Louisiana school voucher program should ‘be scrapped,’ Senate leader says

(The Center Square) − An expansion of Louisiana’s school voucher program pushed by Gov. Jeff Landry and voucher advocates is meeting resistance in the state Legislature again this year.

Louisiana Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, said Friday he remains skeptical of spending more taxpayer dollars on the state’s LA GATOR program, warning that lawmakers should take a “good look” at how money flows through the system.

“I think GATOR as a whole just needs to be scrapped and you need to come up with a different system to help these kids out,” Henry told The Center Square.

Louisiana’s voucher program, similar to those passed in other Republican-led states in recent years, sends public education dollars to eligible students who want to attend private schools or be homeschooled. It pays for tuition, tutoring, education materials and more.

In a Friday hearing at the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget, Henry raised concerns about the program’s funding an...