News

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Hundreds of new educators join the LFT family.

Each electable BESE seat is subject to election this year, which means you will have a chance to vote for your BESE representative in October. Therefore, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers and the Louisiana Public School Coalition are hosting a series of candidate forums across the state.

And more!

Can you believe summer is almost over? Sometimes it can feel like things never slow down, but as we prepare for the back-to-school season to begin, here are some July highlight

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Yesterday evening the 9-week Louisiana legislative session came to a close. It was a fast-paced term with lots of legislation that had the potential to impact the lives of every day teachers and support staff in Louisiana. Here are the highlights:

Attacks on public education in America by extremists and culture-war peddling politicians have reached new heights (“lows” may be more apt), but they are not new. The difference today is that the attacks are intended not just to undermine public education but to destroy it.

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RAISES FOR TEACHERS AND SUPPORT EMPLOYEES

There are less than two weeks left in the legislative session. It’s down to the wire and yet, the House Education Committee is still working to block passage of the MFP funding plan in every way that they can. They need to hear from you. Call the House Switchboard right now and ask to leave a message for your representative:

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On Wednesday, the Senate passed SCR 3, which is the MFP! This funding plan was unanimously passed by BESE in March and would secure $101 million for pay raises for teachers and support employees and $39 million for local school districts. Securing this funding in the MFP is crucial because it can not be taken away from one year to the next! The Senate vote was nearly unanimous (Senator Appel of Metairie was the only 'no' vote). Click here to send a thank you note to your senator.

On Monday, the House Appropriations Committee approved a $30 billion budget. On Thursday, it passed through the senate floor nearly unanimously. This budget includes a pay increase of $1,200 for teachers and $600 for support staff, which is slightly more than the proposal made by the Governor and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), but contains major problems:

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On Thursday morning, the Senate Committee on Education voted to approve the MFP that was unanimously approved by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) in March. This is the same MFP that the House Education Committee rejected on April 16th: it includes $101 million for raises for teachers and support staff as well as $39 million for local school districts. The resolution was passed out of committee with nearly unanimously support (6 'yes' to 1 'no'), with Senator Conrad Appel as the lone 'no' vote on the committee.