Louisiana Legislative Session 2018: Education Bills to Watch

Purpose: EXCEPTIONAL PERSONS: Creates Language Equality and Acquisition for Deaf Kids (LEAD-K) Task Force to develop framework for assessing children who are deaf or hard of hearing to determine language skills and ensure kindergarten readiness

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Purpose: TEACHERS: Provides relative to the statutory rights of teachers

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Purpose: SCHOOLS: Revises the Parents’ Bill of Rights for Public Schools

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Purpose: FUNDS/FUNDING: Requires a portion of the monies in the Unclaimed Property Leverage Fund to be dedicated to the Louisiana Early Childhood Education Fund

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Purpose: SCHOOLS/EMPLOYEES: Provides relative to disclosure and reporting requirements for certain arrests and incidents with respect to employment in public schools

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Purpose: SCHOOLS: Requires parent representation on each charter school governing or management board. (gov sig)

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Purpose: SCHOOLS: Prohibits elementary and secondary schools that receive state funds from discriminating based on gender identity or sexual orientation. (gov sig)

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Purpose: SCHOOLS: Provides relative to unified student enrollment systems in certain school systems. (8/1/18)

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Purpose: SCHOOLS/PARENTS: Requires school crisis management and response plans to provide for parental notification in the event of a shooting or other violent incident or emergency situation

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Purpose: CURRICULA: Provides relative to sex education instruction in public schools

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Purpose: EDUCATION ACCOUNTABILITY: Requires school boards to make presentations at public meetings relative to plans for schools in need of academic improvement

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Purpose: TOPS: Provides, under specified circumstances, for repayment of a Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) award

Why is this bill harmful?: Would require TOPS scholars to pay back the amount of their scholarship if they fail to graduate, with interest on any unpaid debt. This is a clear equity issue: no matter their cause, students who drop out of college are clearly in no position to become suddenly saddled with student debt and no accompanying degree — particularly when it is Black and low-income college students who will be most disproportionately affected.

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Purpose: STUDENT/TUITION: Creates a program for education savings accounts for tuition expenses for elementary and secondary schools

Why is this bill harmful?: This is just vouchers under a different name: ineffective and inequitable. Private school families accept the burden when they enroll their children there. They do not need a tax shelter using public dollars to pay for private school.

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Purpose: MENTAL HEALTH: Requires a mental health evaluation of persons who threaten public safety or physical harm to other persons

Why is this bill harmful?: While we applaud any increased awareness around youth mental health, the language of this bill raises concerns about potential abuse and student pushout.

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Purpose: STUDENT/ASSESSMENT: Provides relative to education standards and related assessments

Why is this bill harmful?: Repeals a portion of the existing law that creates modified assessments for students with special needs.

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Purpose: STUDENT/TUITION: Creates a program for education savings accounts for tuition expenses for elementary and secondary schools

Why is this bill harmful?: See HB487.

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Purpose: EDUCATION ACCOUNTABILITY: Allows each public school governing authority to determine the education content standards and assessments to be used in the schools under its jurisdiction.

Why is this bill harmful?: What are the implications for New Orleans? How will this help drive critically conscious, historic and relevant content delivered in all schools?

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Purpose: SCHOOLS: Require instruction and display of the national motto “In God We Trust” in public schools. (gov sig)

Why is this bill harmful?: Includes patriotic customs rather than “exercises” and requires the instruction to include information on the national motto, “In God We Trust”. Additionally requires each public school governing authority to display the national motto in each building it uses and in each school under its jurisdiction.

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Purpose: SCHOOLS: Provides relative to school employee participation in student-initiated prayer. (gov sig)

Why is this bill harmful?: This bill creates a slippery slope of personal beliefs impacting how children are treated in public spaces. It’s already legal for students and teachers to practice their religion on personal time; allowing those practices in the classroom, during a school day paid for by ALL taxpayers, has the potential to create a group of “insiders” and “outsiders” in the school setting

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Purpose: SCHOOLS: Provide relative to school safety. (gov sig)

Why is this bill harmful?: Essentially gives teachers the right to unilaterally arrest students — excuse us, “place them in the custody of appropriate law enforcement” — and effectively suspend them for three days based on one individual’s say-so. Will unquestionably be abused to incarcerate Black students at even disproportionately higher rates than already exist.

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Purpose: TEACHERS: Provides relative to Teacher Bill of Rights. (gov sig)

Why is this bill harmful?: Actively prohibits schools from disciplining a teacher who gets into any physical altercation with a student. Promotes a divisive “us vs. them” mentality in an already racially and socioeconomically fraught setting.

