Education
Every child should have access to a high-quality education, ensuring every Louisiana resident has a chance to succeed. Louisiana cannot have a bright economic future without a workforce equipped with the skills and training necessary to compete in a 21st century economy. Revamping Louisiana’s educational system stands as an economic imperative—and a moral one too.
Policy Reports
January 26, 2024
Louisiana Course Choice Report
Louisiana has a 10-year old Course Choice program that gives students access to courses beyond [...]
Read moreCenter for Justice, Center for Opportunity Policy, Center for Technology & Innovation Policy, Education, Legal & Regulatory, Tax & Budget
March 22, 2023
Louisiana’s Comeback Agenda
It’s time to write Louisiana’s comeback story.
For too long, poor public policy decisions have [...]
Read moreDecember 1, 2021
Louisiana Education Dashboard
Understanding the data is extremely important in evaluating trends associated with, and the [...]
Read moreJuly 19, 2021
School Board Spending Transparency
HB38 by Representative Rick Edmonds brings sunlight to local school district spending by adding [...]
Read moreApril 19, 2021
Uncovering the Grade: A look into Louisiana’s school accountability system
Accountability is the bedrock of all education reforms in the United States. Testing and [...]
Read moreSeptember 5, 2020
A Quality Education for Every Louisiana Resident
Louisiana cannot have a bright economic future without a workforce equipped with the skills and [...]
Read moreMarch 7, 2020
Citizen’s Guide to Education
It’s no secret that Louisiana is struggling to provide a quality education for its students. [...]
Read moreNews & Media
October 8, 2024
Louisiana Must Prioritize Resources and Fulfill Education Promise to Families
This spring, Governor Landry and the Louisiana Legislature took a tremendous step forward in [...]
Read moreAugust 29, 2024
How Is Louisiana’s K-12 Education Funding Being Spent?
National education researcher Mark Schneider from American Enterprise Institute recently wrote [...]
Read moreAugust 9, 2024
Collective Bargaining in St. Tammany Public Schools: Some Improvements, but Still a Bad Deal
On August 8, 2024, the St. Tammany Parish School Board voted to accept a new collective bargaining [...]
Read moreJuly 31, 2024
2024 LEAP Scores Announced, Disappointing Reactions from School Leaders
Last week, the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) released the results of the 2024 state LEAP [...]
Read moreJune 26, 2024
BESE Adopts Improved K-12 Education Accountability System; New “Study Group” Aims to Dismantle It
Earlier this month, Louisiana’s State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) [...]
Read moreJune 7, 2024
Louisiana Legislature Passes Education Savings Accounts. What’s Next?
After 4 years and 12 separate bills and legislative resolutions, the Louisiana Legislature has [...]
Read moreApril 11, 2024
Why Can’t All School Requirements Be the Same?
It’s a question we’ve been hearing a lot lately from lawmakers as they debate education bills in [...]
Read moreFebruary 29, 2024
Mythbuster: ESAs Help, Not Harm, Students, Schools, and Communities
It’s no secret that Louisiana’s state leaders have been eyeing what several other states have given [...]
Read moreFebruary 18, 2024
Reading and Math are Louisiana K-12 Education Priorities, but Are School Systems Prioritizing Them?
A recent news article highlighted Louisiana State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley’s [...]
Read moreFebruary 1, 2024
Louisiana Celebrates National School Choice Week
Last week, the Pelican Institute and Louisiana’s elected officials joined [...]
Read moreDecember 16, 2023
For Whom Is School Choice, and Who’s For It?
As Louisiana’s state government transitions to new leadership, with a new governor, legislature, [...]
Read moreDecember 4, 2023
RELEASE: Education Official Changes Course in Face of Pelican Legal Notice
Baton Rouge — Today, Dr. Holly Boffy, president of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary [...]
Read moreOctober 4, 2023
Should Louisiana Award High School Diplomas to Students Who Fail State Tests?
Yes, you read that right. It’s shocking, but true. Louisiana’s State Board of Elementary and [...]
Read moreOctober 3, 2023
New Poll: Louisiana Voters Want Education Freedom for Their Kids
Louisiana voters are constantly hearing candidates for governor and legislature talk about crime [...]
