Common Core bills rejected by committee

Last-minute push by Jindal doesn’t sway members

Two bills aimed at halting the imposition of Common Core standards and the tests than measure them in Louisiana were deferred by the House Education Committee after grueling, hours-long testimony on Wednesday.

HB 381 by Rep. Brett Geymann (R-Lake Charles) would have replaced Common Core with new standards established by a 30-member commission. That body, including representatives from stakeholders like LFT and parent organizations, would write a set of stands which would then have to be approved by the legislature.

LFT President Steve Monaghan spoke in favor of the bill, saying that the standards debate is important because of the botched implementation of Common Core by the state Department of Education.

When Common Core was first proposed in 2010, he said, there was little discussion and no effort to explain Common Core in public forums. Instead, the focus was on passing an unpopular and controversial new teacher evaluation system.

“The subject is toxic,” he said, “but we’ll never know if it had to be. The public and educators were left out.”

In a surprising turn of events, Gov. Bobby Jindal – who in the past had been a supporter of Common Core – had his staff signal that he supported Rep. Geymann’s bill. That put the governor into what appeared to be an unlikely alliance with the LFT, other unions and school boards. At the same time, the governor’s traditional allies – the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, the Council for a Better Louisiana, Stand for Children and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education – all opposed HB 381. It even put the governor at odds with his hand-picked Superintendent of Education, John White, who vigorously defended Common Core.

Observers cautioned against making too much of the governor’s stance. He was not in the state during the debate, and no one from the administration spoke to the issue. Lawmakers who have been in lockstep with the governor on most issues voted against the bill. It did not seem that Jindal made its passage a very high priority.

Testimony on the bill began at 9:00 AM, and was suspended when the House came into session at 2:00 PM. The committee reconvened after adjournment, and continued for several more hours before the vote. Interestingly, opponents of the bill were given virtually unlimited time to speak against it, while supporters were limited to two minutes apiece.

HB 381 was involuntarily deferred after only seven members of the committee voted for it, while 12 opposed.

The next bill to be heard was HB 558 by Rep. Cameron Henry (R-Metairie), which would have suspended the PARCC test and converted it to a pilot program. That bill failed by the same 7-12 vote as HB 381.

Several other bills that would have affected Common Core and PARCC were voluntarily deferred by the authors.

Bill would expand tuition tax rebates

A House committee further expanded the state’s promotion of private education over public schools by approving HB 780 by Rep. Kirk Talbot )R-River Ridge).

The bill expands tax rebates for donations to private school tuition funds. It makes the children of any parents who claim they are unsafe in a public school eligible for tuition assistance from the donated funds.

The bill was approved by the House Ways and Means Committee on a 13-4 vote, and moves to the House floor for further action.

Senate approves voucher school transparency

Acting on a complaint from the legislative auditor’s office that it is difficult to determine how schools that accept vouchers account for the funds, the senate approved providing more oversight to the controversial program.

SB 460 by Sen. Robert Adley (R Benton) would require schools that accept state vouchers to maintain the public funds in a separate account. The bill passed the Senate by 35-0.

Election of BESE members deferred

A bill that would require the election of all members of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education was voluntarily deferred by its author.

Currently, eight of the 11 BESE members are elected from districts, while three are appointed by the governor. HB 374 by Rep. Brett Geymann (R-Lake Charles) would make all positions elected. The bill is supported by the LFT.

Retirement COLA bills proceed

Cost of living adjustments for retired teachers and school employees cleared hurdles when the Senate Finance Committee and the full Senate approved SB 19 and SB 21, both by Sen. Elbert Guillory (R-Opelousas). The COLAs will be paid out of the retirement systems’ experience accounts. They will be sent to the House Retirement Committee for further action.

The bills are part of a package granting COLAs to all four state retirement system members, and all must be approved in order for any retirees to get the increase. Final approval will require a two-thirds majority vote by the House of Representatives.

The Senate amended the bills, linking the 1.5% increase to a House measure that would limit future increases in order to reduce the systems’ unfunded accrued liabilities. The House bill is HB 1225 by Rep. Joel Robideaux (R-Lafayette); it has not yet been scheduled for a hearing by the House Retirement Committee.

Return to work bills deferred

Two bills that would have allowed certain education employees to return to work without sacrificing retirement benefits were voluntarily deferred by their authors.

SB 29 by Sen. Mike Walsworth (R-West Monroe) would allow diagnosticians and reading specialists to return to work without forfeiting their pension during reemployment.

SB 555 by Sen. Blade Morrish (R-Jennings) would have allowed all retirees age 65 and older to return to work without suspension of benefits.

