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Before you choose curriculum, you need to know exactly what Louisiana requires. The answer depends on your homeschool track and your child’s grade.
Key Takeaways:
- Home Study families must teach core subjects K-8; high school adds Health, PE, Fine Arts Survey, and Foreign Language
- Nonpublic School families have zero subject requirements—complete autonomy
- Louisiana has no curriculum approval board; you prove quality through annual progress documentation
- “Quality equal to public schools” is the standard, not a specific list of textbooks
- Understanding your track determines your flexibility
Home Study Requirements (BESE-Approved)
If you’ve chosen the Home Study track, Louisiana requires specific subjects based on grade level. Your curriculum must demonstrate quality “at least equal to public schools,” but you have complete freedom to choose how you teach them.
Grades K-8 Required Subjects
- English Language Arts (Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking, Grammar)
- Mathematics
- Social Studies (History, Geography, Civics, Cultural Understanding)
- Science (Life Science, Physical Science, Earth/Space Science, depending on grade)
That’s it. Four core subjects for elementary and middle school. You can add additional subjects (foreign language, arts, music, PE), but Louisiana doesn’t require them until high school.
Grades 9-12 Required Subjects
High school expands the requirements. Louisiana requires:
- English Language Arts (continuing through 9-12)
- Mathematics (at least one high school math course; Algebra I is typical)
- Social Studies (World History, U.S. History, Government, Economics at appropriate levels)
- Science (at least one high school science course; Biology is common; must include lab components where applicable)
- Health (health education component—can be brief, often 0.5 credit)
- Physical Education (PE requirement; many families substitute sports, dance, or alternative activities)
- Fine Arts Survey (one-time survey of visual arts, music, drama, or dance; 0.5 credit typical)
- Foreign Language (at least one high school foreign language course; 1 credit typical)
High school Home Study families need to demonstrate they’re teaching these eight category areas. A typical 4-year high school plan might include:
- English I, II, III, IV
- Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II/Precalculus, Calculus or Statistics
- World History, U.S. History, Government, Economics
- Biology, Chemistry, Physics, plus one elective science
- One foreign language (Spanish, French, Latin) through completion
- PE (4 years or substitute)
- Fine Arts Survey (one semester)
- Health (one semester)
Nonpublic School Requirements (Complete Autonomy)
If you’ve chosen the Nonpublic School track, Louisiana has zero subject requirements. None. You decide:
- What subjects to teach
- What order to teach them
- How deeply to cover material
- Whether to include subjects Louisiana requires for Home Study
Nonpublic families have absolute curriculum freedom. You could run a classical education following Great Books. You could focus on STEM and minimally address humanities. You could homeschool full-time for academics and participate in part-time co-ops for everything else. Louisiana imposes no curriculum constraints.
The tradeoff: Nonpublic families aren’t TOPS-eligible and can’t compete in public school athletics. If those matter to your family, Home Study is necessary.
Demonstrating Quality (How You Prove Compliance)
Both Home Study and Nonpublic families need to register annually, but documentation requirements differ significantly.
Home Study families must demonstrate annual progress. Louisiana accepts three forms of evidence:
- Standardized test scores (ITBS, WISC-V, or state-approved tests)
- Materials packet (lesson samples, worksheets, written work showing progression through curriculum)
- Teacher certification statement (if the teaching parent holds a valid teaching certificate, this alone satisfies annual review)
Most Louisiana Home Study families use the materials packet approach—it’s simplest and lowest-cost. You keep samples of your child’s work throughout the year (one per month is typical), organize them by subject, and submit them to show progress in each required area.
Nonpublic School families face zero annual documentation requirements. No testing, no portfolios, no progress reports. You register once per year, and that’s the extent of state involvement.
Practical Curriculum Implications
Your subject requirements directly shape curriculum decisions:
Home Study families should choose curricula that clearly address each required subject. If you pick Abeka, BJU, or Sonlight, you’re inherently covering all required subjects—these programs are built around that. If you build a custom curriculum (combining different programs), track that you have clear coverage of all required areas.
Nonpublic families can follow specialized approaches. A Nonpublic family passionate about classical education can use Veritas Press, which focuses differently than traditional scope-and-sequence. A Nonpublic family focused on science and math can minimize other subjects. You have freedom Home Study families don’t have.
High school transitions require planning. If you’re Home Study and your child attended public school through 8th grade, transitioning to homeschool requires meeting all high school subject requirements going forward. This matters for graduation planning and transcript credibility.
Foreign language timing is often a concern. Louisiana requires it for grades 9-12 Home Study students. Starting in middle school gives students time to develop proficiency. Many families use online programs (Rosetta Stone, Duolingo, or traditional textbooks) to meet this requirement flexibly.
What Doesn’t Meet Requirements
Understanding what doesn’t count helps clarify what does:
- Online school (like LAVCA or Cypress Connections Academy) isn’t homeschooling—those are public school students, even though instruction is remote. They don’t count as Home Study or Nonpublic.
- Sports or extracurriculars alone don’t count as PE or Fine Arts, even though they’re valuable. You need intentional curriculum in those areas for Home Study.
- Occasional field trips don’t meet social studies without intentional curriculum structure.
- Reading widely develops literacy but might not meet formal English Language Arts requirements if you’re Home Study without writing, grammar, or structured instruction.
The distinction matters because Home Study families need to document coverage; Nonpublic families don’t.
Next Steps
Knowing your requirements lets you choose curriculum confidently.
reviews specific curriculum options that meet these requirements.
breaks down the grade-level progression for each subject.
explores structured online options that include all required subjects.
Which track fits your family best? walks through choosing between Home Study and Nonpublic.