Read moreSeptember 22, 2023
Don’t Just Pay Teachers, Empower Them
Louisiana is now less than one month away from the gubernatorial primary when individuals will vote [...]
Read moreCenter for Justice, Center for Opportunity Policy, Center for Technology & Innovation Policy, Education, Health & Medicaid, Legal & Regulatory, Local Government, Tax & Budget, Transportation
August 23, 2023
Candidate Questionnaire 2023
Does your candidate support jobs and opportunities in Louisiana? Election Day 2023 is fast [...]
Read moreAugust 17, 2023
Public Comment to BESE: Don’t Water Down Louisiana Graduation Standards
Public Hearing Set for August 25 The official public comment period for the Louisiana Board of [...]
Read moreAugust 9, 2023
New LEAP Scores: Student Achievement in Louisiana Improving, Still Not Fully Recovered from COVID Pandemic
Last week, the Louisiana Department of Education released the results of the 2022-2023 Louisiana [...]
Read moreAugust 2, 2023
Is Louisiana’s New Public School Choice Law Working?
In 2014, the Louisiana Legislature passed a law allowing parents and legal guardians of students [...]
Read moreJuly 26, 2023
Have Louisiana’s Students Improved? We’ll Find Out Soon.
Students in Louisiana suffered damaging learning loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, and billions of [...]
Read moreJuly 17, 2023
Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall
It’s election season again. And like clockwork, some politicians have pulled out their old talking [...]
Read moreJuly 5, 2023
Louisiana’s Top Education Board Proposes High School Diplomas for Students Failing State Tests
Yes, you read that right. In a state still ranked in the bottom ten nationally for student [...]
Read moreJune 23, 2023
What the Legislature Did (and Didn’t Do) on Education
Legislation on crime, taxes, and the state’s budget dominated much of Louisiana’s 2023 Regular [...]
Read moreMay 16, 2023
LOUISIANA HOUSE VOTES ON SCHOOL CHOICE RELATED BILL
Baton Rouge — The Louisiana House of Representatives vote on House Bill 98 sends a strong message [...]
Read moreMay 11, 2023
A School that Fits Every Kid
Louisiana’s Comeback Agenda starts with ensuring that every family has the opportunity to [...]
Read moreMay 10, 2023
Lawmakers advance school choice bills: What does this mean for Louisiana families?
Over the past week, Louisiana lawmakers in the House have advanced two bills to expand educational [...]
Read moreMay 3, 2023
A Race to the Bottom
As Louisiana nears the end of another school year, as the legislative session nears the halfway [...]
Read moreApril 11, 2023
Lawmakers to Consider Increased K-12 Education Spending
This week the Louisiana Legislature convened the 2023 Regular Session, which will last through [...]
Read moreApril 4, 2023
VALUING LEARNING OVER TIME LEARNING: IS LOUISIANA READY?
For years, American schools have based student promotion from one grade level to the next and [...]
Read moreMarch 27, 2023
Bills, policy proposals, and campaign platforms, oh my! But what makes for good education policy?
It’s that season again, where education policy proposals abound. Another class of high school [...]
Read moreMarch 21, 2023
School Choice Bill Introduced for Upcoming 2023 Louisiana Legislative Session
Over the past two years, lawmakers and governors in five states – Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa, Utah, [...]
Read moreMarch 6, 2023
It’s Public School Choice Month in Louisiana!
In a move that hasn’t gotten a lot of public attention, the legislature, governor, and state Board [...]
Read moreFebruary 16, 2023
College Enrollment Is Declining: Is it relevant?
Earlier this week, the Public Affairs Research Council reported new Southern Regional Education [...]
Read moreFebruary 9, 2023
School Choice Is Exploding Across America: What About Louisiana?
Governors and lawmakers across the country are expanding school choice in big ways. Last year, [...]
Read moreJanuary 23, 2023
Lighting Up The Dome For National School Choice Week
What: Sunday kicks off the annual National School Choice Week across America! All week long, the [...]
Read moreJanuary 2, 2023
Louisiana Education Dashboard
Understanding the data is extremely important in evaluating trends associated with, and the [...]
