LAPCAE traces its founding to November 25, 1975, when Louisiana’s public-school adult educators (then organized as LAPSAE) and the Adult Education Section of the Louisiana Education Association merged after a year-long process into a single statewide professional association. Robert M. Arceneaux of Lafayette became LAPCAE’s first President, with Stewart Collins of Mansfield as President-Elect and Jerry Kaufman of Monroe as Secretary-Treasurer.

The name has changed twice since — the acronym LAPCAE has outlasted the words behind it — but the organization’s throughline hasn’t: a volunteer-led, statewide network for the people teaching adult basic education, high school equivalency, English language, and workforce-readiness classes across Louisiana.