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Legislative Bulletin A Publication of the Office of Governmental Affairs June 25, 2010 |
In This Issue
Louisiana Department of Education State Superintendent of Deputy State Superintendent of Office of Governmental Affairs Joe Salter, Director Patrick Dobard, Deputy Director 1201 North Third Street Archives Click here to see all bills that impact education. |
Office of Governmental AffairsThe Office of Governmental Affairs is dedicated to researching and advocating for education policies that contribute to the Louisiana Department of Education's (LDOE) vision to create a world-class education system in Louisiana. Through collaborations with policy makers at every level, including the Governor's Office, Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), state legislators, local school boards, federal agencies and state associations, the Office of Governmental Affairs seeks to develop informed and comprehensive recommendations around best practices and key priorities and issues. Lawmakers Pass Major Pre-K–12
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The following is a highlight of other key legislation approved by the Legislature during the 2010 legislative session:Accountability State lawmakers forwarded several bills addressing the state’s accountability system—which guides the expectations and regulations around student testing, attendance, graduation and dropout rates. House Bill 1442, sponsored by Rep. Thomas Carmody, allows public school employees to report testing irregularities or improprieties directly to the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE). The bill also authorizes LDOE to investigate allegations; makes it a crime to attempt to cover up testing improprieties; establishes that any school governing authority that fires, threatens, or in any other way retaliates against a school employee who reports testing irregularities may be convicted of a misdemeanor; and imposes penalties against school employees who file false reports about testing irregularities. The legislation has been signed by the Governor (Act 534). House Bill 925, sponsored by House Education Committee Chairman Austin Badon, requires the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to establish and adopt a letter-grade system corresponding to school and district performance scores. For example, a top-performing school would get an "A." The bill awaits the Governor’s signature. House Bill 433, sponsored by Rep. Rickey Hardy, requires the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) to develop and implement a uniform grading scale for public schools. This bill also requires BESE to appoint a task force to provide recommendations for the development of the grading scale. This bill also awaits the Governor’s signature. During the 2009 Legislative session, lawmakers created the Career Diploma. And this year, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 490, which specifies testing guidelines for the new high school graduation option. The legislation, sponsored by Senate Education Chairman Ben Nevers, requires the questions included on End-Of-Course (EOC) exams for students who are pursuing a career major curriculum to reflect the course design and content. For example, students in Applied Algebra in the career diploma major would not take the same EOC as a student in Algebra 1. The bill, now Act 445, has been signed by Governor Bobby Jindal. Senate Bill 83, by Sen. Conrad Appel and signed by the Governor as Act 116, expands the types of tests that can be given to students in grades 3, 5, 6, 7 and 9. Currently, state law requires students in those grades to take norm-referenced tests, while federal law requires criterion-referenced tests in those grades (and other grades). To satisfy both the state and federal requirements, students in those grades are currently given the iLEAP, a combined criterion-referenced and norm-referenced test. This measure will allow students in grades 3, 5, 6, 7, and 9 to be given either a criterion-referenced test, norm-referenced test, or augmented norm-referenced exam. This measure allows the state to proceed with the high school transitional plan from 9th grade iLEAP to end-of-course testing. Also, it will allow Louisiana to participate in common assessment development through the federal Race to the Top Assessment Program. Adult Education Senate Bill 297, by Sen. Jack Donahue, shifts the Adult Education Division from the Louisiana Department of Education to the Louisiana Community and Technical College System. Governor Jindal has signed the legislation, now Act 132, which takes effect July 1, 2010. Alternative Schools Education facilities operated by the Office of Juvenile Justice (OJJ) will be considered public schools and receive a share of state basic aid through the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) formula as a result of Senate Bill 285, sponsored by Sen. Jack Donahue. MFP funds will be transferred from the home school districts of students attending OJJ facilities to help offset the costs of operating the agency’s educational programs. Further, as a result of Senate Bill 112, sponsored by Sen. Gerald Long, the standardized test scores of students in OJJ facilities will not be sent to students' home schools or included in the performance score of their local districts. Senate Bill 285 and Senate Bill 112 have been signed by Governor Jindal. House Bill 1225, by Rep. Herbert Dixon, requires the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) to give written reports to the Legislature about the standards and criteria used to approve alternative schools and programs. Alternative schools are schools for K-12 students who have been suspended or expelled. The bill also provides guidelines for these reports. The measure has been forwarded to the Governor. Attendance Currently, students are allowed to withdraw from school at age 17, if they