Read moreDecember 27, 2022
The Influencers Are Wrong: Education Matters
As the parent of a young teen, constantly trying to instill in him the value of an education and [...]
Read moreDecember 16, 2022
Mythbuster Report: School Choice Doesn’t Harm Public Schools
This week another study was released on a state school choice program – this time, Ohio’s [...]
Read moreDecember 7, 2022
School Choice: Meet Educational Freedom
For nearly three decades, there’s been a movement underway to not only improve and modernize public [...]
Read moreDecember 1, 2022
Small Gains In Reading, Still A Ways to Go
This week the Louisiana Department of Education released the annual Fall 2022 Reading Report, which [...]
Read moreNovember 16, 2022
School Choice Wins Big in National Elections: Next Up, Louisiana
Last week, all eyes were on the national TV networks’ blue and red maps as the 2022 midterm [...]
Read moreNovember 8, 2022
Why Aren’t Schools Using Their Funding to Help Kids Prepare for College and Careers?
Last week, the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) shared a document with members of the State [...]
Read moreOp-Ed: Louisiana NAEP Results: Higher Rankings, But Fewer Students Achieving
Originally published in The Center Square The U.S. Department of Education released 2022 results [...]
Read moreOctober 17, 2022
St. Tammany Business Leaders Take Action In Education
There is much work to be done to improve our K-12 public schools in Louisiana. One of the most [...]
Read moreOctober 13, 2022
BESE Can Delay, But Stronger Accountability Is Coming to Louisiana
For the second time, the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) deferred [...]
Read moreSeptember 30, 2022
Homeschool Resource For Louisiana Families
The Pelican Institute’s Vision for Education: Every Louisiana family should be able to choose the [...]
Read moreSeptember 28, 2022
Louisiana Schools Need Leadership, Not Lower Expectations
Last week the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents–a network of public school [...]
Read moreSeptember 27, 2022
Louisiana’s TANF Woes Are Connected to DCFS Concerns
Over the past few months, tragedies involving abused and neglected children and a “toxic” work [...]
Read moreSeptember 19, 2022
All Schools In Louisiana Matter
Earlier this week, I read an article about the alarming decline in student achievement in public [...]
Read moreSeptember 15, 2022
Pelican Institute Releases School Board Candidate Questions
There is much work to be done to ensure that Louisiana’s kids are prepared for success and [...]
Read moreSeptember 8, 2022
How are federal COVID recovery dollars being used to reverse student learning loss?
A few weeks ago, we wrote about Louisiana public school students’ performance on the 2022 Louisiana [...]
Read moreSeptember 1, 2022
Are Louisiana Schools Preparing Kids for College and Careers?
Louisiana’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) has been considering changes to the [...]
Read moreAugust 26, 2022
School Accountability Improvements Deferred, but Parents Want Change
Earlier this week, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) voted to approve [...]
Read moreAugust 17, 2022
Louisiana’s 2022 LEAP Scores: Some Improvement, But A Long Way to Go
The Louisiana Department of Education recently released public school students’ Louisiana [...]
Read moreAugust 3, 2022
Basic Literacy & Numeracy Should be the Least We Expect From Our Public Schools
Last week at a meeting where local school superintendents were reviewing proposed new state K-12 [...]
Read moreJuly 28, 2022
Making Sense of School Rankings and Ratings: Parents Just Want it Straight
WalletHub just released another report in which it ranked Louisiana 49th in education. Around the [...]
Read moreJuly 27, 2022
Report Shows Louisiana Ranked Among Worst for Public Schools
A new Wallethub study reviewed the quality and safety of American public school systems and showed [...]
Read moreJuly 14, 2022
No Veto Override: A Missed Opportunity for Louisiana’s Kids
Yesterday, Louisiana House of Representatives Speaker Clay Schexnayder and Senate President Page [...]
Read moreJuly 6, 2022
Government Education Monopoly Busted…Just Not in Louisiana
There’s big news for parents of school-age kids. Finally, the chance for all families to choose the [...]
Read moreJune 20, 2022
Statement: Governor Edwards Vetoes Education Options for Disabled Kids and Struggling Readers
For media inquiries please contact Ryan Roberts (504) 481-9931 or ryan@pelicaninstitute.org. Baton [...]