Both bills had high actuarial costs which would jeopardize their passage, which spurred their voluntary deferral in the Senate Retirement Committee

Transparency bill sails through committee

Backed by a nearly unprecedented alliance, an LFT-sponsored bill aimed at making government more transparent to the public sailed easily through a hearing of the House and Governmental Affairs Committee.

HB 322 by Rep. Sam Jones (D-Franklin) would require all rulemaking bodies in the state – including the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education – to make their procedures much more open to the public.

Each agency would have to publish a rulemaking docket that notifies the public which rules are being created and where they are in the process.

Rules that are promulgated by state agencies have the force of law, but citizens are often at a loss when they try to get information as the rules move toward adoption. HB 322 would make it much easier for citizens to follow the progress of proposed rules and have an impact on their adoption.

The bill was approved without objection and sent to the full House for a vote. It had the support of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, physicians, the American Association of Retired Persons and the AFL-CIO.

House okays career diploma track

A bill approving a career diploma track for students who do not intend to go to college was unanimously approved by the House of Representatives.

HB 944 by Rep. Jim Fannin (R-Jonesboro) was amended to require all career diploma students to take the ACT. If the students also opt to take the “workers” assessment, their schools’ performance scores will be calculated based on the higher of the two scores. LT will continue to monitor the bill as it moves to the Senate.

Medicaid expansion bill temporarily stalls

Four instruments intended to expand Medicaid in the state and bring in some $15 billion to provide health care for moderate-income citizens were voluntarily deferred in the House Health and Welfare Committee.

HCR 1 by Rep. John Bel Edwards (D-Amite), HB 174 by Rep. Jared Brossett (D-New Orleans), HB 759 by Rep. Barbara Norton (D-Shreveport) and HB 261 by Rep. Herbert Dixon (D-Alexandria) would provide coverage for those who aren’t eligible for an Affordable Care Act subsidy, but are also too poor to afford health insurance on their own.

These instruments will be heard later this session, in conjunction with an event at the Capitol focusing on Medicaid expansion.

The week ahead

Monday, April 7

House Appropriations Committee:

The Higher Education budget is on the agenda.

HB587 by Rep. Thomas Carmody (R-Shreveport) is a Constitutional Amendment that would change the protections that the Minimum Foundation Program and some other funds have against budget cuts. It would no longer require the MFP to “fully fund” the cost of public education in Louisiana. Currently, higher education and health care bear the brunt of budget cuts because, unlike the MFP, their budgets do not have either statutory or constitutional protection.

Tuesday, April 8

House Appropriation Committee:

The budgets of the Louisiana Department of Education and Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will be on the agenda.

House Civil Law Committee:

HB 181 by Rep Randal Gaines (D-LaPlace) and Sen. Bob Kostelka (R-Monroe) will be debated. It would prevent appointed officials from falsely certifying that the grant of an injunction would create a deficit, so that plaintiffs who sue the state can have better access to justice. The bill is part of the LFT legislative agenda.

Thursday, April 10

House Labor and Industrial relations Committee:

A number of bills aimed at raising the state’s minimum wage, including HB 356 by Rep. Herbert Dixon (D-Alexandria), HB 382 by Rep. Jared Brossett (D-New Orleans), HB589 by Rep. Dixon and several others will be heard. Another series of bills by Rep. Marcus Hunter (D-Monroe) will address possible autonomy of local municipalities to set their own minimum wage.

House Retirement Committee:

Committee Chair Rep. Kevin Pearson (R-Slidell) will bring back his HB38, which changes the retirement age to 62 for members of the state retirement system. The last time this was heard in committee, Rep. Pearson attempted an amendment to also sweep the funds in the experience accounts of the state systems after COLA is paid. Those funds would be dedicated to the Unfunded Accrued Liability of the system.

LFT opposes the bill because it would use investment earnings to pay system debts that exist because the state failed to pay enough money into the system.

When the bill was heard earlier in the session, it was rejected but not involuntarily deferred by the committee. One new member has been added to the panel, giving Rep. Pearson reason to believe he can now move the bill forward.

HB 45 by Rep. Alan Seabaugh (R-Shreveport) would remove eligibility in TRSL for future hires of LFT, LAE and a few other educator groups. LFT opposes this bill. It is similar, but not identical, to HB25 by Rep. Kirk Talbot (R-River Ridge) which has already been approved by this Committee and awaits passage on the House Floor.

Data protection bill approved by committee

Efforts to protect student data from improper access moved ahead when the House Education Committee approved HB 1076 by Rep. John Schroder (R-Covington). The bill is a substitute for Rep. Schroder’s HB 946, the subject of emotional testimony in a March 12 hearing that ended with the voluntary deferral of the bill and a pledge to find a compromise version.
Supporters of the bill argued that the State Department of Education has improperly released individually identifiable student information to various vendors, and that the data has been shared without the knowledge and consent of parents. Third parties, they said, can easily access personal information about public school students. Opponents said that passage of the bill could prohibit collecting information that the federal government requires. That could jeopardize hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for schools. There was also concern that the bill could stop the collection of data used to determine TOPS awards and other financial aid for college-bound students.

