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Lafayette, Louisiana - 44 schools
An equity score of 18/100 ranks Lafayette Parish #167 of 175 districts in Louisiana (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,837 per pupil, Lafayette Parish ranks #173 of 188 Louisiana districts by per-pupil spending (Louisiana districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
32,377
Total Enrollment
44
Schools
$11,837
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Lafayette Parish operates 44 public schools serving 32,377 students, placing it in the mid-size range in Louisiana. The school portfolio breaks down into 26 combined, 8 middle, 7 high, 3 elementary schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage before they move, rent, or enrol. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Lafayette Parish.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,837 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, among the bottom 19 of 188 Louisiana districts by per-pupil spending. See how Louisiana compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 51.5% local, 32.8% state, and 15.7% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers. The district's equity score is 18/100, ranked #167 of 175 in Louisiana against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 8 of 44 schools offering Advanced Placement (54 AP courses district-wide), a 282.3:1 student-counselor ratio, somewhat above the 250:1 ASCA recommendation, and 14.7% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 43.9% African American, 37.8% White, 12.1% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Ridge Elementary School, with a diversity index of 69.7/100.
Lafayette Parish school enrollment varies 22× across entities
Lafayette Parish school enrollment ranges from 84 students (lowest) to 1,833 students (highest), a spread of 1,749 students. That spread is wider than typical and predicts noticeable gaps in service quality between the highest and lowest areas. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Lafayette Parish has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 57.5% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Areas above 75% eligibility receive concentration grants on top of the basic Title I formula. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Lafayette Parish student-counselor ratio is 282:1 — near the typical range (US average ~408) — within the typical range for U.S. public districts
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Variation between sub-units within Lafayette Parish is typically wider than the Lafayette Parish-aggregate figure suggests.
Lafayette Parish chronic absenteeism rate is 14.7% — low (typically associated with lower-than-average attendance disruption; districts in this range often have attendance interventions, robust transportation, or smaller catchments that reduce barriers)
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.