NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Time is about to run out for eligible families to apply for state-paid tuition to private schools.
The voucher program was approved in the last legislative session. It allows students from low- to moderate-income families who attend low-performing public schools to switch to an approved private school and have tuition paid by the state.
An estimated 5,000 private school seats will be available for voucher students at more than 120 non-public schools around the state. The deadline for applying is Friday and state education officials say they already had more than 6,000 applications as of last week.
At schools where the number of applicants exceeds the number of voucher seats available, the seats will be awarded through a lottery system.