Education cuts would hit Louisiana hard, LFT says
(March 21, 2017) Proposed cuts to the U.S. Department of Education budget would hit Louisiana hard, costing teachers and students over $73 million, according to the Center for American Progress.
International High School Educators Win Pay for Illegal Firing
Educators’ basic right to join together in a labor union affirmed
New Orleans— The National Labor Relations Board has approved a settlement of a labor complaint filed against International High School of New Orleans, directing the charter school to pay two teachers fired during a union organizing drive
How to survive and thrive in testing season
Standarized testing season is about to begin. And as history teaches us, it is inevitable that some educators around the state (and around the country) will be accused of testing improprieties.
Here is an essential guide from LFT General Counsel Larry Samuel to guard against mistakes, errors and stress during testing season.
Special session deal the best we could get, LFT says
(February 23, 2017) A legislative compromise that plugs the state’s $304 million budget hole with a combination of spending cuts and use of Rainy Day Fund money is the best deal that lawmakers could reach with Gov. John Bel Edwards, Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Larry Carter said today.
“The governor was able to keep his promise not to cut public education funds,” Carter said. “Faced with a range of bad choices and few good ones, this is the best deal that we could get.”
Flawed study cites only tenure, ignores other reasons for teacher exodus
(February 22, 2017) A new study that cites Louisiana’s strict teacher tenure law as the reason for an uptick in teacher retirements and resignations downplays other reasons why educators may have become disenchanted with the profession, according to Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Larry Carter.
“The 2012 law that gutted teacher tenure rights is certainly a factor in these decisions,” Carter said, “but the study ignored numerous other issues that have made teaching less attractive in recent years.”
BESE Report January 2017
Governor announces MFP freeze for 2017-18
UPDATE: At a January 27 meeting of the legislature’s Joint Committee on the Budget, Gov. John Bel Edwards pledged that there will be no cuts to this year's Minimum Foundation Program, family services or department of corrections in a special session slated to run from February 13-23.