Fewer Teachers Leaving Louisiana Schools
The ranks of Louisiana’s K-12 public school teachers grew for a second consecutive year. Traditional and charter public schools gained 843 teachers and set a new record of 52,808 educators during the 2023-24 school year.
Recapping the 2024 Constitutional Amendments
Voters have adopted 221 changes to the Louisiana Constitution since its ratification 50 years ago, a total that grew with the November and December elections. Nearly 69% of the 321 amendments posed to voters across those decades have won passage.
Louisiana’s State Surpluses
Louisiana has enjoyed repeated state surpluses for the last seven years, and the latest calculations estimate lawmakers will see that trend continue another year. A surplus occurs when a state’s revenue collections exceed its spending within a budget year.
TOPS Participation & Demographics
The number of students receiving free college tuition through Louisiana’s TOPS program has dropped for the third consecutive year, most likely an effect of declining college enrollment. Part 3 of a three-part series looking at public K-12 education and higher education in Louisiana.
Federal Student Aid
The rate of Louisiana high school seniors applying for college financial aid fell over the last year, fueling worries about the state’s shrinking higher education-bound population. Part 2 of a three-part series looking at public K-12 education and higher education in Louisiana.
Public School Enrollment & Demographics
With the start of the new school year, students are returning to emptier classrooms as the total enrollment in Louisiana’s public schools declines to its lowest level in 16 years. Part 1 of a three-part series looking at public K-12 education and higher education in Louisiana.
Louisiana’s Food Stamp Usage
Nearly one in five people in Louisiana, about 867,000 low-income residents on average each month, received financial food aid across the last year through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, according to the latest data available from the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services.