Baton Rouge — Today, Dr. Holly Boffy, president of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESA), announced that she is withdrawing an emergency rule announced last week that would have unlawfully created a graduation appeals process for students who fail to meet required state educational standards to receive a high school diploma. Dr. Boffy’s decision follows a notice sent by the Pelican Center for Justice that it would file a complaint against her for exceeding her authority under state law if she did not withdraw the proposed rule.

“State officials cannot fabricate an emergency to circumvent the rulemaking process just because they don’t like the outcome,” said Sarah Harbison, General Counsel of the Pelican Institute. “How government makes rules matters, and the Pelican Center for Justice will continue to hold government officials accountable when they violate the law and abuse the rulemaking process.”

Dr. Boffy’s action would have been a violation of the Louisiana Constitution and the Louisiana Administrative Procedure Act, which sets forth the conditions under which a state agency may adopt an emergency rule without prior notice or public hearing.

The Pelican Center for Justice also held President Joe Biden to account when he tried similar action with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) vaccine mandate and the student loan forgiveness program.

For more information, contact Sarah Harbison at sarah@pelicaninstitute.org.