Highland Baptist Christian School

LA GATOR at Highland Baptist Christian School

On the 2025-26 BESE-approved nonpublic list, Highland Baptist Christian School is classified accredited. Approval is what makes the school eligible for LA GATOR tuition at all; the yearly sign-up in Odyssey is separate and is worth confirming with the school before you budget on it. The school's Brumfield v. Dodd approval, which any school serving state-funded students needs, is dated 1998.

The state list shows 295 K-12 students and 26 pre-K children, which puts it at number 27 by enrollment among the 49 approved schools in the eight parishes that reported a figure.

Because the school runs from the early grades through grade 12, a family can hold the same award at the same campus for up to thirteen funded years. That is common outside Lafayette Parish and less so inside it, where most Catholic families change schools after 8th grade.

It was also on the state's 2024-25 Tuition Donation Credit list. For a household at or under 250% of the federal poverty level, that means an STO scholarship can be added after LA GATOR, with the two together capped at the school's actual tuition and fees.

In the federal Private School Survey for 2023-24, the school reported 297 students, 33 full-time-equivalent teachers and a ratio near 9.0 students per teacher. Listed memberships: Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI).

Adding up the funded years

From kindergarten to grade 12, a student can spend 13 school years here. At 2026-27 award levels that adds up to about $68,159 on the standard award, $99,138 at the 250%-of-poverty level, and as much as $198,289 for a student served under IDEA. The Legislature sets funding each year, so use this to plan, not as a promise. The pre-K years are not covered; eligibility starts at age 5.

Covering the balance

Ask whether the school discounts for church members, siblings or staff, and whether it applies those discounts before or after the LA GATOR deposit. Ask which fees, such as books, technology and testing, are billed through Odyssey.

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What to ask the school office

1. Have you registered in Odyssey for 2026-27, and how do you bill against the four quarterly deposits?
2. What is the full cost for my child's grade, fees included, and what would a family on $5,243 or $7,626 still owe?
3. Will you take an STO scholarship for 2026-27, and do you apply it after LA GATOR?
4. How has tuition changed between the lower, middle and high school grades over the last few years?
5. Does a pre-K place carry into kindergarten, the first year the account can pay?
6. How far do your families drive, and is there a carpool from Lafayette or the next town over?

Nearby private schools

Straight-line distance from federal campus coordinates; road distance across the Atchafalaya basin and the bayous is longer.