have parental consent and an exit interview is conducted to apprise the student and parents or guardians of the student’s chance for success without a high school diploma. However, HB 648, sponsored by Rep. Sam Jones, repeals that statute, and raises the age students can legally withdraw from school to 18. Rep. Jones is the sponsor of related legislation, HB 685, which raises the minimum age (from 16 to 17) for students to attend a Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approved adult education program, rather than a regular education program. And students who are truant may be sent to the armed forces for two years—if a judge decides to implement the provisions of Senate Bill 701, sponsored by Sen. Robert Marionneaux. Students under the age of 18 who withdraw from school prior to graduation and are ruled to be truant would be required to exercise one of the following options within 120 days of leaving school: 1) re-enroll in school and make progress towards completing requirements for graduation; 2) enroll in a high school equivalency diploma program; or 3) enlist in the armed forces for two years and earn a high school equivalency diploma. Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) House Bill 403, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Pearson, requires the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to broadcast over the internet all board and committee meetings held in Baton Rouge. The legislation further requires all such broadcasts to be archived and made accessible for at least one year. It does not apply to executive sessions. House Bill 403 has been sent to the Governor for his signature. Charter Schools The Legislature passed House Bill 420 by Rep. Walt Leger, which applies to funding for charter schools. In the mid-1990’s the Orleans Parish School Board issued general obligation bonds, and at that time voters approved a dedicated millage to pay off the debt. Existing state law does not allow the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) or other school districts to exclude revenues dedicated to capital outlay projects or debt service from the portion of the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) allocation that local districts are required to submit to local charter schools. This bill excludes capital outlay and debt service revenues from the MFP allocation due charter schools if the district is providing the building for the charter school. The bill has been signed by the Governor (Act 370). House Bill 962, sponsored by Rep. Steve Carter, gives local school boards 90 days (instead of 30) to review and act on charter school proposals. The legislation requires local school boards to accept charter school proposals until February 28 of each year and specifies that the charter school review process must be transparent. Furthermore, the bill stipulates that a charter school that has been in operation for three years, has demonstrated growth in academic achievement for each of those years, has met its accountability benchmarks and has had no significant audit findings will automatically have its charter renewed. Existing law requires charter schools seeking renewal of their charters to undergo the same process as those seeking an initial charter. Senate Bill 492 requires each member of the governing board of a charter school to report and disclose certain financial information. Previously, members of charter school boards were not subject to the financial disclosure requirement of the Ethics Code. The measure was sponsored by Senate Education Committee Chairman Ben Nevers. It has been sent to the Governor for his signature. The Legislature also approved Senate Bill 274, sponsored by Sen. David Heitmeier. The bill addresses the participation of charter school teachers in the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL). Current law states that charter school teacher participation in TRSL will be determined by each school’s charter agreement, which specifies whether all teachers are required to participate in TRSL or none. Senate Bill 274 allows charters to require only those teachers who were members of TRSL to continue active membership and to choose whether other teachers may participate in TRSL or not. House Bill 962, Senate Bill 492 and Senate Bill 274 have been sent to the Governor for his signature. Curriculum and Instruction House Bill 1029, sponsored by Rep. Frank Hoffmann and signed by the Governor (Act 327), revises the high school curriculum, eliminating Free Enterprise as a prerequisite to graduation. Instead of taking Free Enterprise for one semester and Civics for one semester, this legislation expands the Civics requirement to one full year. The measure does require that Civics courses contain a section on Free Enterprise, and that instruction include coursework on money management, savings and investment. The new law will apply to freshmen entering the ninth grade on or after July 1, 2011. Senate Bill 533, sponsored by Sen. Eric Lafleur, requires the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) to make every effort to ensure electronic versions of textbooks and other instructional materials are available for use in public schools. The measure also encourages school districts to maximize the availability and accessibility of electronic materials. School boards that wish to purchase electronic books for which an electronic version is not available will submit requests to BESE for the electronic versions. The legislation also calls for the Louisiana Department of Education to make every effort to make electronic versions of any text book or instructional material available to members of the textbook adoption committee prior to adoption. The measure has been sent to the Governor. Funding Lawmakers accepted the request by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) to fund the state’s Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) formula for the 