Louisiana
Louisiana consistently ranks at or near the bottom of national K-12 education rankings, with high poverty rates, below-average per-pupil spending, and significant post-hurricane infrastructure disruption having compounded over generations. However, New Orleans is a unique story: following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the city converted nearly its entire public school system to charter schools, eliminating the traditional Orleans Parish district structure. This experiment has been studied globally and produced measurable academic gains — while also raising persistent equity concerns about student selection and special education services. Louisiana uses the LEAP 2025 assessment and has an unusually strong Pre-K system. The Louisiana Believes initiative has focused on improving curriculum quality statewide, with significant adoption of high-quality, knowledge-rich instructional materials.
| District | Schools | Students | Per-Pupil | Grad Rate | Free Lunch | Opp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large Districts — 10,000+ Students | ||||||
| Jefferson Parish | 82 | 51K | $17,666↓5% | 74.5%↓8% | 59.7%↓10% | 42 |
| East Baton Rouge Parish | 82 | 43K | $17,757 | 71.5%↓12% | 72.0%↑9% | 40 |
| St. Tammany Parish | 55 | 40K | $16,036↓14% | 81.8% | 44.5%↓33% | 41 |
| Caddo Parish | 59 | 36K | $15,823↓15% | 82.1% | 63.5% | 36 |
| Lafayette Parish | 45 | 32K | $13,877↓25% | 71.1%↓13% | 60.2%↓9% | 41 |
| Calcasieu Parish | 58 | 30K | $22,016↑18% | 90.3%↑11% | 57.0%↓14% | 30 |
| Livingston Parish | 44 | 28K | $14,319↓23% | 89.3%↑10% | 64.5% | 46 |
| Ascension Parish | 31 | 25K | $15,936↓14% | 89.6%↑10% | 49.8%↓25% | 44 |
| Bossier Parish | 34 | 24K | $14,538↓22% | 89.0%↑9% | 56.7%↓14% | 41 |
| Rapides Parish | 47 | 23K | $14,229↓24% | 80.6% | 73.6%↑12% | 43 |
| Tangipahoa Parish | 32 | 21K | $13,701↓26% | 79.5% | 68.0% | 41 |
| Ouachita Parish | 36 | 19K | $13,948↓25% | 86.1%↑6% | 62.9% | 47 |
| Terrebonne Parish | 31 | 16K | $16,995↓9% | 92.5%↑14% | 61.3%↓7% | 44 |
| Lafourche Parish | 31 | 14K | $17,007↓9% | 92.5%↑14% | 60.6%↓8% | 49 |
| St. Landry Parish | 35 | 13K | $14,633↓21% | 74.8%↓8% | 71.3%↑8% | 45 |
| Iberia Parish | 23 | 12K | $12,615↓32% | 87.5%↑8% | 70.0%↑6% | 38 |
| Medium Districts — 1,000–9,999 Students | ||||||
| Vermilion Parish | 20 | 9,708 | $14,732↓21% | 92.6%↑14% | 60.6%↓8% | 52 |
| Acadia Parish | 27 | 9,601 | $13,439↓28% | 92.3%↑13% | 67.9% | 47 |
| St. Charles Parish | 15 | 9,496 | $25,354↑36% | 86.5%↑6% | 47.4%↓28% | 46 |
| Vernon Parish | 18 | 9,037 | $15,261↓18% | 90.4%↑11% | 50.7%↓23% | 49 |
| City of Monroe School District | 19 | 8,646 | $16,250↓13% | 89.4%↑10% | 74.4%↑13% | 47 |
| St. Bernard Parish | 12 | 8,277 | $14,353↓23% | 88.8%↑9% | 63.2% | 36 |
| St. Mary Parish | 21 | 8,054 | $13,817↓26% | 92.4%↑14% | 68.3% | 42 |
| St. Martin Parish | 15 | 7,537 | $13,569↓27% | 78.8% | 68.3% | 38 |
| Beauregard Parish | 12 | 6,020 | $15,278↓18% | 93.8%↑15% | 62.0%↓6% | 46 |
| Zachary Community School District | 7 | 5,853 | $13,197↓29% | 94.0%↑16% | 56.6%↓14% | 41 |
| Evangeline Parish | 11 | 5,705 | $14,077↓24% | 89.3%↑10% | 64.9% | 52 |
| Jefferson Davis Parish | 12 | 5,595 | $16,893↓9% | 95.0%↑17% | 68.8% | 51 |
| Webster Parish | 14 | 5,549 | $15,440↓17% | 83.9% | 46.8%↓29% | 40 |
| Natchitoches Parish | 14 | 5,527 | $17,746 | 81.5% | 89.1%↑35% | 47 |
| Lincoln Parish | 11 | 5,408 | $16,869↓9% | 95.2%↑17% | 59.3%↓10% | 46 |
| St. John the Baptist Parish | 10 | 5,382 | $20,548↑10% | 76.2%↓6% | 41.4%↓37% | 41 |
| DeSoto Parish | 9 | 5,126 | $20,265↑9% | 91.7%↑13% | 48.6%↓26% | 35 |
| Avoyelles Parish | 10 | 5,080 | $13,225↓29% | 84.5% | 58.6%↓11% | 45 |
| Washington Parish | 10 | 5,019 | $13,975↓25% | 85.7%↑5% | 54.8%↓17% | 37 |
| Central Community School District | 5 | 4,967 | $17,496↓6% | 87.0%↑7% | 52.5%↓20% | 40 |
| West Baton Rouge Parish | 10 | 4,332 | $19,413 | 85.1% | 74.5%↑13% | 39 |
| Iberville Parish | 7 | 4,331 | $23,805↑28% | 88.0%↑8% | 72.4%↑10% | 39 |
| Sabine Parish | 10 | 4,141 | $15,397↓17% | 91.8%↑13% | 60.6%↓8% | 47 |
| Allen Parish | 11 | 4,136 | $14,994↓19% | 89.5%↑10% | 66.6% | 50 |
| University View Academy Inc. (FRM LA Connections) | 1 | 3,928 | $10,009↓46% | 50.0%↓39% | 54.3%↓18% | 46 |
| Plaquemines Parish | 8 | 3,858 | $19,090 | 87.7%↑8% | 68.6% | 36 |
| St. James Parish | 6 | 3,537 | $24,637↑32% | 82.0% | 58.4%↓12% | 43 |
| Morehouse Parish | 5 | 3,381 | $16,904↓9% | 69.0%↓15% | 5.2%↓92% | 37 |
| Concordia Parish | 10 | 3,192 | $16,731↓10% | 79.4% | 76.3%↑16% | 45 |
| Assumption Parish | 9 | 3,031 | $14,618↓22% | 92.0%↑13% | 63.2% | 38 |
| Grant Parish | 8 | 2,971 | $14,841↓20% | 90.8%↑12% | 70.9%↑7% | 45 |
| Richland Parish | 11 | 2,885 | $15,924↓14% | 81.7% | 67.1% | 39 |
| Franklin Parish | 6 | 2,850 | $15,765↓15% | 82.0% | 76.8%↑16% | 44 |
| Pointe Coupee Parish | 5 | 2,710 | $15,529↓17% | 67.0%↓18% | 71.3%↑8% | 41 |