Podcast Two

Podcast 2

Icess Fernandez's Podcast

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No phones in the School Board room?

Walking into the Caddo Parish School Board room, I pay little attention to the sign posted on the door.

I can't even paraphrase what it says.

It's safe to assume there are others like me because on Tuesday night board President Lillian Priest reminded everyone that no electronic devices are allowed in the meeting room.

What? Huh...?

I guess this has been the law of the board room for quite some time, but I can find no policy online about the use of cell phones or other electronic devices in the board room.

Sure, I agree people should be courteous, put their cell phones on vibrate and go outside if they have to answer a call. But banning electronic devices altogether, even for the media, is enough to make me question the rules.

"We're asking people if you have to answer a call or make a text, just step outside," Priest said. "Even a board member, if that’s the case."

I can assure you the "rules" have not been followed. There are the news crews and their cameras, the occasional audience member with a cell phone and, yes, this includes board members at the horseshoe table. Priest also made reference to the latter when noting why rules were in place.

As an education reporter, whose job is to inform the community, the use of Twitter, recorders and maybe even a camera is necessary. My iPhone doesn't even make noises when I tweet.

Priest says she will discuss the issue with the board attorney and see if there are exceptions for people like me.

"It may be one of those things that we have to look at concerning the media," she said.

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What we didn't know about non traditional students until after we did the story

Today's story on non traditional students was an eye opener.

As an education reporter, you tend to see trends before they become trends. More students in a classroom could mean more students graduating which means 18 years ago, there was a high birth rate. We look at stats like that all the time and report the trends.

So reporting on non-traditional students, or students who have returned to school to after years away, was  what a typical higher education reporter does. The numbers have increased for SUSLA, BPCC, and LSUS in the past several years from 4,598 in 2006 to 5,025 in 2009. That's a huge jump for this area.

But compare those numbers with the number of students preparing to go to college and another story unfolds... there are more non-traditional students then there are high school students taking the ACT.

There are also more women than men going back to school.

These two stats open up a different insight for higher education in Northwest Louisiana.  Higher education has to be about workforce development more now than ever. Non-traditional students will be the fuel for the local economy.

But then what happens to the traditional students? How will they be catered to and coaxed into staying?

And the bigger question: With all the changes and cuts happening to higher education in the state, how can college and university be all things for all people? Or can it?


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Clausen resigns

 Sally Clausen's resignation is a shock to the higher education community.  

Clausen was the higher education commissioner for the state. And as such, she was in charge of everything college and university related including any budgets cuts that have came and will come down the pipe from the legislature.

Little is known about why Clausen resigned but her resignation letter was released. In it she said she was a distraction to the work of the board of regents. The letter does not detail specifics.

The board of regents will have an emergency meeting tomorrow at noon to put together a search committee for a new commissioner. The sooner the better. The legislative session is about to close and higher ed needs a leader to steer through the next round of cuts.

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Test scores

With the hoopla from the test scores release last week, readers might not have seen that that we've uploaded scores from DeSoto, Webster, Bossier, and of course Caddo.

Here are the databases:

Fourth grade LEAP

Click here to load this Caspio Online Database app.

Eighth grade LEAP

Click here to load this Caspio Online Database app.

High school GEE scores

Click here to load this Caspio Online Database app.

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RT2 round 2, count Louisiana in

There is a lot of talk in the education world about which states are applying for round two of the federally funded Race to the Top program.

Today is the deadline for states to apply for more than $3.4 billion geared toward education reform. In round one, Louisiana ranked 11th out of the 40 states that applied, plus the District of Columbia.

Winners will be announced in September.

Here are the Louisiana school districts participating in Race to the Top:
Ascension
Assumption
Avoyelles
City of Baker
City of Bogalusa
City of Monroe
DeSoto
East Baton Rouge
East Carroll
East Feliciana
Iberville
Jefferson Parish
Lafayette Parish
Lafourche Parish
Madison
Orleans
Recovery School District
Richland
Sabine
St. Bernard
St. Helena
St. John the Baptist
St. Landry
St. Mary
Tangipahoa Parish
Terrebonne
Vernon
West Baton Rouge
This list also includes Linear Leadership Academy and Linwood Public Charter School in Shreveport and other charter schools throughout the state.

Read more about the state's application:
http://www.louisianaschools.net/lde/comm/pressrelease.aspx?PR=1422
http://www2.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2010/03/03292010.html
http://www.louisianaschools.net/lde/newblog/index_bak.html

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Legislative Update for week starting May 31

The following bills are scheduled to be heard on the Senate Floor on June 2 at 1:00pm:

HB 46 - Hutter - Requires public school governing authorities to provide 7th -12th grade students enrolled in Health Education classes with age- and grade-appropriate classroom instruction relative to dating violence.  Also provides guidelines for such instruction.

HB 97 - Cortez - Current law forbids anyone less than 15 years of age from participating in any component of a private driver's education class but allows students in 9th grade or above to participate in the classroom portions of such programs offered by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) and the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE). Proposed law would allow students in 9th grade or above and within 90 days of their 15th birthday to participate in the classroom sections of private driver's education classes, as well as those offered by BESE and LDOE.

HB 251 - P. Smith - Requires the State Superintendent of Education, at a minimum, to possess at the time of appointment, the qualifications adopted by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) to be a superintendent in a local school district. The bill also authorizes BESE to establish additional qualifications for the State Superintendent.