In an effort to satisfy both sides, the new version limits access to student data and requires the Department of Education to create a system of identification numbers for public school students instead of using social security numbers. The bill provides for penalties including fines and imprisonment for violations.

LFT supports the bill, which was recommended favorably without objection.

Three similar bills have been voluntarily deferred, but remain on the calendar in case the need arises.

Senate panel approves COLAs for retirees

About 100,000 retired public servants, including teachers and school employees, are closer to receiving a cost of living adjustment to their retirement benefits.

The Senate Retirement Committee approved a package of bills aimed at funding COLAs from the experience accounts of retirement systems for teachers, school employees, state employees and state police. The increases amount to a bit less than $30 per month for each retiree.

The bills, SB 16, SB 18, SB 19 and SB 21, are all authored by the chair of the Senate Retirement Committee, Sen. Elbert Guillory (R-Opelousas). Because of the way Sen. Guillory linked the fates of the four bills, all of them must pass in order for any of the retirees to get a COLA.

The bills must pass by a two-thirds majority vote in both houses of the legislature and be signed by Gov. Jindal before the COLAs go into effect.

Substitute wage bill wins approval

The House Education Committee gave unanimous approve to an LFT-sponsored bill that allows school employees to be paid the full rate of a substitute teacher when they are asked to sub or to take on other duties outside their scope of their job description.

HB 242 by Rep. James Armes also requires local school systems to establish a uniform way for employees to report when they serve as substitutes.

LFT Legislative Director Mary-Patricia Wray testified on behalf of the bill, saying that it is only fair to pay employees for the extra work they are asked to do. The bill will be heard on the House floor.

Truth and transparency bill temporarily stalls

A bill aimed at making sure that appointed officials tell the truth in affidavits stalled this week when it was voluntarily deferred in the House Civil Law Committee.

HB 181 by Rep. Randal Gaines (D-LaPlace) and Sen. Bob Kostelka (R-Monroe) would prevent appointed officials from falsely certifying that the grant of an injunction would create a deficit, so that plaintiffs who sue the state can have better access to justice.

The issue was raised in 2012 when the LFT filed suit to overturn Act 2 of 2012, which created Gov. Jindal’s voucher scheme. LFT asked the court to enjoin the state from funding vouchers through the Minimum Foundation Program while a final decision was awaited from the Supreme Court. But because administration officials claimed that enjoining the voucher scheme would create a budget deficit, the judge was powerless to enjoin the program.

Under current law, the truthfulness of an affidavit like the one produced in 2012 cannot be questioned. HB 181 would allow courts to decide if an affidavit is factual.

The bill was voluntarily deferred to work out some amendments.

School district secession bill proceeds

A bill aimed at making it easier for school districts to fracture passed the Senate Education Committee without objection. SB 354 by Sen. Bodi White is a proposed constitutional amendment inspired by thus far unsuccessful efforts to create a new school district in southeastern East Baton Rouge Parish.

Under current law, several conditions must be met before a section of a school district is allowed to secede. A new district must be defined by constitutional amendment, which requires a two-thirds vote of both houses of the legislature and approval by a majority of the voters in the state.

In addition, the constitution has usually been interpreted to mean that a new school district must be inside a defined political subdivision such as a city or parish. A petition drive is now underway to create a new city in southeastern East Baton Rouge Parish.

Sen. White’s proposal would amend the constitution to say that any system created by the legislature would be eligible to receive public education funds.

LFT opposes the bill because creation of new school systems has a negative effect on funding for districts across the state.

The bill now moves to the Senate floor for action.

Panel rejects tenure reform bill

A proposal to loosen the restrictions placed on teacher tenure by Act 1 or 2012 stalled when no members of the Senate Education Committee would move to either approve or defer the bill.

Under Act 1, teachers must be rated “highly effective” for five out of six years in order to earn tenure, and those who have tenure automatically lose it if they are rated “ineffective” even once.

SB 94 by Sen. Rick Gallot (D-Ruston) would grant tenure to teachers who are rated highly effective for three consecutive years, and revoke it for teachers rated “ineffective” for two consecutive years.

In the 2024-25 school year, when new education accountability standards are completely phased in, the law would revert to the Act 1 of 2012 rule.

LFT President Steve Monaghan said the bill is a “modest proposal” that should help teachers who are already stressed by the confusion caused by the imposition of new standards.

“Constant change has disrupted faith in the system itself,” Monaghan said.

