The Baton Rouge Bottom Line: Reform Marches On

With the final adjournment of the eight-week political marathon that was the 2013 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature yesterday, it’s time to step back and assess the session’s impact our state’s education policies.

First, the good news…

Thankfully, the most regressive education-related bills filed by lawmakers either failed or were rendered harmless through amendment. Among the casualties were proposals that sought to usurp BESE’s authority over school and district accountability measures, textbook selection, and the appointment of the State Superintendent of Education. Moreover, legislative attempts to rollback Louisiana’s adoption of the Common Core State Standards and undermine the autonomy of charter schools were also unsuccessful. Finally, just as the session was drawing to a close, Sen. Mack “Bodi” White’s effort to further balkanize the public school system in East Baton Rouge fell short of the votes it needed for approval in the House, sounding the death knell for this divisive proposal for the second year in a row.

However, it wasn’t all roses in Baton Rouge…

While the 2013 Regular Session did not result in any major defeats for education reform, not all of BESE/LDOE’s initiatives emerged unscathed. The biggest setback of course was the Senate Education Committee’s rejection of BESE’s 2013-14 MFP formula, which sought to establish a more equitable and effective method for allocating special education funding. Because the Louisiana Supreme Court’s May 7th decision declared the 2012-13 MFP plan unconstitutional, the rejection means that BESE must instead revert to the 2011-12 formula for this coming school year, which Superintendent White claims will cost the state $3.5 billion.

And finally, the big takeaway…

We need to be vocal advocates for education reform and hold lawmakers accountable. The biggest threat to emerge this session came not in the form of legislation, but in the equivocation of lawmakers on the very reform measures they once supported. No case better exemplifies this ambivalence than House Bill 160, a proposal that sought to delay the full implementation of the state’s teacher evaluation system. Thanks, in part, to a concerted lobbying/manipulation effort by the state’s two main teachers unions, H.B. 160 moved virtually unimpeded through the House, where it passed unanimously, 102-0 (thankfully, it was D.O.A. in the Senate). Among those casting votes in favor of the bill were dozens of state representatives who, until recently, threw their support behind reforms aimed at improving our public schools.

One lesson to be drawn from the complete volte-face by these lawmakers is not to underestimate the effectiveness of the misinformation campaign being waged by reform opponents, which no doubt had its intended effect on the perceptions of many politicians. While the education reform movement in Louisiana has established a unprecedented track-record of success over the past decade, we cannot rest on our laurels. In response to the steady erosion of their power in recent years, the anti-reform camp has become more vociferous and better coordinated in conveying their distorted message to politicians and the broader public. Reformers can no longer simply roll their eyes and shrug off these attacks; we need to step-up our political engagement and send a clear message to our elected officials that we cannot turn back on the progress we’ve made in public education.