Layering LA GATOR, an STO scholarship and school aid in Lake Charles

Most Southwest Louisiana families who end up paying little or nothing for a private school year get there in layers. The account is the first layer. An STO scholarship is the second. The school's own aid or discount is the third. The order matters, and so does which schools are set up for the second layer.

First: the account

$5,243, $7,626, or up to $15,253, paid through Odyssey toward tuition and mandatory fees. By law it is applied first, which is why every other calculation starts from your award letter.

Second: a Tuition Donation Credit scholarship

School tuition organizations raise tax-credited donations and award scholarships to families with income at or below 250% of the federal poverty level ($80,375 for a family of four) whose child is coming from public school, entering kindergarten, or already held a state scholarship. Awards are limited to the lesser of tuition and fees or 80% of the state per-pupil amount in K-8 and 90% in high school. Since Act 403, an STO award adds to LA GATOR, and the two combined cannot exceed the school's actual tuition and fees.

• ACE Scholarships Louisiana
• Arete Scholars Louisiana
• Aspiring Scholars Louisiana

Each STO has its own application and limited funds. Apply early and to more than one.

The 8 local schools on the 2024-25 STO list

LDOE, Tuition Donation Credit Program 2024-25 participating schools. Participation is annual.

All six Catholic schools are on the list, along with Hamilton Christian Academy and Cornerstone in DeRidder. Bishop Noland, First Baptist Christian Academy and Life Christian Academy are not, so families relying on an STO award should ask those schools whether they have joined since.

Third: the school

Parishioner rates at the diocesan elementary schools, member and sibling discounts at the church academies, and need-based aid at Bishop Noland are the usual forms. Ask one question everywhere: is our aid figured before or after the LA GATOR and STO money? A school that figures aid after the awards will usually offer less, but your balance can still come out lower.

Fourth: taxes

Louisiana's deduction for nonpublic school tuition, fees, uniforms and supplies covers what you pay yourself, not what the account pays. The federal scholarship tax credit begins with tax year 2027; Louisiana opted in on December 17, 2025, and the participating organizations are still to be named.

In order

1. Apply for LA GATOR in the spring window.
2. Apply to two or three STOs with the same income papers.
3. Ask each school for its all-in cost and aid form.
4. Take the award letter to the school and ask for the balance in writing.
5. Spread anything left over the four deposit quarters.