(Baton Rouge – February 5, 2015) A rising movement calling for parents to opt their children out of taking high-stakes tests is just the latest sign of chaos in the Baton Rouge education bureaucracy, and a signal that the state education board must take decisive action and give parents, teachers, and local school districts a sense of direction, according to the Louisiana Federation of Teachers.

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has ranked Louisiana as the second highest of all the states, based on how our state’s charter school law aligns with the organization’s model law. Their rankings reward states for making charter schools less accountable to local voters and taxpayers.

BESE defers expensive teacher retirement study

In a rare move, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education overruled a recommendation by one of its own committees to fund an expensive study of the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana’s Unfunded Accrued Liability.

In a recent editorial, The Advocate noted that the Supreme Court’s reversal of a lower court ruling that Act 1 of 2012 violated the constitutional prohibition on bundling multiple objects into a single bill is troubling.

(Baton Rouge – December 16, 2014) Funding for public education’s Minimum Foundation Program will increase by some $75 million next year if a plan approved by the state’s MFP task Force today is adopted by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Legislature.

“We started an important conversation today about the choices Louisiana must make for the future of our children,” said Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan.

United Teachers of New Orleans President Larry Carter recognized several public school students from their outstanding achievements at the Louisiana Federation of Teachers’ 50th Annual Convention on November 23-25.