The only testimony against the bill came from a spokesperson for the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry. When Committee Chair Sen. Conrad Appel (R-Metairie) asked for a motion on the bill, there was no response from the panel.

Dues deduction for engineers approved, and why it’s important

The House Appropriations Committee approved without objection a bill allowing professional engineers employed by the state to pay their Louisiana Engineering Society dues by payroll deduction.

Why is HB 137 by Rep. Kenneth Havard (R-Jackson) being reported in the LFT’s Weekly Legislative Digest? Because this week yet another bill, HB 1059 by Rep. Kirk Talbot (R-River Ridge) was introduced that would prohibit the LFT and other public sector unions from collecting dues via payroll deduction.

That brings to four the total number of bills aimed at making it difficult for unions to collect the dues that finance their operations. If HB 137 is adopted, it would be further proof that some lawmakers want to single out unions for unfair treatment, while allowing payroll deductions for various other purposes.

Bills that expand tax credits are deferred

Two bills that would expand tax credits and help abandon public education were voluntarily deferred by their author in the House Education Committee.

HB 779 and HB 780 by Rep. Kirk Talbot (R-River Ridge) would have expanded tax rebates for contributions to nonpublic schools and given rebates for donations to cover the tuition of students whose parents believe they are “unsafe” in public school.

LFT opposed these bills because they encourage the abandonment of public schools and do nothing to help make public schools better funded and more successful.

Senate passes textbook adoption bill

A bill that sets new rules for textbook adoption was passed by the Senate and sent to the House for further action.

SB 336 by Sen. Conrad Appel (R-Metairie) establishes an online review process for new textbooks, but leaves most of the decisions about who will review the materials up to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

LFT opposes the bill because it differs from the recommendations made by a textbook task force in which the Federation participated.

The bill does not establish a cycle for the purchase of textbooks, doesn’t provide for a textbook depository to ensure that school systems get the benefit of volume purchases, and gives BESE wide latitude over selecting the stakeholders who will be involved in the review.

In a related issue, the House Education Committee approved HB 690 by Rep. Chris Broadwater (R-Hammond), which would allow school districts to set up cooperatives to buy instructional materials at a group rate. LFT supports this bill.

Sick leave bill progresses; LFT questions unintended consequences

After winning approval by the Senate Education Committee, a bill that could affect the benefits allowed to teachers who are assaulted on the job was adopted by the full Senate and sent to the House side for further action.

SB 172 by Sen. Page Cortez (R-Lafayette) has several sections that could reduce benefits for teachers on long term leave after being assaulted or otherwise injured on the job (contact the MKH law firm for further consultation on the subject). 

LFT opposed the bill in committee. The Federation is waiting to see if it is amended to prevent unintended consequences that could mean teachers who are injured on the job do not have the choice to use all of their sick leave before using workers’ compensation benefits, which are lower than full salary.

House blocks bill barring union employees from retirement system

A second bill that would prevent future employees of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers and three other organizations from participating in the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana was blocked in the House of Representatives.

HB 45 by Rep. Alan Seabaugh (R-Shreveport) is similar to another bill, HB 25 by Rep. Kirk Talbot, which was approved by the House Retirement Committee earlier in the session and sent to the House for a vote.

Because Rep. Seabaugh requested a hearing for his bill less than 24 hours prior to a retirement committee meeting, it required a two-thirds vote in the House to suspend the rules. A largely party-line vote, in which most Democrats voted “no,” denied Rep. Seabaugh the opportunity to hear his bill in committee.

House panel defers bills

The House and Governmental Affairs Committee voluntarily deferred two bills that had been endorsed by LFT.

HB 424 by Rep. Ledricka Thierry (D-Opelousas) would authorize the legislative auditor to conduct audits of schools that accept vouchers. The auditor already conducts such audits, but this bill would have explicitly authorized the practice.

HB 92 by Rep. Marcus Hunter (D-Monroe) is a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow municipalities to adopt their own minimum wage practices.

Report: BESE did not approve the MFP sent to legislature

The version of the proposed Minimum Foundation Program formula sent to the State Legislature by the Department of Education is different from the one adopted by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, according to a report in a Monroe newspaper.

The revelation makes it more difficult to predict whether lawmakers, already at odds with BESE over the funding formula, will approve it later in the session.

Monroe News-Star reporter Barbara Leader wrote that BESE Executive Director Heather Cope informed members of the board that changes were made to the document they approved on March 13.

In the article, Superintendent of Education John White contends that he has the authority to make technical changes to the MFP after it is approved by the board. 

Cope’s message to members says, “The board will be asked to approve the technical edit…when the official minutes are brought to the board for approval at its April meeting.”

Board member Lottie Beebe told the News-Star that she is very concerned about the department “sending something to the Legislature that has not been approved by BESE.”

