Home schools are required to adhere to the same minimum requirements which public schools follow. These requirements include all children between the ages of 7 and 18 years of age are required to attend school; all schools are required to have an annual session that is composed of a minimum of 180 days. Additionally, home schools are required to provide a curriculum that is, at minimum, equal to that provided by public school.
All elementary school students are required to study the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. flag. All middle school students are required to study the U.S. Constitution. All high school students are required to study the Federalist Papers, Black history and the historical contributions of all nationalities, civics, free enterprise and parenthood education.
All middle school boys are required to learn about military science and tactics and all middle school girls are required to learn about breast self-examination.
According to RS 17 §236.1, parents who choose to home-school their children must submit an initial application, along with a certified copy of the children's birth certificates, to the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education within 15 days of starting a home school program. The board is responsible for notifying the local school superintendent.
A renewal application is required to be submitted every year on the anniversary of the initial application. It is submitted along with a packet containing: "(a) [a] complete outline of each of the subjects taught during the previous year, (b) [l]ists of books and materials used, (c) [c]opies of the student's work, (d) [c]opies of standardized tests, (e) [s]tatements by third parties who have observed the child's progress, and (f) [a]ny other evidence of the quality of the program being offered."
If the parent does not wish to submit the packet, the parent can, instead, submit either one of the following along with the application: verification that their child have taken the Louisiana Education Assessment Program (LEAP) exam and scored at or above grade level; verification that their child have taken the California Achievement Test (CAT) and scored at or above grade level; or (3) the signed professional opinion of a state certified teacher familiar with the home study program that believes it is "in accordance with a sustained curriculum of quality at least equal to that offered by public schools at the same grade level."
Parents who home-school have no legal professional requirements to which they have to adhere. And, if the parent and the child are not recipients of any state or federal benefits, the parent is not required to adhere to the 180-day attendance rule.
Children who are home-schooled as elementary or middle school students are eligible for a Louisiana Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) award provided that they score at least a 19 on the ACT.