La. Voucher Program Enrollment Again On The Rise

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — More than 8,800 students have been awarded vouchers to attend Louisiana  private schools with taxpayer dollars in the upcoming school year, a 30 percent growth in the program championed by Gov. Bobby Jindal.

Louisiana's voucher program, approaching its third year, has continued to grow since it was expanded from a New Orleans pilot to a statewide program in 2012. Last year, 6,775 students received vouchers.

Jindal's office announced the latest figures Wednesday. The program received more than 13,000 applications. Actual 2014-15 enrollment won't be known until September.

The number of schools in the voucher program also is growing from 126 schools last year to 132, according to the Department of Education. Nearly all the schools are private, though one high-performing public school in St. Landry Parish also receives voucher students.

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