As reported in last week’s Legislative Digest, the adoption of the MFP was marked by confusion. At one point, BESE President Chas Roemer recessed the meeting to meet with staff and write new language for the MFP to satisfy concerns of members and stakeholders. A hastily written addition suggested that the legislature will be allowed to pump more money into the formula provided that funds are identified and that lawmakers refrain from changing educational standards and accountability.

Big business goes on the offensive:
Washington, D.C. lobbyists try to silence Louisiana public servants

Once again, some Louisiana lawmakers have introduced bills that would prohibit public employees from paying their professional organization dues through payroll deduction.

Similar bills were introduced in the past two sessions; none of them advanced past the committee level.

The bills are part of a nationwide campaign by big business to silence the voices of union members. In states like Wisconsin, the attack on public sector unions led to ugly disruptions and strife that gained nationwide publicity.

In Louisiana, three bills have been introduced that would prohibit the payroll deduction of union dues for public employees. HB 172 by Rep. Kirk Talbot (R-River Ridge) and HB 451 by Rep. Alan Seabaugh (R-Shreveport) are expected to be heard by the House Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations, and SB 440 by Rep. Danny Martiny (R-Metairie) is slated for a Senate Finance Committee hearing.

A Washington, D.C. big business lobby, the National Right to Work Committee, has already sent members of the House a letter supporting efforts to silence public employees. The letter, which is rife with factual errors, claims that the payroll deduction of dues is “a foot in the door to force compulsory unionism on all of Louisiana’s government employees.”

That is, of course, a lie. Louisiana is a right-to-work state. Membership in unions is completely voluntary, and there is nothing on the horizon to suggest that it will change.

In a floor letter to representatives, LFT President Steve Monaghan wrote that payroll deduction is a service that is “available to credit unions, insurance companies and numbers of other vendors as well as associations and union. It is and has been a part of the payroll systems already in use by municipal, parish and state government offices. 

“In fact, payroll deduction is a service that has been available to employees for decades. Despite NRWC’s dire insinuations and warnings, never in all that time has “compulsory unionism” been an issue raised by anyone.”

The complete text of the LFT floor note is here.

Panel: Retirement contribution rates to remain level

School boards and other employers breathed a sigh of relief when the Public Retirement Systems’ Actuarial Committee decided against raising the employers’ share of contributions to the Teachers’ and State Employees’ retirement systems.

Leaders had been braced for an increase of as much as four percent, based on estimates from the state Legislative Auditor’s Office – a hike that would have cost local school boards as much as $100 million.

Instead, PRSAC accepted an analysis from the retirement systems’ own experts, who were more optimistic about the expected earnings from system investments.

PRSAC is required to determine what contributions to the retirement systems must be in order to comply with the law.

Retirement panel takes a slap at union employees

A bill approved by the House Retirement Committee on Thursday is aimed at discouraging members of the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana from working for the Louisiana Federation of Teachers and other unions and advocacy groups.

Under current law, teachers who work for LFT, LAE and others retain their membership in the retirement system. That is a longstanding courtesy for retirement system employees who go to work for an education-related organization like LFT.

HB 25 by Rep. Kirk Talbot (R-River Ridge) says that future employees of LFT, LAE, A+PEL and the Louisiana Resource Center for Educators cannot become members of TRSL, and cannot remain members if they are already in the system.

The committee voted 6—3 to approve the bill. LFT Legislative Director Mary-Patricia Wray said the bill is punitive. “It’s aimed at making people not want to come to work for these organizations,” she said.

Louisiana Federation of Teachers

Weekly Legislative Digest

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Check out all things legislative on the LFT’s Legislative Resource Page!

Data protection bill approved by committee

Efforts to protect student data from improper access moved ahead when the House Education Committee approved HB 1076 by Rep. John Schroder (R-Covington). The bill is a substitute for Rep. Schroder’s HB 946, the subject of emotional testimony in a March 12 hearing that ended with the voluntary deferral of the bill and a pledge to find a compromise version.

Supporters of the bill argued that the State Department of Education has improperly released individually identifiable student information to various vendors, and that the data has been shared without the knowledge and consent of parents. Third parties, they said, can easily access personal information about public school students.

Opponents said that passage of the bill could prohibit collecting information that the federal government requires. That could jeopardize hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for schools. There was also concern that the bill could stop the collection of data used to determine TOPS awards and other financial aid for college-bound students.

In an effort to satisfy both sides, the new version limits access to student data and requires the Department of Education to create a system of identification numbers for public school students instead of using social security numbers. The bill provides for penalties including fines and imprisonment for violations.

LFT supports the bill, which was recommended favorably without objection.

Three similar bills have been voluntarily deferred, but remain on the calendar in case the need arises.