2010-2011 Fiscal Year at the current level. The MFP allocation – the state’s largest allocation for Pre-K–12 public education – is the basic aid given to public schools. This marks the second year in a row that school aid to local districts was frozen. However, the request does include an increase of $44 million to offset the costs of increased student enrollment (an additional 6,000 students) in Louisiana public schools. BESE initially voted in March to ask legislators for a $109 million increase, which included $44 million for the increased enrollment and $65 million to boost state aid by 2.75 percent above last year’s funding formula. However, the request did not gain approval from the Senate Finance Committee, which directed BESE to come up with a new funding proposal. The Legislature can only accept or reject BESE’s request; lawmakers cannot change it. During the 2009-10 school year, districts received about $3.3 billion in MFP funding. Since 2005, Louisiana’s per pupil funding allocation has increased by $684 million, representing a bump from $3,696 to $5,035 per student, a 36 percent increase. High Schools House Bill 486, by Rep. Joe Harrison, requires school guidance counselors to utilize LA ePortal or another web-based system to complete academic profiles for all ninth grade students. The legislation specifies certain information, such as college or career planning, to be included in the students’ individual graduation plans. The bill also requires students and parents to be involved in completing the profiles and to review them annually. The measure has been sent to the Governor. Home-School Programs/Students Senate Bill 798, sponsored by Sen. Mike Walsworth, establishes that diplomas issued by a state-approved home-study program will carry the same privileges as one issued by a state-approved non-public school. And students who are home schooled may be allowed to participate in interscholastic athletics, as a result of passage of House Bill 303. The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Cameron Henry, allows students in state-approved home study programs to participate in sports at high schools that are members of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association, subject to the approval of the public school principal or private school governing authority. Senate Bill 798 and House Bill 303 are awaiting action by the Governor. Recovery School District House Bill 1093, authored by Representative Jim Fannin, initially called for the Joint Legislative Committee to approve all Recovery School District (RSD) capital expenses and change orders over $100,000. The bill was later amended to its current version to apply only to change orders. The RSD’s capital program is funded nearly entirely by federal recovery funding, through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Construction expenditures already require review and approval by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), the Louisiana Legislative Auditor and the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness prior to payment. And all purchases must abide by state and federal procurement regulations. House Bill 1093 has been forwarded to the Governor’s office. House Bill 923, which allows the Recovery School District (RSD) to contract for legal services in pursuit of tax credits for capital projects, could generate tens of millions of dollars each year for the RSD. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Walt Leger, makes it possible for the RSD to hire legal counsel based on contingency fees, which means attorneys would be paid only on the percentage of the funds the RSD secures through their legal services. State law otherwise prohibits such a contract and requires instead a fee for service model of payment for legal services. With tax credits, however, contingency payments are the standard in the legal industry, which has made it difficult for the RSD to access the expertise required to guide it through the complicated laws governing tax credits. Projected construction will provide permanent facilities for more than 6,000 students in Orleans Parish at a cost of approximately $700 million. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is providing funding for most of the construction. And most of that construction is occurring in low-income and urban neighborhoods or in the renovation of historic school buildings, making the projects eligible for tax credits. Senate Bill 240, sponsored by Rep. Edwin Murray, addresses various legacy costs associated with running the Orleans Parish School System (OPSB). Prior to 2005, 65,000 students attended OPSB schools. Although the number of students in OPSB has dramatically decreased to 10,000 plus students, the district is still responsible for paying lingering legal claims, workers’ compensation claims and retirement costs associated with operating a large urban district. In the Fall of 2009, OPSB increased millage rates to raise additional funding to cover these costs. The bill allows the OPSB to deduct from its allocation to the Recovery School District actual costs for certain expenditures, up to $6 million per year. The exclusions include workers’ compensation, health insurance claims, short-term borrowing costs, and taxes. The bill also requires OPSB and the RSD to share remaining revenues from the increased millage, estimated at $6 million per year. Senate Bill 240 has been sent to the Governor for his signature. Student Discipline House Bill 1239, authored by Rep. Herbert Dixon, requires the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to adopt rules and regulations to address the physical abuse of public school teachers and other school employees by students. The measure, which has been signed into law by the Governor (Act 404), also states that records be kept of such incidents, that teachers and other school employees be provided with appropriate protective equipment, that support