HB 388 - P. Smith - Current policy allows teachers to take a leave of absence of up to three years to teach at a charter school.  During that three-year period, teachers would have the right to return to the district at any time.  This bill removes the leave of absence provision from law.

HB 519 - Cortez - Prohibits retirees from receiving retirement benefits from the Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL) during reemployment unless such retirees are reemployed as classroom teachers in grades K through 12 in the areas of mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, or special education.

HB 556 - Wooton - Eliminates present law prohibiting the carrying of a concealed handgun within 1,000 feet of a school.  The proposed law would allow any holder of a concealed handgun permit to carry his/her handgun within 1,000 feet of a school while retaining the ban on concealed handguns in school buildings, on school property, or in a school bus.

HB 580 - P. Smith - Designates the Louisiana School for the Deaf, the Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired, and the Louisiana Special Education Center as "Board Special Schools" under the jurisdiction of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education; authorizes such schools to share services and functions under certain conditions; and allows children with orthopedic impairments to enroll in such schools.

HB 974 - Hoffmann - Allows an applicant who has met other requirements and has one year successful employment as an assistant principal in a Louisiana public school to be excluded from Praxis requirements.  Currently, Louisiana waives Praxis requirements for an individual who has previously served as an out-of-state principal for at least four years and who has been successfully employed in Louisiana as a principal f or at least one year.  This legislation would extend this waiver to assistant principals who meet these qualifications as well.   

HB 1029 - Hoffmann - Deletes a course on Free Enterprise as a prerequisite to high school graduation and instead requires that Free Enterprise instruction be included in Civics.  Expands the Civics requirement to one full year (except students who have already taken Civics and/or Free Enterprise). Makes the same changes to the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) and other provisions.

HB 1093 - Fannin - Requires the Recovery School District to receive approval from the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget for capital expenses and changes orders f or contracts that exceed $100,000.

HB 1180 - P. Smith - Permits local public school boards to use state funds to purchase instructional technology and related hardware.

SB 66- Morrel - Requires each charter school to give preference in its enrollment procedures to students residing within the neighborhood immediately surrounding the school, the geographic boundaries of which shall be determined by the school's chartering authority.  Also requires charter schools to enroll no fewer than 30 percent of its students from within the boundaries of this area.

SB 391- Chaisson - Increases the amount of reductions of appropriations/allocations from the state general fund and dedicated funds in any fiscal year in which these two conditions occur: (1) a deficit is projected and (2) reductions of at least seven-tenths of 1 percent in appropriations from the state general fund have already occurred. The proposed constitutional amendment increases the amount of reductions of appropriations or allocations from 5 percent to 10 percent.

SB 392- Chaisson - Increases the amount of reductions of appropriations/allocations from the state general fund and dedicated funds in any fiscal year in which these two conditions occur: (1) a deficit is projected and (2) reductions of at least seven-eighths of 1 percent in appropriations from the state general fund have already occurred. The proposed constitutional amendment increases the amount of reduc tions of appropriations or allocations from 5 percent up to 10 percent.

SB 701 - Marionneaux - Requires persons who do not graduate from high school to serve a minimum of two years in the armed forces.

The following bills are scheduled for debate in the House Education Committee on June 3 at 9:00am:

HB 682 - Hardy - Requires a local school board to provide transportation to suspended or expelled students who remain under its jurisdiction in Board of Elementary and Secondary Education-approved alternative education programs.

SB 509 - Long - Includes the Louisiana S chool for Math, Science, and the Arts in the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP), classifying it as a public secondary education institution for the purposes of the MFP formula.

SB 568- L. Jackson - Authorizes training and instruction for school board members received at any conference presented by the National School Boards Association or by any regional school board association to meet pre-established professional development requirements.

The following bills are scheduled for debate in the House Committee on House and Governmental Affairs on June 3 at 9:00am:

SB 743 - Broome - Revises the selection process for members nominated by school clubs and community organizations to the Legislative Yo uth Advisory Council and extends the deadline for that Council to submit an annual report to the governor from February 15 to May 30.

The following bills are scheduled to be heard on the House Floor on June 3 at 2:00pm:

HB 565 - Hardy - School bus drivers, whose first date of employment with the school system is July 1, 2010, or thereafter, will not be eligible for tenure (becoming permanent employees).

SB 302 - Appel - In addition to current performance labels given to public schools and school districts, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will adopt a letter-grade system corresponding to school and district performance scores. For example, a top-performing school would get an "A ."

SB 344 - Duplessis - Lengthens and revises the process that guides local districts in the review of charter school proposals.

The following bills are due for final passage on the House floor, subject to call:

HB 257 - Harrison  - Requires local school boards to spend at least five percent of their gross proceeds collected from extracurricular athletic activities and programs to fund academic tutoring for student athletes in grades 5-12.

HB 1014 - Norton - Requires local school boards to provide planning time to each teacher -- a minimum of 30 minutes for lunch each day that is duty-free and a minimum of 45 minutes daily or its weekly equivalent. These planning times and lunch periods will not result in a longer school day. Current law states that the availability of state funding for this purpose is a condition for the effectiveness of the present law. This proposed measure removes the funding requirement of present law.

SB 298- Donahue - Requires the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to broadcast its meetings over the internet and to archive such broadcasts.

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