Below are updates on selected education-related bills up for consideration before the 2013 Legislative Session of the Louisiana Legislature: Bill# Bill Description Notes HB115 Provides for parent petitions relative to the transfer of certain schools from the Recovery School District back to the local school system Amended in committee to exclude Type 5 charter schools, […] More
It appears that some of our lawmakers in Baton Rouge have gotten cold feet when it comes to moving forward with the education reform measures many of them voted for only a few years ago. During the 2010 legislative session, lawmakers overwhelmingly passed what became Act 54, the law that authorized the establishment of a […] More
Thus far, the 2013 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature has been a mixed bag for public education. While some anti-reform proposals have been either killed in committee or amended, a number of troubling bills have moved forward with surprisingly little resistance. Among the most concerning are HB 160, which would delay the full implementation of […] More
It seems that while John McDonogh’s leaders were busy preparing for their close-ups on “Blackboard Wars” over the past several months, no one was minding the till. Jessica Williams of The Lens posted a story on Wednesday about a looming budget shortfall at John McDonogh Senior High School that could threaten its ability to make […] More
Here is a link to an RSS feed that will provide updates on the progress of the following education bills before the Louisiana Legislature: Bill # Summary HB115 Provides for parent petitions relative to the transfer of certain schools from the Recovery School District back to the local school system HB160 Delays implementation of certain teacher […] More
I overlooked a number of bills in my earlier post on the subject, so I wanted to highlight a few more state legislators who are sponsoring potentially harmful education legislation in the upcoming session. (Just a reminder: the 2013 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature convenes at noon today – Monday, April 8th)… House Bill […] More
The 2013 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature is set to convene at noon on April 8th and over the past several weeks, lawmakers from across the state were busy filing bills ahead of the March 30th deadline. Below is a selection of some of the worst education bills prefiled by legislators. House Bill 115: Provides […] More
So, let’s get one thing clear right from the start: The decision to allow OWN, Oprah Winfrey’s cable network, to film a reality TV show at John McDonogh Senior High School was stupid, plain and simple. The uproar and resentment caused by “Blackboard Wars” has sullied the reputation of John Mac’s operator, the Future Is Now Schools, and […] More
Jessica Williams of The Lens has a new article out on the dustup over the planned merger of O. Perry Walker and L.B. Landry and the questions it raises about the level of community input in our city’s charter school system. Williams’ article presents a fairly balanced view of the issues and opinions involved in […] More
On Monday, District Court Judge Michael Caldwell declared Act 1 unconstitutional in its entirety, reversing his previous decision in December that upheld three out of four sections of the law. His ruling came as the result of a lawsuit filed by the Louisiana Federation of Teachers (LFT), who argued that Act 1 violated Article III, […] More
Peter Cook