BATON ROUGE - Enrollment in Louisiana's taxpayer-funded voucher program has dipped a bit this year.

The latest data from the state education department, released Sunday, shows 7,110 students are receiving vouchers from the Louisiana Scholarship Program for the current school year. That's 252 students fewer than last year, when 7,362 were in the program. 

The statewide program began in 2012. It allows students from low- to moderate-income families to apply for government-paid tuition if they would otherwise be assigned to a poorly performing public school - one earning a C, D or an F in state performance rankings. 

Meanwhile, a separate voucher program for special needs students in Caddo, Calcasieu, East Baton Rouge, Jefferson, Lafayette, Orleans and St. Tammany parishes has grown to 342 students, up from 311 students a year earlier.