Red River United Successfully Gets Local Bill and House Concurrent Resolution to the Governor’s Desk
The Louisiana Legislature’s 2014 Regular Legislative Session ended at 6:00 P.M. Monday, June 2. That was not before HCR 114 and HB 717, which originated from RRU, got to the Governor’s desk!
HB 717 – Extended Sick Leave
The House and Senate both passed a bill that corrects a flaw in the state’s extended sick leave law, and sent it to Gov. Jindal for his signature.
HB 717 by Rep. Dorothy Sue Hill (D-Dry Creek) removes a stipulation in the extended sick leave law that requires teachers to take the leave in 10-day increments. Red River United advocated fiercely for this bill because the 10-day rule forces teachers to take more leave than may be required for follow-up treatments for serious medical issues. This
especially affected our new mothers, whom, after being forced to use all of their annual sick days before they could go into their extended sick leave, were being forced out of the classroom for 10 days when taking their newborn for checkups that they would otherwise only need one day for. Yvonne Barrier, a Caddo high school teacher and Red River United member, presented video testimony to the House and Senate floor that was instrumental to the rule change. Watch the video here.
HCR 114 – Seated Lunch Time
At the request of Red River United, Rep. Patrick Williams (D – Shreveport) introduced House Concurrent Resolution 114. Both the House and Senate unanimously voted on the floor to urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) to adopt a rule that would give students 20 minutes of seated lunch time that would not include time spent traveling to and from the lunch room or the time spent waiting 
in line to eat.
Red River United members pushed for this resolution because they were concerned that their students were not being given enough time to eat. Our members know that when our schools provide nutritious meals for our students, and when those students can actually consume those meals, students have better health outcomes and higher levels of academic achievement. We thank Rep. Patrick Williams for pushing this resolution forward.