Senate panel approves COLAs for retirees

About 100,000 retired public servants, including teachers and school employees, are closer to receiving a cost of living adjustment to their retirement benefits.

The Senate Retirement Committee approved a package of bills aimed at funding COLAs from the experience accounts of retirement systems for teachers, school employees, state employees and state police. The increases amount to a bit less than $30 per month for each retiree.

The bills, SB 16, SB 18, SB 19 and SB 21, are all authored by the chair of the Senate Retirement Committee, Sen. Elbert Guillory (R-Opelousas). Because of the way Sen. Guillory linked the fates of the four bills, all of them must pass in order for any of the retirees to get a COLA.

The bills must pass by a two-thirds majority vote in both houses of the legislature and be signed by Gov. Jindal before the COLAs go into effect.

Substitute wage bill wins approval

The House Education Committee gave unanimous approve to an LFT-sponsored bill that allows school employees to be paid the full rate of a substitute teacher when they are asked to sub or to take on other duties outside their scope of their job description.

HB 242 by Rep. James Armes also requires local school systems to establish a uniform way for employees to report when they serve as substitutes.

LFT Legislative Director Mary-Patricia Wray testified on behalf of the bill, saying that it is only fair to pay employees for the extra work they are asked to do. The bill will be heard on the House floor.

Truth and transparency bill temporarily stalls

A bill aimed at making sure that appointed officials tell the truth in affidavits stalled this week when it was voluntarily deferred in the House Civil Law Committee.

HB 181 by Rep. Randal Gaines (D-LaPlace) and Sen. Bob Kostelka (R-Monroe) would prevent appointed officials from falsely certifying that the grant of an injunction would create a deficit, so that plaintiffs who sue the state can have better access to justice.

The issue was raised in 2012 when the LFT filed suit to overturn Act 2 of 2012, which created Gov. Jindal’s voucher scheme. LFT asked the court to enjoin the state from funding vouchers through the Minimum Foundation Program while a final decision was awaited from the Supreme Court. But because administration officials claimed that enjoining the voucher scheme would create a budget deficit, the judge was powerless to enjoin the program.

Under current law, the truthfulness of an affidavit like the one produced in 2012 cannot be questioned. HB 181 would allow courts to decide if an affidavit is factual.

The bill was voluntarily deferred to work out some amendments.

School district secession bill proceeds

A bill aimed at making it easier for school districts to fracture passed the Senate Education Committee without objection. SB 354 by Sen. Bodi White is a proposed constitutional amendment inspired by thus far unsuccessful efforts to create a new school district in southeastern East Baton Rouge Parish.

Under current law, several conditions must be met before a section of a school district is allowed to secede. A new district must be defined by constitutional amendment, which requires a two-thirds vote of both houses of the legislature and approval by a majority of the voters in the state.

In addition, the constitution has usually been interpreted to mean that a new school district must be inside a defined political subdivision such as a city or parish. A petition drive is now underway to create a new city in southeastern East Baton Rouge Parish.

Sen. White’s proposal would amend the constitution to say that any system created by the legislature would be eligible to receive public education funds.

LFT opposes the bill because creation of new school systems has a negative effect on funding for districts across the state.

The bill now moves to the Senate floor for action.

Panel rejects tenure reform bill

A proposal to loosen the restrictions placed on teacher tenure by Act 1 or 2012 stalled when no members of the Senate Education Committee would move to either approve or defer the bill.

Under Act 1, teachers must be rated “highly effective” for five out of six years in order to earn tenure, and those who have tenure automatically lose it if they are rated “ineffective” even once.

SB 94 by Sen. Rick Gallot (D-Ruston) would grant tenure to teachers who are rated highly effective for three consecutive years, and revoke it for teachers rated “ineffective” for two consecutive years.

In the 2024-25 school year, when new education accountability standards are completely phased in, the law would revert to the Act 1 of 2012 rule.

LFT President Steve Monaghan said the bill is a “modest proposal” that should help teachers who are already stressed by the confusion caused by the imposition of new standards.

“Constant change has disrupted faith in the system itself,” Monaghan said.

The only testimony against the bill came from a spokesperson for the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry. When Committee Chair Sen. Conrad Appel (R-Metairie) asked for a motion on the bill, there was no response from the panel.

Dues deduction for engineers approved, and why it’s important

The House Appropriations Committee approved without objection a bill allowing professional engineers employed by the state to pay their Louisiana Engineering Society dues by payroll deduction.

Why is HB 137 by Rep. Kenneth Havard (R-Jackson) being reported in the LFT’s Weekly Legislative Digest? Because this week yet another bill, HB 1059 by Rep. Kirk Talbot (R-River Ridge) was introduced that would prohibit the LFT and other public sector unions from collecting dues via payroll deduction.

