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
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
Here are some of the hot-button education bills the Senate Education Committee is slated to consider today: 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, thereby making […] 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
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
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
Peter Cook