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Purpose: SCHOOLS: Provides relative to bullying. (gov sig)

Why is this bill harmful?: Gives way too much latitude to teachers using physical violence against students. Poses a potential issue with implicit bias and discriminating against students of color: “A school employee who witnesses an incident of bullying may take all steps deemed necessary to stop the behavior, including reasonable force, physical restraint, or removal of the offending student from the school grounds. A school official may contact law enforcement and have the student exhibiting bullying behavior immediately removed from the school grounds.”

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Purpose: STUDENTS: Allows START distributions for K-12 expenses. (8/1/18)

Why is this bill harmful?: See HB487.

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Purpose: TUITION: Allows START distributions for K-12 expenses. (8/1/18)

Why is this bill harmful?: See HB487.

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Purpose: TUITION: Allows START distributions for K-12 expenses. (8/1/18)

Why is this bill harmful?: See HB487.

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Purpose: TOPS: Changes award amounts and creates a new TOPS award. (gov sig)

Why is this bill harmful?: Potential equity issues. Creates an Honor Plus award. The proposal is that the state give larger grants to students who have the grades to apply for other merit based support. But income correlates strongly with GPA — the kids making the best grades will in likelihood receive support from their families.

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Purpose: SCHOOLS/CHARTER: Allows certain Type 1 charter schools to act as their own local education agencies

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Purpose: FUNDS/FUNDING: Creates the Louisiana Jobs Now Fund for the purpose of funding postsecondary education degree and certificate production in high-demand fields (OR SEE FISC NOTE SD EX)

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Purpose: SCHOOLS/FOOD PROGRAMS: Revises procedures relative to a student’s inability to pay for school meals and a student’s meal debt

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Purpose: STUDENTS: Changes references to “at-risk” students to students who are “economically disadvantaged” throughout Title 17 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes

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Purpose: TEACHERS: Provides relative to the statutory rights of teachers

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Purpose: TOPS: In the event of insufficient funding, provides for reducing or eliminating Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) awards based on certain academic and financial criteria and eliminating payment of certain stipends to students (OR SEE FISC NOTE GF EX)

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Purpose: TOPS: Creates a new Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) award, the TOPS Transfer Award, and raises grade point average and ACT score required for initial eligibility for a TOPS Opportunity Award

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Purpose: TOPS: Raises grade point average required to maintain eligibility for the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) Opportunity Award

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Purpose: STUDENT/TUITION: Authorizes public postsecondary education management boards to increase tuition and provides for limitations and exceptions

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Purpose: TEXTBOOKS/MATERIALS: Provides relative to the review of textbooks and other instructional materials by the state Department of Education

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Purpose: SCHOOLS/CHARTER: Provides relative to charter schools

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Purpose: CURRICULA: Relative to safety, provides for instruction in public schools and public postsecondary education institutions, provides for reporting online content to school and campus security officers and local law enforcement agencies

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Purpose: TEACHERS: Provides relative to teacher tenure

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Purpose: SCHOOLS/FOOD PROGRAMS: Provides relative to foods and beverages, other than school breakfast or lunch, offered in public schools

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Purpose: EARLY CHILDHOOD ED: Provides relative to the Early Childhood Care and Education Network.

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Purpose: SCHOOLS: Provides relative to virtual charter schools. (gov sig)

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Purpose: EDUCATION ACCOUNTABILITY: Requires the state Department of Education to provide student assessment results for certain assessments for dispersal to teachers. (gov sig)

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Purpose: EDUCATION ACCOUNTABILITY: Provides relative to information provided with the release of school performance scores and letter grades. (gov sig)

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Purpose: SCHOOLS: Provides relative to the operation of a Type 2 charter school. (gov sig)

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Purpose: SCHOOLS: Provides relative to the operation of a Type 2 charter school. (gov sig)

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Purpose: SCHOOLS: Prohibits a chartering authority from approving or renewing charters until the legislative auditor conducts certain performance audits. (gov sig)

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Purpose: STUDENTS: Provides relative to school master plans for supporting student behavioral health. (gov sig)

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Purpose: TOPS: Creates the TOPS Second Chance Award. (gov sig)

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Purpose: TOPS: Creates the TOPS-Tech 2Plus2 Award. (gov sig)

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Purpose: TOPS: Changes certain TOPS initial eligibility requirements and provides relative to the sharing of certain student data. (gov sig)

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Purpose: TOPS: Provides additional TOPS awards for students who are successful in postsecondary education. (gov sig)

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