LFT president responds to Jindal's intimidation

(Baton Rouge – March 21, 2012) Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan responded with outrage to the Jindal administration’s efforts to intimidate lawmakers and teachers opposed to his radical education “reform” scheme.

“The heavy hand of politics is always involved in the legislative process, but never so obviously and so ominously,” Monaghan said.

The LFT president was responding to an announcement that a law firm affiliated with the Republican Party has requested copies of all e-mail correspondence between State Rep. John Bel Edwards and Monaghan or any other member of the LFT staff.

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Watch Rep. John Bel Edwards respond to intimidation from Jindal's allies:

State, not parents, may decide who gets vouchers

State Superintendent of Education John White

In a revealing discussion of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s school voucher scheme, State Superintendent of Education John White said Thursday that the State Department of Education, not parents or schools, will have the final say in deciding which students get to attend private and religious schools at public expense.

White’s admission came after State Rep. John Bel Edwards said that he objects to the governor’s voucher plan because non-public schools will not have to conform to the same accountability standards as their public counterparts, and because they are able to selectively determine their students.

Addressing the luncheon crowd at the League of Women Voters of Baton Rouge meeting, Edwards said, “If you don’t think the private and parochial schools will cherry pick the best students, you didn’t just eat a seafood lunch.”

The Jindal administration is making vouchers a centerpiece of the 2012 legislative agenda, claiming that parents should have more choices for their children’s education. Opponents say that, unless the schools release information comparable to that available for public schools, parents cannot make an informed choice.

In his answer to those objections, White revealed that neither the parent nor the school will actually be deciding which students attend the voucher schools.

Under the plan, private and religious schools will tell the state how many voucher students whey are prepared to accept. Parents interested in the program will give the state a list of schools they would like their children to attend. Bureaucrats at the State Department of Education would then presumably match the students to the school.

“The state then says to the school…you are going to take those children,” White said. “At that point it is the law that you accept those children.”

Rather than appease opponents, White’s announcement is likely to raise many more questions about the voucher scheme. Parents may be shocked to learn that, despite the governor’s talk about parental choice, the real decisions will be made by the State Department of Education.
And skeptics will continue to believe that the private and religious schools will find ways to ultimately exclude any students that believe do not fit in their institutions.

“Red Tape Reduction” bill sails through House of Representatives

Undeterred by the objections of teachers, the House of Representatives approved Gov. Bobby Jindal’s signature education legislation, HB 1368 by Rep. Jane Smith (R-Bossier City), by a 68-20 margin. The fight to stop this misleading and mislabeled bill will now move to the Senate, with its first stop at the Education Committee.

If signed into law, the “Red Tape Reduction and Local Empowerment Waiver Program,” would allow school boards and their superintendents to apply for waivers for virtually all state laws and policies regarding education. The waivers would be granted by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The bill is, according to LFT President Steve Monaghan, the most dangerous piece of legislation facing public education this year. Potential results of the bill could:

• Water down teachers’ tenure protections
• Allow increased class size
• Eliminate teacher salary schedules in favor of “performance based pay”
• Discourage hiring veteran teachers by adopting “student-based budgeting”
• Give principals control over budgets, including salaries, supplies, resources, etc.

Despite heavy pressure from the governor’s office, some members were spirited in their opposition to the bill. Rep. John Bel Edwards (D-Amite) predicted that the bill will cause havoc if it becomes law. Allowing BESE, which is not a law-making body, to decide which laws could be ignored, “is bad public policy,” Edwards said.

Edwards said the legislature is careening toward a “schizophrenic” education policy, in which school superintendents and boards might adopt risky strategies that could “fall on the backs of the teachers.”

Rep. Robert Johnson (D-Marksville) said he fears that in an attempt to make all schools operate more like charter schools, important protections for teachers would be set aside.

Rep. Sam Jones (D-Franklin) noted that no other agencies in the state have been given the authority to grant exemptions from laws passed by the legislature. Rep. Edwards responded that he doubts the plan would pass constitutional muster.

Rep. Herbert Dixon (D-Alexandria) said that as school budgets shrink, the bill will tempt school board to cut instructional services.

“BESE won’t have a problem granting the waivers,” Dixon said. “It is a means by which local school boards can address budget needs.”

“This will hurt parents and children,” Dixon said.