(Baton Rouge – October 25, 2012) Private and religious schools that receive state funds through vouchers should be held to accountability standards comparable to public schools, Louisiana Federation of Teachers resident Steve Monaghan said today.

This month’s meeting of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education raised some important questions.

A very reasonable proposal by a BESE member to protect pregnant teachers and active military personnel from potentially unfair evaluations was unnecessarily delayed last Wednesday. Superintendent of Education John White diverted the measure to two different committees and his own staff rather than allow a vote by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Dependant on Value Added Model, even 1% is too much, LFT says

(Baton Rouge – October 8, 2010) With a growing number of reports illustrating the chaos fomented by a new teacher evaluation system, Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan asks school boards to limit the damage by minimizing the effect that the system has on teacher compensation.

LFT attorney Larry Samuel on the new tenure law: This law is a farce.  It is a sham.  It is an insult to every educator in this state. It makes a mockery of fairness. The governor and the legislatures who voted for this bill have demonstrated their intent to do nothing more than to give lip service to treating teachers with dignity. 

(Baton Rouge – September 21, 2012) Concerned about the Jindal administration’s apparent "complete disregard" for the legislature and the separation of powers, Rep. Jerome “Dee” Richard (I-Thibodaux) this week became the second legislator to ask his colleagues to convene in special session. Senator Karen Carter Petersen (D-New Orleans) had already called for a special session over the Jindal administration’s handling of health care issues in the state.

(Baton Rouge – September 6, 2012) A study purporting to support a new teacher evaluation system is the product of a biased, pro-business think tank and should not be taken seriously by education reformers in Louisiana, according to the Louisiana Federation of Teachers.