On Wednesday, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal opened a new front in his one-man war on the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Jindal filed a lawsuit [see complaint below] in federal court that accuses the U.S. Department of Education of violating the Tenth Amendment by essentially forcing states to adopt the standards. Yesterday’s lawsuit comes just […] More
This post was originally published on PE+CO: Louisiana Education Legislation Update In one of the most shameless acts of political pandering in recent memory, Governor Bobby Jindal released a statement on Monday calling on legislators to withdrawal from the consortium of states developing the Partnership of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) test. Just two […] More
This post was originally published on PE+CO: Louisiana Education Legislation Update A report in The Advocate this morning has brought to light an effort by the leadership of the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents (LASS) to cut a back-room deal with Tea Party-aligned lawmakers to kill Common Core. Will Sentell writes that LASS has been […] More
This post was originally published on PE+CO: Louisiana Education Legislation Update The 2014 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature officially convened last week and the looming legislative battle over the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is finally expected to erupt at today’s House Education Committee Meeting. CCSS has been the focus of ominous headlines in […] More
A bill pre-filed by State Rep. John Bel Edwards (D-Amite) on Wednesday indicates that he plans to resume his attack on charter schools during the upcoming legislative session. Edwards’ proposed legislation, House Bill 101, would force charter schools to follow the same eligibility and certification guidelines required for staff in traditional public schools. Freedom from […] More
On Wednesday, District Court Judge Michael Caldwell doubled-down on his decision from March of last year and once again declared Act 1 [see full-text below] unconstitutional. In May, the Louisiana Supreme Court vacated Caldwell’s original decision and remanded the case back to the 19th Judicial District Court for reconsideration in light of subsequent case law. […] More
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. […] More
Earlier today, the Senate Education Committee considered House Bill 160, proposed by Rep. Gene Reynolds (D – Dist. 10), which would have delayed the full implementation of Compass, the state’s teacher evaluation system, until the 2014-15 school year. Although Rep. Reynolds stressed to the committee that he was seeking a delay only so that kinks in the system could be ironed out, […] More
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
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
Peter Cook