That brings to four the total number of bills aimed at making it difficult for unions to collect the dues that finance their operations. If HB 137 is adopted, it would be further proof that some lawmakers want to single out unions for unfair treatment, while allowing payroll deductions for various other purposes.

Jindal budget raises funding for technical and community colleges

Community and technical colleges will see a $6.1 million increase in funding under the higher education budget proposed by the Jindal administration, the Senate Finance Committee was told this week.

According to Commissioner of Administration Kristi Nichols, the money will be directed toward schools with a rapid growth rate. Nichols specifically mentioned Baton Rouge Community College, Delgado Community College and Bossier Parish Community College as recipients of the funds. It should help the schools’ ability to compete for a share of some $40 million that the governor had previously earmarked for schools that offer courses aligned with the state’s workforce needs.

That $40 million is not new funding; it supplants an appropriation for operations and maintenance that is in the current year’s budget.

All told, the governor has proposed a higher education funding increase amounting to $142 million for next year, finally reversing a five-year trend of annual budget cuts.

But that figure can be deceiving. About $88 million of the increase will come from tuition increases. According to a report from the Louisiana Budget Project, that means the actual increase of state funds to higher education’s $2.6 billion budget is just $14 million.

Click here to see the Louisiana Budget Project’s analysis of the higher education budget.

Unconstitutional creationism bill to remain on the books

A bill to repeal a law requiring the teaching of creationism in Louisiana science classes was overwhelmingly rejected by the Senate. That law, the Creation Science and Evolution Science Education Act, was declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1987.

The repeal bill, SB 70 by Sen. Dan Claitor (R-Baton Rouge) had been forwarded to the Senate without any recommendation and after little debate by the Senate Education Committee.

Why would lawmakers retain a law that has been declared unconstitutional by the highest court in the land? Supporters of creationism as science are hopeful that the Supreme Court may one day change its ruling, and want to have a law already enacted to promote creationism in Louisiana schools.

Bills that expand tax credits are deferred

Two bills that would expand tax credits and help abandon public education were voluntarily deferred by their author in the House Education Committee.

HB 779 and HB 780 by Rep. Kirk Talbot (R-River Ridge) would have expanded tax rebates for contributions to nonpublic schools and given rebates for donations to cover the tuition of students whose parents believe they are “unsafe” in public school.

LFT opposed these bills because they encourage the abandonment of public schools and do nothing to help make public schools better funded and more successful.

Senate passes textbook adoption bill

A bill that sets new rules for textbook adoption was passed by the Senate and sent to the House for further action.

SB 336 by Sen. Conrad Appel (R-Metairie) establishes an online review process for new textbooks, but leaves most of the decisions about who will review the materials up to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

LFT opposes the bill because it differs from the recommendations made by a textbook task force in which the Federation participated.

The bill does not establish a cycle for the purchase of textbooks, doesn’t provide for a textbook depository to ensure that school systems get the benefit of volume purchases, and gives BESE wide latitude over selecting the stakeholders who will be involved in the review.

In a related issue, the House Education Committee approved HB 690 by Rep. Chris Broadwater (R-Hammond), which would allow school districts to set up cooperatives to buy instructional materials at a group rate. LFT supports this bill.

Sick leave bill progresses; LFT questions unintended consequences

After winning approval by the Senate Education Committee, bill that could affect the benefits allowed to teachers who are assaulted on the job was adopted by the full Senate and sent to the House side for further action.

SB 172 by Sen. Page Cortez (R-Lafayette) has several sections that could reduce benefits for teachers on long term leave after being assaulted or otherwise injured on the job.

LFT opposed the bill in committee. The Federation is waiting to see if it is amended to prevent unintended consequences that could mean teachers who are injured on the job do not have the choice to use all of their sick leave before using workers’ compensation benefits, which are lower than full salary.

House blocks bill barring union employees from retirement system

A second bill that would prevent future employees of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers and three other organizations from participating in the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana was blocked in the House of Representatives.

HB 45 by Rep. Alan Seabaugh (R-Shreveport) is similar to another bill, HB 25 by Rep. Kirk Talbot, which was approved by the House Retirement Committee earlier in the session and sent to the House for a vote.

Because Rep. Seabaugh requested a hearing for his bill less than 24 hours prior to a retirement committee meeting, it required a two-thirds vote in the House to suspend the rules. A largely party-line vote, in which most Democrats voted “no,” denied Rep. Seabaugh the opportunity to hear his bill in committee.

Higher Ed retirement bill advances

Higher education faculty members of the Teachers’ Retirement System’s optional retirement plan will get an increase in the employer’s share of contributions if HB 6 by Rep. Kevin Pearson (R-Slidell) continues its progress.

