Louisiana Scholarship Program 2013-2014 Participation Guide Continuing Schools

1. Louisiana Scholarship Program 2013-2014 Participation Guide Continuing Schools

2. Purpose Louisiana Believes • The Purpose of this PowerPoint is to: • Provide you insight on the overall process for accepting new student applications and continuing current students • Guide you through the timeline • Provide you resources to get your answers quickly

3. Process Overview Louisiana Believes *Eligibility confirmation means that your school is eligible to participate. It does not approve requested seats or tuition and fees. Department staff is committed to working with your school throughout this process to ensure the appropriate number of students are matched with your school.

4. Student Application Process Louisiana Believes • Student Applications for Residents Outside Orleans Parish • Families can submit applications onlineor in person at a school site. • This applies to both new and continuing students. • Continuing Scholarship Students will only need to confirm their school choices for next year and are guaranteed a seat • Paper and online applications can be found at: http://www.louisianabelieves.com/schools/louisiana-scholarship-program • Online Application • Families will enter their child’s name, Social Security Number, Date of Birth and Grade for 2013-2014 • The online system will try to retrieve that child’s information in the State database • Students that cannot be found in the database will need to submit their application in person at a school site. • Families will visit their first choice school to confirm their child’s eligibility

5. School Application Intake Louisiana Believes • Schools will use the LEADS system to enter and confirm applications • Your current User ID and password will allow you to access the apply page. • To reset your password visit https://password.doe.louisiana.gov/. • Make sure your pop up blockers are turned off. • The system works best on Internet Explorer • Detailed instructions are on the next slide • Families submitting online applications • These families will be instructed to come in to their first choice school site and verify their eligibility • Schools need only confirm eligibility documents and do not need to keep these on file. • Families submitting paper applications • Families can submit paper applications at any school site • Schools will enter their application just like last year.

6. Using LEADS Louisiana Believes Step 1Open Internet Explorer • Enter the following web address in your browser and click ‘Enter’: https://leads3.doe.louisiana.gov/ptl Step 2Enter your User ID and Password. <Click enter or OK> • LEADS Application Portal with a list of applications will be displayed. Step 3Click on - SEE – Scholarships for Educ. Excellence. • Scholarships for Educ. Excellence System is displayed. • You will notice two rows of tabs below the header.

7. Using LEADS (cont.) Louisiana Believes Step 4 Click on ‘Student’ tab in the first row of tabs. • The first tab ‘Apply’ on the second row is already selected and the screen is displayed. Step 5 Student Record processing • Select 2013 from Beginning School Session Year drop-down-list. • Enter the Social Security Number of the student. • Click Submit. • Student data is displayed in 3 screens. • Click ‘Next’ to view Student Application data. • Review Student data on each screen and update as needed. • If application was submitted online, this information will already be populated. • Please enter student application information for paper submissions • Click Next to continue to next page. • On the last page, eligibility confirmation for income, residency and age is listed. • Review eligibility documentation presented by Student (parent) and click the appropriate radio button. • Click ‘Save’ to submit application

8. Verifying Eligiblity Louisiana Believes • Eligibility verification is the exact same as last year • Continuing scholarship students are automatically eligible and do not need to provide additional documentation. • There are three items that need to be verified • Income • Residency • Age of Student • You DO NOT need to copy verification information or maintain this documentation in your files. This information will be collected by the school at the time of student enrollment.

9. Verifying Income Louisiana Believes • Below is a list of Federal Assistance Programs. If the parent/guardian participate in any one of these programs, they meet the income requirement of the program. • Louisiana Purchase Card • SNAP Benefits • Social Security Benefits • Eligibility is established by the parent or guardian producing documentation showing that they participate in one of these programs. • The Department will try to use the Federal Database to match these incomes with the student applications. Therefore, sometimes you may see that the radio button for the student is marked “eligible”. In those cases, you do not have to verify it again with the family.

10. Verifying Income Louisiana Believes • If the parent/guardian does not participate in a Federal Assistance program, they will need to provide proof of income for every member of their household. This can consist of any one of the following: • Federal Tax Return • W-2s from all employers for the period ended December 31, 2012 • Unemployment compensation statement for the period ended December 31, 2012 • 1099s and/or statements from banks or other institutions showing interest earnings for the period ended December 31, 2012 • Alimony as shown in court decree or agreement • Social Security benefits statement for the period ended December 31, 2012 • Pension statements for the period ended December 31, 2012

11. Verifying Income Louisiana Believes • The family will indicate their household size in the application. Using the documents provided by the family, ensure their income does not exceed 250% of the federal poverty level (see below). • When you have verified the family income is less than the maximum amount, you may check the box in the DOE online portal (LEADS) that asks to verify the income. • If not, the family is not eligible to participate in the 2013-2014 scholarship program.

12. Verifying Residency Louisiana Believes • Only Louisiana residents are eligible for the program. When you receive an application, please verify the family’s residency by viewing any one of the following and making sure it matches the student address on the application: • Rental lease or mortgage statement • Homestead Exemption notice for calendar year 2012 • Property tax notice for calendar year 2012 • Electricity/Gas bill • Telephone bill • Cable or internet service bill • Sewage/water bill • When you have verified the residency information matches the address on the application in the student section, you may check the box in the DOE online portal (LEADS) that asks “Residency verified?”

13. Verifying Age Louisiana Believes • Please verify that the student is eligible for grades K-12 • If the student’s Date of Birth listed on the application is after September 30, 2008, then he or she is not eligible.

14. Provide a Receipt Louisiana Believes • The last page of the application will serve as a receipt for the parent or guardian of the scholarship applicant. Feel free to print them out and keep them for both the paper applicants and online applicants. • Please ensure that all applicants are given a receipt.

15. Helpful Resources Louisiana Believes • Louisiana Scholarship Program Homepage: http://www.louisianabelieves.com/schools/louisiana-scholarship-program • To contact the Louisiana Department of Education Call: 1-877-453-2721 Message: https://www.louisianabelieves.com/resources/ask-ldoe