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Every day, teachers find new and creative ways to keep their students learning. Still, a lot of work goes into preparing an excellent lesson. Teachers need adequate planning time to assess student work, review relevant curriculum, prepare their lesson, draft lesson plans, make copies, find resources for their students to use, and more. For many teachers, their planning time is the only point in the day where they have time to drink some water, eat, or use the restroom.

Tell your legislators how important planning time is to you as an educator. How has the staffing shortage increased your workload? How would adequate planning time make you a more effective teacher? Click here to send an email to your State Representative and State Senator. Tell them how important planning time is to Louisiana educators and students in your own words.

Louisiana's accountability system is outdated. VAM has been driving away teachers and hurting students for too long. It is a failed experiment, and it is long past time that the legislature rectify their mistake and repeal the use of VAM in district accountability and teacher evaluations. Your legislators represent you, their constituents. It is crucial for them to hear from you in your own words.

How has the current accountability system hurt you and your students? Click here to send your legislators a personal letter outlining your experience and asking them to make a change! 

On Tuesday, September 28th the Senate Education Committee is meeting to discuss "Storm Impacts and Recovery of K-12 Schools." They will be meeting with Superintendents from *some* of the school districts impacted by Hurricane Ida, but it's important that your elected senators also hear from teachers and school employees who are working in our schools every day. 

Let them know how Hurricane Ida has impacted you and your students!

Through House Bill 59, the legislature charged BESE to adopt "emergency rules informed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to provide minimum standards, policies, medical exceptions, and regulations to govern the reopening of schools for the 2020-2021 school year to ensure that students, faculty, staff, and others on school property are protected to the extent possible and practical from COVID-19."

These emergency rules will apply to all school districts. Local education authorities will have the ability to go above and beyond the rules set out by BESE, but they can not "adopt a policy, rule, or regulation that imposes a lesser standard." Click here to see BESE's preliminary rules proposal.

What do you want to see in the emergency rules? What do you want BESE to think about when they make these rules? What do you want them to consider?

It's important for the Board to hear from educators, parents and students before making these decisions. SEND THEM AN EMAIL NOW!

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education's State Superintendent Search committee has narrowed the search down to six finalists. It is vital that BESE hears from educators like you before making this important decision. The finalists have all interviewed before BESE and you can read their resume and watch their interview below.

Jessica Baghian     video interview  |  resume and cover letter 
Cade Brumley    video interview  |  resume and cover letter
Lonnie Luce    video interview  |  resume and cover letter
Heather Poole    video interview  |  resume and cover letter
Joe Siedlecki    video

LFT Action Center lets you speak out on important issues with a simple click of a mouse button.

Get weekly legislative digest during the session and regular updates on issues important to teachers and school employees.

Louisiana faces a lot of problems in this legislative session.

But unions that represent the voices of teachers, school employees, firefighters, police officers and other public servants aren't one of them.

Please click here to learn more and send your newspaper a letter opposing schemes to silence the voices of public employees.