N.O. school voucher program taking applications again;
But 2009-10 funding is still up in the air
Starting this week, New Orleans families can apply for the second year of a voucher program that has allowed them to send their children to private schools using public money.
State officials stress that lawmakers have not yet approved money to continue the program for the 2009-10 school year. But they are holding the application process now to avoid a repeat of the rushed admissions process of last summer, when families learned of the program with only weeks before the start of the school year.
If the state Legislature approves a renewal of the voucher program, it will be open to students living in Orleans Parish who are starting kindergarten through fourth grade in the fall of 2009. The incomes of students‘ families can’t exceed 250 percent of the federal poverty level.
In addition, with the exception of the kindergartners, students must have been enrolled in one of 37 Recovery School District charter and noncharter schools identified as „academically unacceptable“ because of low test scores.
Children participating in the program this year should have received a letter from state officials outlining how they can apply for a second year.
Rene Greer, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana Department of Education, said the students will be able to continue if they still meet income, residency and other requirements.
This year, the program has allowed more than 600 lower-income New Orleans elementary schoolchildren to attend private and parochial schools, almost all of which have a religious affiliation.
Schools receiving vouchers can be located anywhere in the state, but most of those chosen are in New Orleans or Jefferson Parish. The voucher is worth $7,138 or the school’s yearly charge for tuition and fees, whichever is less.
For next year, more than 40 schools in several different parishes have said they will open up at least some spaces for students participating in the New Orleans voucher program.
Families must hand-deliver an application to Gideon Christian Fellowship, 3401 Elysian Fields Ave., during one of several periods, which are: Tuesday and Thursday between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.; Wednesday and Friday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.; and Saturday between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. The same schedule will be in effect for the following week, starting March 24.
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Sarah Carr can be reached at [email protected] or 504.826.3497.