Talking about the legislative session...

Rep. Jane Smith, Times Archives

As I was doing research for this blog post, I came across an interesting bill, which sounded like it was tailor made for a certain NWLA school district.

HB 1003, from Bossier representative Jane Smith, is called the "Red Tape Reduction Act" and if passed  would give a 2 year waiver to superintendents for low performing schools. The waiver waves everything, rules, regulation, the works, giving superintendents and school district carte blanche to get the schools to improve.Of course the super would have to identify in the waiver application which laws and/or polices they would wave, what will be used instead and how the school will improve.

A bit of background on Jane Smith: she is the former Bossier Parish school district superintendent. She's also a longtime teacher and principal from that district. 

Under this bill, BESE can also can require those schools covered by the waiver to  reward highly effective teachers, professional development for those who aren't, and to fire ineffective teachers. 

BESE could also require districts implement one of these four interventions:

1) Hire new leadership and new staff for the school.

2) Convert a school to a charter or use an education management system

3) Close the school and move to student to a higher performing school

4) Hire new leadership and implement "best practices".

Most of these changes have been implemented in the Caddo school district. In fact, it was one of the first major changed implemented by Superintendent Gerald Dawkins and caused quite a stir among teachers. 

However, that's not the part that was tailor made for Caddo. It's this one:

"A district that entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the board in lieu of having certain schools taken into the Recovery School District may request a waiver for such schools. The effects and requirements of the MOU shall be suspended for the duration of the waiver. If at the termination of the waiver the school has not met its statewide accountability growth targets, the school shall be transferred to the jurisdiction of the Recovery School District."

Each low-performing school in Caddo has entered into an MOU with the state. The school with the longest MOU is Bethune Middle, a school that State Superintendent Paul Pastorek  has said publicly would be the next Caddo school to enter the RSD if it didn't approve. 

With this bill Caddo could ask for a waiver for Bethune and not have to adhere to the MOU. The district could also chose to close the school and move students to other campuses. Why do this? To avoid having another school enter the Recovery School District. 

School board members have said over and over in public meetings that they would do nearly anything to keep another school from going into the RSD. Linwood and Linear, now charter schools, were taken over last year by the state. 

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This week in the legislature

Springs means two things in Louisiana - warmer, prettier days and the beginning of the legislative session.

We apologize for being late in posting this--it's been a crazy spring already.

The Louisiana Department of Education's Office of Governmental Affairs has put together a list of bills that will be heard this week during Wednesday's House Committee on Education. We'll try to post these as we get them.

We're also try to find a similar list for higher ed.

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

HB 303 - Henry - Allows students in state-approved home study programs to be eligible to participate in interscholastic athletics at high schools that are members of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association. The bill also outlines the guidelines and procedures for students seeking to participate, such as residency an d consent from school principals.

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 399 - Pearson - Exempts local school boards from granting sabbatical leave requests during a fiscal year when the Legislature does not approve an increase of at least 2.75 percent in the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) formula.

HB 400 - Pearson - Exempts districts fr om being required to provide employees with extended sick leave during a fiscal year in which the Legislature does not approve an increase of at least 2.75 percent in the MFP formula. Present law requires districts to provide up to 90 days of extended sick leave in each six-year period (for personal illness or illness of an immediate family member), even if that employee has no remaining regular sick leave balance.

HB 403 - Pearson - Requires the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) to broadcast all regular, special, and committee meetings over the internet and further requires all such broadcasts to be archived and made accessible for at least one year.

HB 425 - Hoffmann -Allows an applicant who has m et 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 for at least one year. This legislation would extend this waiver to assistant principals who meet these qualifications, as well. This measure also authorizes the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE), with BESE approval, to establish and collect fees for certification services.

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 jurisdicti on of BESE); authorizes such schools to share services and functions under certain conditions; and allows children with orthopedic impairments to enroll in such schools.

HB 732 - Norton - Prohibits corporal punishment in public elementary and secondary schools.

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

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