Louisiana BESE Home Study EdLink Portal: How to Apply and Renew

If you're enrolling in Louisiana's BESE Approved Home Study Program for the first time — or returning to submit your annual renewal — everything runs through the EdLink portal. It's the state's centralized platform for home study administration, and knowing how to navigate it correctly prevents delays that can push you past the applicable renewal deadline.

This post covers what EdLink is, how to create or recover your account, and what you'll encounter when submitting a new application or renewal.

What Is the EdLink Portal?

EdLink (https://ldoe.edlink.la.gov/) is the Louisiana Department of Education's online portal for school choice and home study administration. For BESE home study families, it's the system where you:

• Submit your initial home study program application
• File your annual renewal by the applicable deadline
• Upload supporting documentation (portfolio packet, test scores, or teacher evaluation)
• Receive official approval status notifications

LDOE moved to EdLink to centralize home study record-keeping. Before this system existed, families dealt with paper-based applications mailed to the state. EdLink streamlined the process considerably, though it has a learning curve the first time through.

Creating Your EdLink Account

If you're new to the BESE program, you'll need to create an account before submitting any application.

Go to https://ldoe.edlink.la.gov/ and look for the account registration option. You'll need:

• A valid email address (this becomes your login and where LDOE contacts you)
• Basic information about yourself (name, address, phone number)
• Your student's information (name, date of birth, grade level)

Create your account using an email address you check regularly. BESE communications — approval notices, deficiency alerts, renewal reminders — go to this address. Parents who use an old or rarely-checked email miss critical notices.

Once registered, you'll receive a confirmation email to verify your account. Complete that verification before trying to log back in and submit anything.

Submitting a New Application

For first-time applicants, after logging in you'll find an option to submit a new home study application. The application collects:

Basic program information:

• Your name and contact information
• Student's name, date of birth, and current grade level
• Proposed start date for the home study program

Initial application requirements: The initial application must be submitted within 15 days after the home study program begins. It includes a certified copy of the child's birth certificate and the parent or legal guardian's assurance statement. No teaching certification is required for the home-study instructor. Follow the current application instructions for any additional program information requested.

Uploading documents: Upload the documents requested by the current application. At minimum, organize the certified birth certificate and parent or legal guardian assurance statement as instructed by the portal; do not assume that an unrequested curriculum plan or materials list substitutes for those items.

Name your uploaded files clearly before uploading. Files named "scan001.pdf" or "document(3).pdf" create confusion; files named "CurriculumOutline-GradeX-2025.pdf" are immediately identifiable.

After submission, you'll receive a confirmation that your application is under review. You can log back into EdLink to check your approval status.

Filing Your Annual Renewal

Existing BESE families must renew each year through EdLink. Submit by October 1 of the school year or within 12 months of initial approval, whichever is later.

When you log in during the renewal window, you'll see an option to begin your renewal submission. The renewal process will ask you to confirm or update:

• Your contact information and address
• Your student's current grade level (critical — make sure this advances from the prior year)
• Your selected evidence method (portfolio packet, test scores, or certified teacher evaluation)

Selecting Your Evidence Method

You choose one of three options when filing your renewal:

Packet of Materials: Upload your portfolio — the outline of subjects taught, list of materials used, and work samples from the school year. This is the most common option and gives families full control over what documentation they submit.

Standardized Test Scores: Upload a copy of your child's official score report from a nationally normed test (CAT, ITBS, Stanford Achievement Test, etc.). The test must have been administered during the current school year. The score report needs to clearly identify the student and the test level.

Certified Teacher Evaluation: Upload a signed evaluation letter from a certified teacher confirming that your program meets the sustained curriculum standard. The letter should be on letterhead or clearly identify the teacher's certification.

Uploading Renewal Documents

The EdLink upload interface allows multiple file uploads per submission. Before uploading, organize your files:

• Keep your packet files clearly labeled by section (cover sheet, subject outline, materials list, work samples)
• If uploading work samples, scan them in a logical order and combine into a single PDF per subject if possible
• Check file sizes and follow any current portal limits. Reduce scan resolution or split files if needed.

After uploading, review the submission summary before finalizing. Confirm that all files appear, that the student's grade level is correct, and that your email address is current. Then submit.

Save the confirmation receipt. EdLink generates a submission confirmation with a timestamp. That receipt is your proof of on-time filing if there's ever a question.

Common EdLink Problems and How to Handle Them

Forgotten password or username. Use the "Forgot Password" or "Forgot Username" links on the login page. LDOE sends a reset link to your registered email. If you no longer have access to the email address you registered with, contact LDOE directly to update your account — don't wait until late September to discover this problem.

Returning student not appearing in your account. If you're filing a renewal and your student's record doesn't appear when you log in, verify that you're using the correct account. Families who created multiple accounts over the years sometimes log into the wrong one.

Upload errors for large files. Reduce file size by scanning at lower resolution or splitting large work sample submissions into multiple files, following the current portal limits.

Not receiving confirmation emails. Check your spam folder immediately after submitting. LDOE emails sometimes get filtered. If you don't see a confirmation in your inbox or spam within 24 hours, log back into EdLink to verify your submission status.

Submitting after the applicable deadline. Contact LDOE promptly if you've missed the deadline. Do not assume the portal provides a grace period or that a late submission will be accepted automatically.

After You Submit

BESE reviews submissions. If your packet is incomplete or has issues, LDOE will send a deficiency notice to your registered email with specific instructions for what needs to be corrected.

Responding to deficiency notices quickly is important. Provide the missing or corrected information within the response period stated by LDOE. If you miss that period, the application can be rejected, which adds administrative burden and may create a gap in approval status.

Once approved, you'll receive an approval confirmation through EdLink and by email. Your BESE approval is valid for the current school year and will need to be renewed again by the applicable deadline.

Keeping Your EdLink Account Current

A few administrative habits that prevent EdLink headaches:

• Update your email address in your account any time you change it
• Log into EdLink before the renewal deadline to verify your account is active
• Keep your submission confirmation receipts somewhere accessible — a dedicated folder in your email or a cloud document folder labeled "BESE Records"

The EdLink portal is the administrative gateway for your BESE status. Staying organized about your account access and renewal timing removes the last-minute pressure that catches families off-guard every fall.

For families who want to make sure their documentation is structured correctly before uploading — the subject outlines, materials lists, and work sample organization that reviewers expect to see — the Louisiana Portfolio & Assessment Templates provides the exact forms aligned to BESE's requirements.

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