Supporting adult education in Louisiana means investing in the workforce, the economy, and the future of every community in our state.
The Scale of the Need
More than 466,000 Louisiana adults — 13 percent of the adult population — lack a high school diploma or its equivalent, a rate above the 11 percent national average. And the need runs deeper than credentials alone: 1.4 million Louisiana adults — 42 percent — struggle with basic reading, writing, or math skills, limiting their workforce participation, earning potential, and quality of life.
Adult education is Louisiana’s primary system for addressing this need — serving adults who are no longer enrolled in K-12 and need to build or rebuild the foundational skills required for today’s workforce and daily life.
What Louisiana Adult Education Delivers
The Need is Local
The demand for adult education is not concentrated in a handful of communities — it is statewide. In East Carroll Parish, 31% of adults lack a high school diploma. In Catahoula Parish, that figure is 26%. In Avoyelles and Assumption Parishes, it exceeds 22%.
Every legislative district in Louisiana has adult learners working to change their story.
Why It Matters for Louisiana
The economic case for adult education is clear and specific. In Louisiana, adults with a diploma are 31 percent more likely to be working than those without one. They earn a median annual income of $36,473 compared to $28,839 for adults without a credential — a 27 percent earnings advantage that compounds over a lifetime. Earning a diploma also reduces the risk of poverty by 42 percent and decreases reliance on public assistance.
Every dollar invested in adult education generates $21 in economic return through higher wages and reduced public costs. Just doubling Louisiana’s annual HSE graduates — from 3,884 to 7,768 — would add an estimated $590.4 million in local wages over ten years.
Yet Louisiana currently appropriates just $2.8 million in state dollars for adult education each year. Closing the adult skills gap would require an additional $13.6 million annually — a modest investment relative to the return.
One diploma can transform a life. Thousands can transform a community.
How Legislators Can Help
Protect Funding
WIOA Title II federal dollars must be matched and supplemented by state investment. Flat or declining funding directly limits the number of adults programs can serve.
Recognize the Role
Adult education is not a supplemental program — it is a foundational investment in Louisiana’s economic future and workforce pipeline.
Engage Locally
Visit a program, meet the educators, hear from the learners. Every parish has a program. Every program has a story worth knowing.