answer. Newer participants may not.
If your child had a voucher
Many New Orleans Catholic elementary schools enrolled students through the old Louisiana Scholarship Program. Those students were moved into LA GATOR with a protected amount, equal to what the voucher paid in 2024-25, that holds as long as the student stays at the same school. The protection ends when the student finishes the school's last grade. For a PK-7 school, that is 7th grade.
In 8th grade your child becomes an ordinary LA GATOR participant at the standard tiers: $5,243, $7,626 for households at or below 250% of the federal poverty level, or up to $15,253 with an IDEA disability. If the voucher amount was higher than the tier you now qualify for, your balance at the high school goes up. Plan for it in the fall of 7th grade, not the summer after.
Boys' schools, girls' schools and siblings
One more New Orleans particular: most of the archdiocesan high schools are single-sex, so a family with a son and a daughter at the same PK-7 school may be applying to two high schools in the same winter, each with its own test date, deposit and aid office. Each child has a separate LA GATOR account and renews separately. Siblings of current participants sit in the third priority group, which helps a younger child who is entering the program for the first time, but it doesn't speed up a child who is already in it. Keep the two timelines on one sheet of paper; the dates rarely match.
The number at a high school
At a parish elementary school at the parishioner rate, the account can cover most or all of tuition. At a New Orleans high school it usually covers a third to a half. The gap is filled by an STO scholarship if your income qualifies (apply in the spring, before awards run out), by the archdiocese's tuition assistance program, and by the school's own aid. Our stacking guide walks through the order those apply in.
If you'd like someone to lay out the dates and the numbers for your child specifically, the funding check takes two minutes and an advisor calls you back.
Sources
- LDOE: LA GATOR Scholarship Program
- LDOE: LA GATOR application window for 2026-2027 opens March 1
- Odyssey: How Much Funding Will the LA GATOR Program Provide (2026-27)
- LDOE: 2025-2026 BESE-Approved Nonpublic Schools Academic Classification List
- Odyssey: What Schools and Programs are Eligible Through the LA GATOR Scholarship Program?