Louisiana Daycare Holiday Schedule Requirements

One of the first questions enrolled parents will ask is which holidays you close for and whether they still pay tuition during closures. Louisiana does not mandate specific holidays that home daycare providers must observe, but how you handle your holiday schedule directly affects your income, your parent relationships, and your compliance with disclosure requirements.

No State-Mandated Holiday Calendar

Unlike school districts, Family Child Care providers are not required to follow a specific holiday schedule. You set your own closure dates. Most home daycare operators close for the major federal holidays — New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas — but the choice is entirely yours.

What the state does require is transparency. Under Bulletin 139, registered FCC and In-Home providers must notify LDOE of temporary closures lasting more than 5 calendar days. If you close for an extended holiday period — say, a full week at Christmas — you must report that temporary closure to [email protected] in advance.

Permanent closures or closures lasting 30 or more calendar days require notification within 7 calendar days. A long summer break, for example, could trigger this threshold.

Holiday Tuition Policies

The biggest financial decision around holidays is whether to charge tuition for closed days. Most established providers charge full tuition regardless of holiday closures, and here is why: your operating costs — mortgage, insurance, utilities — continue whether children are present or not. Parents are paying for a reserved spot, not per-day attendance.

Spell this out clearly in your enrollment contract. The contract should list every planned closure date for the year and state the tuition policy for those days. No surprises means no disputes.

Some providers offer a reduced rate for weeks with a holiday closure — charging four-fifths of the weekly rate if they close for one day. This is a business decision, not a regulatory one. Either approach is fine as long as it is documented in the contract parents sign.

CCAP and Holiday Closures

If you accept CCAP subsidies, holiday closures affect your attendance-based payments. How a closure affects payment depends on the child's authorization and the program's rules; check the treatment in KinderConnect rather than assuming a closed day is reimbursable.

This is another reason to keep holiday closures minimal and consistent. A closed day can reduce CCAP income for subsidized children, depending on the authorization and program rules. Build your holiday calendar around a realistic balance of personal rest and financial sustainability.

Communicating Your Schedule to Parents

Distribute your annual holiday calendar before the start of each year. Include it in your parent handbook and send a reminder at least two weeks before each closure. Parents who work shifts or non-standard hours need advance notice to arrange backup care.

The Louisiana Home Daycare Licensing Guide includes a planning template for setting your annual operating schedule, including holidays, personal days, and vacation closures, with tuition policy language ready to drop into your enrollment contract.

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