Monaghan tells 48th Annual LFT Convention: Complete overhaul of Jindal agenda is necessary
A complete overhaul of the bogus “education reforms” imposed on public schools last spring will require “the legislative equivalent of a tsunami,” but the Louisiana Federation of Teachers is prepared to take on that challenge in the best interests of professional educators and the children they serve, LFT President Steve Monaghan told convention delegates.
Monaghan’s State of the Union address focused on the assaults that educators have endured over the past year. He spoke about the Federation’s efforts to repeal and replace Governor Jindal’s education agenda. Based on resolutions approved at the convention, he said, LFT will craft a package of legislation aimed at restoring the rights and professional dignity of educators.
Teacher morale has never been lower than in the 11 months since Gov. Jindal addressed the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry last January, Monaghan said. In that speech Jindal bashed teachers as lazy and even compared them to drug dealers and batterers.
That speech set the table for a legislative session in which the most radical education bills ever conceived were rammed through with lightning speed, teachers were silenced and sensible education reforms were tossed out the window.
As more and more flaws emerge in Gov. Jindal’s education program, Monaghan said, the LFT message to lawmakers will be simple and straightforward: “Don’t try to defend the indefensible,” he said.
Another part of the Federation’s effort, he said, included filing lawsuits against Gov. Jindal’s Act 1 – called the “talent act” by the governor, and Act 2 - which Jindal called the “choice act.” (Update: Act 2 was declared unconstitutional by State Judge Tim Kelley on November 30; an LFT suit challenging Act 1 is slated to be heard December 17.)
“We believe the law and the Constitution are clear,” Monaghan said, “and our challenges to these laws rise to the level of a civic responsibility.
Even if the Federation is ultimately successful in its lawsuits against the Jindal administration’s agenda, Monaghan said, the fight will not be over. It will still require enormous energy by the LFT and its members to push for legislation that will correct the flaws of the Jindal plan and put the state on the right path to solid, research-based and teacher-approved reforms.