services are provided to victims of such abuse, and that victims are given the opportunity to switch positions to avoid the student abuser. House Bill 405 initially required the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) to establish policies for how and when schools and districts are to restrain and/or seclude students with disabilities. The measure, authored by Rep. Herbert Dixon, was amended and now calls for BESE to prepare and adopt guidelines for the appropriate use of seclusion and restraint of students with disabilities. Previously, there were no state guidelines on how or when schools and districts were to use seclusion and physical or mechanical restraint in disciplining students with disabilities. The legislation has not been signed by the Governor. House Bill 1458 requires local school boards to adjust their student codes of conduct to address harassment, intimidation and bullying, specifically “cyberbullying.” The term cyberbullying, for the purposes of this bill, refers to harassment via a computer, cell phone, or other interactive or digital technology. Rep. John LaBruzzo is the sponsor of the bill, which applies to incidents that occur both on and off of school property. The bill would require local school boards to amend their codes of conduct to address the consequences of cyberbullying, no later than January 1, 2011. The measure was further amended to require local school boards to adopt a policy establishing procedures for investigating reports of all types of threats. These include harassment, intimidation, and bullying, including cyberbullying. House Bill 1458 has been forwarded to the Governor. Students with Exceptionalities House Bill 216, sponsored by Rep. Franklin Foil and signed by the Governor, establishes the School Choice Pilot Program for Certain Students with Exceptionalities in parishes with populations of 190,000 or more. Through the Program, eligible students in a handful of Louisiana’s largest school districts will receive a tuition certificate to attend an eligible non-public school that provides educational services specifically addressing the students’ disabilities or exceptionalities. The tuition assistance received by each child will be equal to 50 percent of the per pupil Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) allocation, based on the district where the student lives. The new law, Act 515, also spells out the eligibility of students and the participation requirements of the non-public schools. Teachers and School Personnel Along with House Bill 1033, one of the most significant pieces of legislation affecting teachers is House Bill 519, sponsored by Rep. Page Cortez. The legislation prohibits retirees from receiving retirement benefits from the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL) during their re-employment as teachers. After June 30, 2010, teachers who retire and immediately return to work will not be able to collect regular pay and a pension simultaneously. Teachers who are rehired in K-12 in areas determined by local school districts to be “critical shortage areas” will be exempt from the provisions of this legislation. Other education bills approved by the Legislature and signed by the Governor include:HB 43 - Hardy – Act 506; HB 46 – Hutter – Act 321; HB 97 - Cortez – Act 227; HB 216 – Foil –Act 515; HB 251 - P. Smith – Act 323; HB 388 – P. Smith – Act 324; HB 468 - Hoffmann – Act 470; HB 1276 – Hardy – Act 533; HB 580 – P. Smith – Act 325; HB 974 - Hoffmann – Act 326; HB 1180 – P. Smith – Act 328; SB 89 - Long – Act 117; SB 111 – Long – Act 121; SB 262 – Nevers – Act 498; SB 344 - Duplessis – Act 334; SBs 444, 445, 446 – Lafleur – Acts 500, 501, and 502; SB 487 – Nevers – Act 444; SB 527 – Broome – Act 136 Additionally, the following Pre-K – 12 education bills have been approved by the Legislature and await action by Governor Jindal:HB 78 – Ligi; HB 421 - M. Jackson; HB 488 – Harrison; HB 556 – Wooton; HB 680 – Leger; HB 1055 – Richmond; HB 1226 – Smiley; HB 1376 – Hines; HB 1487 – Leger; SB 293 – Donahue; SB 309 – Lafleur; SB 447 – Lafleur; SB 448 – Lafleur; SB 509 – Long; SB 533 – Lafleur; SB 568 – L. Jackson; SB 584 – Peterson; SB 728 – Broome; SB 743 – Broome; SB 753 – Peterson Finally, the following bills pertaining to Pre-k-12 education were submitted, but not approved, during the 2010 legislative session:HB 49 – Hutter; HB 50 – Chaney; HB 69 – Pearson; HB 177 – Pope; HB 186 – Hardy; HB 210 – Leger; HB 226 – Hardy; HB 227 – Pearson; HB 274 – Pope; HB 257 – Harrison; HB 311 – Harrison; HB 399 – Pearson; HB 400 – Pearson; HB 409 – Harrison; HB 410 – Carter; HB 422 – Downs; HB 425 – Hoffmann; HB 489 – Harrison; HB 529 – P. Smith; HB 561 – Baldone; HB 565 – Hardy; HB 633 – P. Smith; HB 658 – Ritchie; HB 665 - R. Jones; HB 681 – Hardy; HB 682 – Hardy; HB 732 – Norton; HB 739 – Hoffmann; HB 905 – Harrison; HB 936 – Baldone; HB 950 – Leger; HB 969 – Pearson; HB 1049 – Harrison; HB 1054 – Norton; HB 1066 – Hardy; HB 1075 – Fannin; HB 1135 – Greene; HB 1154 – Carter; HB 1209 – R. Jones; HB 1250 – Carter; HB 1313 – Dixon; HB 1343 – Norton; HB 1344 – A. Badon; HB 1348 – Nowlin; HB 1374 – Abramson; HB 1394 – Downs; HB 1411 – Richmond; HB 1437 – Norton; HB 1452 – Tucker; SB 6 – Crowe; SB 7 – Crowe; SB 66 – Morrel; SB 74 – Morrel; SB 157 – Murray; SB 161 – Murray; SB 294 – Donahue; SB 298 – Donahue; SB 302 – Appel; SB 307- N. Gautreaux; SB 353 – Nevers; SB 391- Chaisson; SB 392- Chaisson; SB 422- Nevers; SB 462- Michot; SB 463- Michot; SB 485 – Morrel; SB 489 – Nevers; SB 491- Nevers; SB 495 – Nevers; SB 518- Walsworth; SB 522 – Michot; SB 536- Nevers; SB 582 – Peterson; SB 623 – Michot; SB 628 – Duplessis; SB 637 – Michot; SB 658 – Hebert; SB 688 – Morrel; SB 694 – B. Gautreaux; SB 729 – Shaw; SB 737 – Nevers; SB 738 – Appel; SB 740 – Duplessis Please click here to view all original versions of all 2010 bills impacting PreK-12 education. |
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