Baton Rouge offers a wide range of educational and cultural opportunities including being the home to three major universities and colleges and a variety of public and private schools.
The East Baton Rouge Parish Public Schools operates public schools in the city limits.
The Baton Rouge Area contains 12 public school districts-Ascension, Baker, Central Community, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, West Baton Rouge, West Feliciana, and Zachary. School districts in the region provide opportunities for advanced learning through Gifted and Academic Magnet programs and tailored programs in music, visual arts, and dramatic arts. Additionally, the Capital Region is home to four of the top ten performing districts in the state.
East Baton Rouge Parish Public Schools, the city's school district, is one of the area's largest school districts. It contains approximately 90 individual schools: 56 elementary schools, 16 middle schools, and 18 high schools.
Louisiana State University operates the Louisiana State University Laboratory School, a K-12 school. Also, Southern University operates the Southern University Laboratory School, a K-12 school.
The state of Louisiana directly operates two special schools for children with disabilities:
Other notable high schools in the parish include:
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, generally known as Louisiana State University or LSU, is a public, coeducational university that is the main campus of the Louisiana State University System. LSU includes nine senior colleges and three schools, in addition to specialized centers, divisions, institutes, and offices. Enrollment stands at more than 30,000 students, and there are 1,300 full-time faculty members. LSU is also one of twenty-one American universities designated as a land-grant, sea-grant and space-grant research center. LSU is the oldest public university and most comprehensive university in Louisiana.
Southern University and A&M College, generally known as Southern University, is a historically black college, founded in 1879 by P. B. S. Pinchback, T. T. Allain, and Henry Demas. Southern became a land-grant school in 1890, and an Agricultural and Mechanical department was established. The University offers programs of study ranging from an associate degree to doctoral and professional degrees. Southern University is the second oldest public university in Louisiana.
Baton Rouge Community College is an open admission, two-year post-secondary public community college, established on June 28, 1995 and settled into a permanent location in 1998. The 60-acre (240,000 m2) campus consists of five main buildings: Governors Building, Louisiana Building, Cypress Building, Bienvenue Building (student center), and the Magnolia Library Building. The college's current enrollment is more than 6,000 students. The curricular offerings include courses and programs leading to transfer credits, certificates and associate degrees.
Other colleges and universities in the Great Baton Rouge Area:
The State Library of Louisiana is in Baton Rouge.[1]