The school was conceived to offer a unique experience to the state's brightest students while supplying Natchitoches with an influx of commerce and attention.

Classes were originally held on the ground floor of Prudhomme Hall, an unused dormitory on the campus of NSU while female students lived in the upper floor and male students originally lived in Bossier Hall, another dorm.

"[6] In 2017, state Senator Francis C. Thompson of Delhi introduced legislation to name the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts in honor of Jimmy D. Long, who as the chairman for sixteen years of the House Education Committee, was among those instrumental in the establishment of the institution.

After strong support in the state Senate, the renaming legislation passed the House Education Committee despite heated opposition from alumni who object in part to the school having such a lengthy name.

The four-story, 110,000 sf Living Learning Commons was designed by the joint-venture architectural team of Ashe Broussard Weinzettle and Tipton Associates.

In August 2021, students returned to campus for the school year and became the first classes to occupy the Living Learning Commons.

The Hall Commons in each neighborhood is suited for sharing a meal or hanging out, while the glassed-in study lounges maintain quiet for focus.

Whereas a university has relatively little liability to bear when dealing with 18+ year old adults, LSMSA must contend with a student body mainly of minors.

I accept my personal duty to promote an honorable attitude in my academic life by refraining from lying, cheating, stealing, plagiarizing, or vandalizing.