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(Baton Rouge – August 13, 2018) Louisiana spends more than a billion dollars less on education, adjusted for inflation, now than it did prior to the recession of 2008, according to a new study by the American Federation of Teachers. “It has taken our legislature 10 years to finally adopt a budget that is stable and predictable, without playing budget tricks and sweeping funds for one-time money,” said Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Larry Carter. “Now it’s time to address the neglect the situation that bad decisions by the previous administration brought us to.” Read More

The Legislature passed a budget: Now it's up to us to fight for our children, our schools, and our profession! Read More

The war on teacher unions continues: We care. We fight. We show up. Judging by the reaction from Louisiana’s biggest business lobby, you might think that a recent Supreme Court decision about public sector unions will have a major impact in our state. It won’t. But that’s not stopping big business from using the decision to attack the LFT and other unions in our state. Here are the facts. Read More

Legislature steps back from budget cliff! When it all came down to a vote, lawmakers didn’t even need the full 10-day special session to take a step back from the fiscal cliff and compromise on a multi-year budget fix that sets Louisiana on a more stable, reliable course. Read More

Nearly 4,000 teachers respond to LFT surveyLFT will confer with local leaders and partners about next steps (Baton Rouge – May 21, 2018) Large majorities of Louisiana public school teachers favor some type of action to convince the state legislature and local school boards that pay raises are needed, according to a survey of nearly 4,000 teachers released by the Louisiana Federation of Teachers today. Read More

Here is your source of information about the 2018 Legislative Session. See the LFT's goals for the session, catch up on our Weekly Legislative Digest, and check out the list of bills supported and opposed by the Federation. Read More

Governor John Bel Edwards has announced his education agenda for the regular legislative session that opens on Monday, March 12, and ends on June 4. The governor's agenda includes reasonable, fair changes to the teacher tenure process and teacher evaluati Read More

Let’s start with a simple fact: Teachers and school employees haven’t had a state pay raise in years. Our teacher pay is about $2,000 behind the Southern regional average, and the average salary of Louisiana teachers has actually gone down over the past two years. Here’s what can’t happen until we get a state budget that is stable, predictable and fair: Teachers and school employees can’t get a pay raise. We can’t fix our roads and bridges, preserve our coastline, support colleges and universities, or provide other public services that we must have for a decent quality of life in Read More

After a decades-long struggle to get Louisiana teacher salaries to the Southern regional average, a new report shows that our teachers now earn nearly $2,000 less than our peers. Louisiana teacher salaries reached parity with other Southern states in 2007, according to the Southern Regional Education Board. Our average salaries reached a high-water mark in 2012-13, at $51,381. But by 2015-16 (the last year that figures are available) our average salary plunged to $49,745. That year, the Southern average was $50,955 (the national average was $58,363). Read More

Governor John Bel Edwards was the featured speaker at the Louisiana Federation of Teachers' Paraprofessional and School Related Personnel conference, held on February 3, 2018, at the Baton Rouge Crowne Plaza Hotel. This year's conference was held in conjunction with the Federation's annual legislative issues meeting. Read More

Robin Herrin, a member of the Red River United chapter of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, was announced as the recipient of the LFT’s Mother Jones Award at the LFT's annual Paraprofessional and School Related Personnel Conference, held February 3, 2018 at the Baton Rouge Crowne Plaza Hotel. Read More

St. Tammany paraprofessional Karen Hernandez received a Louisiana Federation of Teachers PSRP Scholarship at the Federation's annual Paraprofessional and School Related Personnel Conference, held on February 3, 2018 at the Baton Rouge Crowne Plaza Hotel. Read More

In January, Education Week released its latest comparison of educational achievement among the states, and once again, Louisiana is near the bottom of the list. In fact, we are among the only eight states to score lower than a “C” on the publication’s list. Louisiana earned a D+, ranking us alongside Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Arizona, and Idaho. Only New Mexico and Nevada had lower grades. Read More

BESE ReportDecember, 2017 Public education funding likely to be frozen again State Superintendent of Education John White announced to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education that a funding increase for public education’s Minimum Foundation Program is unlikely in the coming year. Read More

(Shreveport – November 18, 2017) Nine local chapters of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers today received the Union Values in Action Award for improving the lives of members, enhancing the influence of the union and advancing the mission of public education. Read More

(Shreveport – November 19, 2017) State Senator Dan “Blade” Morrish and Representative Sam L. Jenkins were named the Louisiana Federation of Teachers’ Senator and Representative of the Year today at the LFT’s 53 rd annual convention in Shreveport. The lawmakers were honored for their commitment to public education and the teachers and school employees who dedicate their careers to the children of our state. Read More

(Shreveport – November 18, 2017) Jefferson Parish paraprofessional Laura Harper and Caddo Parish teacher Mike Myers today received Pioneer Awards from the Louisiana Federation of Teachers. The award is presented annually to individuals who, over the years, made major contributions to the growth and influence of the LFT. Read More

State Representative Patricia Haynes Smith has been named the Louisiana Federation of Teachers’ Friend of Education for 2017. The Friend of Education Award is the highest honor that the Louisiana Federation of Teachers bestows on non-members of the union. It is presented to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to public education. Read More

John Hunter Berry, an eighth grade student at Caddo Middle Magnet School in Shreveport, is the designer of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers’ 2017 holiday greeting card. John’s teacher is Erin Sitten. Read More

Delegates to the 53 rd annual Louisiana Federation of Teachers convention cheered news of the union’s biggest growth spurt, honored legislators and union leaders for their dedication to public education, were buoyed by keynote addresses from nationally recognized speakers, and were inspired by a best-selling author whose work with disadvantaged children became a popular motion picture. Read More