2017 Legislative Recap – Public Education

by | Jun 9, 2017 | One Acadiana News

As in past sessions, 1A continues to join with partners from across the state to advocate for protecting and advancing the significant gains Louisiana has made in student achievement over the past decade. These gains are supported by reforms that are raising standards, providing accountability, and offering parental choice. Certain measures introduced this session would have taken Louisiana backward relative to these reforms and risked reversing our progress.

One of the bills we opposed, SB73 (Milkovich), would have done significant harm to the quality of Louisiana’s standards and accountability by allowing each local education agency (district or charter school) to determine its own content standards and summative assessments. In addition to the negative impact this would have on the consistency in quality of education throughout the state, it would have violated the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which requires every state to adopt challenging academic content standards. The bill failed to advance past its initial committee hearing.

One of the successful bills 1A supported, SB209 (Walsworth), requires post-secondary education management boards, BESE, the Board of Regents, and local education agencies (LEAs) to collaborate and coordinate efforts to provide dual-enrollment courses. Dual enrollment allows students to earn post-secondary credit while still in high school, strengthening preparation for college and career. The bill is intended to make dual enrollment more accessible to all eligible students. The Legislature has appropriated $10 million for this purpose through the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP).

Another successful bill 1A tracked was SB237 (Cortez), which updates the revenue bond statute regulating how the Lafayette Parish School Board (LPSB) can issue bonds on its existing sales tax revenue. Per the original statute, which was passed in 1965, LPSB can issue bonds for a term not to exceed 25 years. This bill would provide more flexibility by allowing bond issues not to exceed 40 years. Currently, LPSB is looking at applying for USDA funding (at an especially low interest rate) to finance the construction of a new elementary school in Broussard. This bill would enable the bonding capacity needed to secure that USDA loan. The cost savings realized by the favorable interest rate demonstrate fiscal responsibility and will help preserve school system resources for other needs.