Louisiana benefits for college students

Food assistance: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

Louisiana's name for SNAP, run by Louisiana Department of Health (LDH). If you are enrolled at least half-time, you need a student exemption to qualify, such as working 20 hours a week, work-study or caring for a young child. If you are enrolled less than half-time, the student rule does not apply and only the regular SNAP rules do. See every exemption →

Louisiana's "SNAP for College Students" page lists the student exemptions, including several placement routes: being assigned to, placed in, or self-placed in college through SNAP E&T; a career and technical education program under the Carl D. Perkins Act designed to be completed in not more than four years; a program limited to remedial courses, basic education, literacy, or English as a second language; a program offered by a contracted SNAP E&T provider; Louisiana's STEP (Strategies to Empower People) work program; WIOA; a state or local government employment and training program; or Trade Adjustment Assistance. Other exemptions include working 20 hours a week, work study, caring for a child under 6, being a single parent enrolled full-time with a child under 12, and receiving FITAP. Students who get more than half their meals from a campus meal plan cannot get SNAP. The temporary COVID-era exemptions do not apply to applications or recertifications on or after July 1, 2023.

Apply for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) · Louisiana's page for students

Health coverage: Louisiana Medicaid

Louisiana has expanded Medicaid, so adults with low incomes, students included, can qualify based on income. All your health coverage options →

Starting January 1, 2027, Medicaid members 19-64 without young children or serious medical conditions must meet work/community engagement requirements. LDH says going to school at least half- or part-time counts, as does a mix of activities adding up to 80 hours a month.

Apply for Louisiana Medicaid

Child care help: Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)

Going to college or training counts as an approved activity in this state. Parents qualify if they attend an accredited school or training program as a full-time student, or at least 20 hours a week, or combine work and school. Full-time status is set by the school, which must be accredited by the state of Louisiana or a national organization, and the program must lead to a degree or certificate that builds job skills. You must provide an official class schedule on school letterhead showing days and times of class.

Apply for Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) · Help on campus (CCAMPIS) →

Phone and internet: Lifeline

We found no extra state Lifeline discount on Louisiana's official pages, so the federal discount applies. Who qualifies →

Apply for Lifeline

Taxes

Louisiana residents who claimed and received the federal Earned Income Credit get a refundable state credit equal to 5% of the federal credit. The Louisiana Department of Revenue says you can file your state return online for free through the Louisiana Taxpayer Access Point (LaTAP).

Louisiana Earned Income Credit (LA EIC) · Free state filing · Federal education tax credits → · Free federal filing →

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