Over a four-year phase-in, the bill will increase the employer’s share from 5.5% to 6.2%, which is still lower than the 6.8% contributed by many other schools across the country.

The bill was approved without objection after being amended, and will proceed to the House floor.

Share My Lesson reaches milestone, offers free lesson plans

Share My Lesson has reached a milestone of 300,000 user-generated online lesson plans and other classroom resources. It is now the largest digital collection of free materials for educators, paraprofessionals, parents and community organizations. The joint venture between the American Federation of Teachers and TES Connect, which launched in June 2012, has a community of more than 480,000 registered users.

Just recently, Share My Lesson posted “Care Packages,” making it easier than ever for users to find the most applicable resources for their classroom. The virtual Care Package is specified by grade or subject and features relevant Common Core-aligned resources for each category.

Share My Lesson allows educators to collaborate with each other through the sharing of teaching and learning best practices. Resources are easily accessible and quality checked through a peer-review process.

House panel defers bills

The House and Governmental Affairs Committee voluntarily deferred two bills that had been endorsed by LFT.

HB 424 by Rep. Ledricka Thierry (D-Opelousas) would authorize the legislative auditor to conduct audits of schools that accept vouchers. The auditor already conducts such audits, but this bill would have explicitly authorized the practice.

HB 92 by Rep. Marcus Hunter (D-Monroe) is a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow municipalities to adopt their own minimum wage practices.

 

The week ahead

Monday, March 31

House Ways and Means Committee:

HB 780 by Kirk Talbot 9R-river Ridge) expands the now uncapped tax rebates for donations to private schools, by allowing for eligibility of any student whose parents deem them to be unsafe in a public school. LFT opposes this bill.

Senate Finance Committee:

SB 19 and SB 21 by Sen. Elbert Guillory (R-Opelousas), which grant COLAs to retired members of the Louisiana School Employees Retirement System and the Teachers Retirement System, will be considered. These bills have already passed out of Senate Retirement and are fully funded with investment earnings from the Experience Accounts of both systems. LFT supports these bills.

Senate Retirement Committee:

SB 29 by Mike Walsworth (R-West Monroe) would allow diagnosticians and reading specialist to return to work without forfeiting their pension during reemployment. LFT supports this bill, and acknowledges the significant actuarial cost that would be created by its passage.

SB 555 by Blade Morrish (R-Jennings) allows all retirees 65 and older to return to work without suspending their benefits. LFT supports this bill, but its actuarial cost makes it unlikely to be adopted.

Wednesday, April 2

House Education Committee:

A whole package of bills aimed at the Common Core Curriculum will be considered by the committee. HB381 by Brett Geymann (R-Lake Charles) would create a commission, of which LFT would be a member, to design new state-based content standards. Of all the “common core opt out” bills, this one is closest for a plan to replace those standards with new ones. For that reason, LFT supports this bill.

Also being heard this week in House Education are HB 558 by Rep. Cameron Henry (R-Metairie), HB 996 by John Schroder (R-Covington) and HB 163 by Henry Burns (R-Mandeville). All of those prohibit the implementation of PARCC tests, and require use of LEAP tests instead. HB 988 by Rep. Schroder allows local school districts to develop and implement their own curriculum content. HB 1054 by Rep. Jerome “Dee” Richard (No party- Thibodaux) would require all public and voucher school teachers to take Common Core Aligned assessments themselves before administering them to students.

House Health and Welfare Committee:

HCR 1 by Rep. John Bel Edwards (D-Amite), HB 174 by Jared Brossett (D-New Orleans), HB 759 by Rep. Barbara Norton (D-Shreveport), and HB 261 by Rep. Herbert Dixon (D-Alexandria) would all expand Medicaid to provide health coverage for those who aren’t eligible for a subsidy under the Affordable Care Act, but are also too poor to afford health insurance on their own. That would bring an additional $15 billion worth of health care dollars to Louisiana.LFT has supported Medicaid expansion in our state for some time. Expanding Medicaid will bring jobs to Louisiana, and stop the flow of our federal tax dollars to other states to cover their uninsured citizens.

House and Governmental Affairs:

HB 374 by Rep. Brett Geymann (R-Lake Charles) would make all BESE positions elected. LFT supports this bill.

Thursday, April 3

House and Governmental Affairs Committee:

HB 322 by Rep. Sam Jones D-Franklin) would require all rulemaking bodies in Louisiana, including BESE, to publish a rulemaking docket to give notice to the public of deadlines for public comment on rules in development. Rules promulgated by state agencies have the force and effect of law, and citizen involvement is often hampered by the difficulties associated with accessing information about rules and regulations as they move towards final adoption. This bill will help ease the challenges to concerned citizens who want to have an impact on agency rulemaking. The bill is part of LFT’s legislative package.