BESE Packet of Materials Louisiana: What to Include in Your Homeschool Portfolio

The phrase "packet of materials" appears in Louisiana's BESE home study guidelines without much explanation of what it actually means. You're told you need to show "a sustained curriculum of quality at least equal to that offered by public schools at the same grade level" — and one way to do that is submitting this packet. But what goes in it?

This post breaks down the specific components, explains the sustained curriculum standard in practical terms, and shows you how to build a packet that satisfies BESE reviewers without over-documenting.

What the Sustained Curriculum Requirement Actually Means

Louisiana law doesn't define "sustained curriculum of quality" in precise terms. That ambiguity is intentional — it gives families flexibility to homeschool in ways that fit their philosophy, whether structured classical education, an eclectic approach, or unit studies.

What it does mean in practice: reviewers want to see that real academic instruction happened across the required core subjects throughout the school year. Not a snapshot. Not two months of work. Evidence of sustained, year-long engagement with academics.

The core required subjects for the BESE program are:

• Mathematics
• English Language Arts (reading, writing, grammar, literature)
• Science
• Social Studies

These four are the baseline at all grade levels. At the high school level, the credit requirements expand and must align with TOPS scholarship standards, which means specific course and credit totals across four years.

"Equal to public schools at the same grade level" sets the bar. BESE reviewers aren't comparing your child's work to a gifted program — they're looking for evidence that the academic depth and breadth is roughly comparable to what a Louisiana public school student at the same grade would cover.

The Three Required Components of the Packet

BESE's guidelines specify three things your packet must include:

1. An Outline of Subjects Taught

This is a written summary of what you taught and in what subjects. It doesn't need to be formatted in any particular way, but it needs to be clear. A simple list works: subject by subject, with a brief description of the material covered.

For example, for Mathematics you might note: "Singapore Math 6A and 6B, chapters 1-12, covering fractions, decimals, ratios, percentages, basic algebra, and geometry." That tells a reviewer both what curriculum you used and what content was covered.

If you used a full-service online school, a textbook series, or a structured curriculum package, name it explicitly. Brand-name curricula familiar to educators (BJU Press, Abeka, Saxon, Teaching Textbooks, etc.) provide instant credibility. If you used eclectic resources, list the primary ones per subject.

2. A List of Books and Materials Used

This is your materials record — every textbook, workbook, resource, or supplementary material used in the school year. Don't just list the curriculum name; include the specific title and level where possible.

This list serves two purposes. First, it documents that you used real academic materials, not vague "life learning." Second, it functions as your educational expense record for Louisiana's school expense tax deduction, which allows families to deduct up to $6,000 per dependent for qualifying educational purchases. If you're not already keeping a running list of materials for tax purposes, start now — the packet forces you to reconstruct it anyway.

3. Copies of Student Work Samples

This is the evidence component — actual work your child produced during the school year. Reviewers want to see output, not just a list of what you intended to teach.

What makes strong work samples:

• Samples from each of the four core subjects
• Work that spans across the school year, not just the last month
• A mix of written work, math work, and any subject-specific projects
• Work that is labeled with the subject and approximate date

You don't need to submit everything your child produced. A reasonable selection — five to ten pieces per subject is generally sufficient — is better than a disorganized pile of everything. The goal is to show breadth (all subjects covered) and depth (work that demonstrates real learning, not just copied definitions).

Avoid submitting only worksheets. Worksheets are fine, but a packet that includes a written essay, a science lab report, a math assessment, and some history writing shows more genuine academic engagement than fifty pages of fill-in-the-blank work.

Building a Strong Cover Sheet

BESE guidelines don't require a specific cover sheet format, but including one is a smart practice. A clear cover sheet tells the reviewer at a glance who they're looking at, what grade level, and what the packet contains.

A well-organized cover sheet should include:

• Student name and date of birth
• Current grade level
• School year being documented
• BESE ID or application reference number
• A brief summary of the packet contents

Framing your cover sheet with language that mirrors BESE's own statutory language ("Sustained Curriculum of Quality Documentation" or "BESE Annual Renewal Packet — [Grade Level]") signals that you understand what the reviewer is evaluating. It reduces friction and makes the reviewer's job easier, which works in your favor.

How to Organize the Packet

Physical organization matters. A packet that forces a reviewer to hunt through unsorted papers creates a worse impression than the same content, organized clearly.

A logical structure:

1. Cover sheet (student info, summary)
2. Outline of subjects taught
3. List of books and materials used
4. Work samples, organized by subject with labeled dividers

If submitting electronically through the EdLink portal, PDF is the standard format. Create a single merged PDF or separate files per section, named clearly (e.g., "WorkSamples-Math-2025.pdf"). Unclear filenames slow down review.

What a Weak Packet Looks Like

Common problems that trigger deficiency notices or manual review:

Missing subjects. A packet that includes strong English and Math documentation but has nothing for Science and Social Studies will be flagged. All four core subjects need representation.

Work samples only from one point in time. If everything in your work samples section is from April and May, a reviewer has no evidence of what happened September through March. Date your samples or include samples from across the year.

Vague subject outlines. "We did reading and math" is not an outline. "We covered grade-level reading comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, and expository writing using Sonlight Core F and Wordly Wise" is.

No books listed. If your materials list is blank or just says "various online resources," reviewers have no way to evaluate curriculum quality.

Submitting a portfolio that reads as a preschool scrapbook. BESE wants academic evidence, not a memories album. Keep it professional and focused on academic content.

High School Packets Require More Specificity

For students in 9th through 12th grade, the packet needs to go beyond the baseline. TOPS scholarship eligibility depends on BESE maintaining continuous approval through 11th and 12th grade, and LDOE reviewers for high school submissions are looking for course-level documentation.

Your high school packet should include:

• A running transcript or course list showing earned credits
• Work samples organized by course, not just by subject
• Clear evidence that courses are at or above the grade-level standard (honors-level rigor should be noted)

The distinction between "English Language Arts" at the middle school level and "English III" at the 11th-grade level matters. High school documentation should reflect course titles and credit hours, not just subjects.

For TOPS, the key credit requirements are four English credits, four Math credits (Algebra I and above), four Science credits (with Biology), and four Social Studies credits including American History and Civics. Tracking these explicitly in your renewal packet makes it clear that your program is meeting the scholarship's prerequisites.

Keeping Records Throughout the Year

The hardest part of the BESE packet isn't knowing what to include — it's not having the records when October comes. Families who scramble at renewal time are almost always families who didn't build tracking habits during the school year.

Three habits that make renewal easy:

• Keep a weekly or monthly log of subjects covered (even a quick bulleted list takes five minutes)
• Save a representative sample of your child's best work from each subject each month
• Keep a running materials list with purchase dates (useful for both BESE and tax deduction purposes)

If you're starting mid-year and your records are thin, reconstruct what you can from curriculum purchase receipts, physical workbooks, and any digital work your child has produced. Partial documentation is better than none, but build better habits going forward.

The Louisiana Portfolio & Assessment Templates provides ready-to-use forms for all three packet components — the subject outline, materials log, and a BESE-compliant cover sheet — so you're documenting in the right format from the start of the school year rather than retrofitting records in September.

See more United States homeschool guides →