Read moreMay 20, 2022
Louisiana Legislature Stands Strong for Charter Schools
School choice has definitely been front and center during the 2022 legislative session, but not [...]
Read moreMay 11, 2022
Louisiana High School Diplomas: The Latest Participation Trophies?
Last week, the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education called an emergency meeting to [...]
Read moreApril 29, 2022
Mo’ Money, Less Transparency?
Earlier this week, Louisiana’s House of Representatives Education Committee heard House Bill 526 by [...]
Read moreApril 26, 2022
Don’t Believe the Lies: ESAs Don’t Defund Public Schools
This legislative session, state lawmakers have filed several bills to give families more options [...]
Read moreMarch 24, 2022
How Well is Louisiana Preparing Students for Careers?
For years, business and industry have complained that high school graduates aren’t arriving to the [...]
Read moreMarch 19, 2022
Legislature Files Education Savings Account (ESA) Bills to Expand Educational Options
The Louisiana Legislature has filed several bills to expand educational choice among its proposals [...]
Read moreMarch 4, 2022
Let’s Look at Tutoring and Recovery of Learning Loss
This week’s State of the Union address by President Biden included a brief mention of education [...]
Read moreFebruary 28, 2022
BESE Workgroup Identifies Problems in Louisiana’s K-12 Education Accountability System; Potential Solutions Discussed
Last week, a subgroup of State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) members tasked by [...]
Read moreFebruary 21, 2022
Let’s Give Our Children Hope
Hope: Noun. “Desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment.” (Merriam-Webster [...]
Read moreFebruary 10, 2022
As Education Budgets Grow, We Should Increase Transparency
Two weeks ago, Governor Edwards unveiled his proposed state budget for fiscal year 2022-2023. Given [...]
Read moreFebruary 1, 2022
It’s Time To Empower Louisiana Families
For years, people have pointed to parental involvement as the best way to improve K-12 education, [...]
Read moreJanuary 25, 2022
What Enrollment Trends Can Tell Us About School Choice
Around this time last year, you probably saw the news about Louisiana public school enrollment [...]
Read moreDecember 21, 2021
Our Work Isn’t Done: Let’s Empower Parents in 2022
This summer, I penned an article in response to a national study conducted about the ability of [...]
Read moreDecember 15, 2021
Statement: The Pelican Institute Congratulates The Newly Elected BESE Officers
BATON ROUGE— CEO of the Pelican Institute, Daniel Erspamer released the following statement [...]
Read moreDecember 9, 2021
Parents Deserve More Transparency
More transparency leads to better decisions. In all areas of government, we know this to be true. [...]
Read moreDecember 3, 2021
Is Value-Added Data Adding Value in Louisiana’s School Accountability System?
If you’ve paid any attention to K-12 education reform in Louisiana over the past several years, [...]
Read moreNovember 1, 2021
Teacher Shortages: What solutions will actually work?
For the past several weeks, K-12 schools across the country have been lamenting about the shortage [...]
Read moreOctober 22, 2021
Teacher Pension Debt Hits a Whopping $11.1 Billion
Louisiana’s retirement debt costs the state $1 of every $4 in annual state aid allocated to public [...]
Read moreOctober 11, 2021
Transparent School Accountability is Critical to Louisiana’s Recovery
It’s time to get serious about how our education system is preparing students for their [...]
Read moreOctober 7, 2021
True College and Career Readiness Should Be Our Priority
Louisiana K-12 schools have begun putting billions of federal recovery dollars to use to help [...]
Read moreSeptember 20, 2021
Education Savings Accounts Should Be Part of Louisiana’s Comeback Strategy
As thousands of southeast Louisiana students and their families struggle once again to resume [...]
Read moreAugust 19, 2021
We Can Do Better For Our Children
This week, following public testimony and in response to stakeholder feedback, the state Board of [...]
Read moreAugust 16, 2021
Pre-Pandemic Status Quo Should Not Be the Goal
The Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) released spring 2021 LEAP test results, showing [...]
Read moreAugust 13, 2021
Louisiana School Accountability Needs a Reset
The education policy community in Louisiana has been in a heated debate over the last several [...]
Read moreJuly 30, 2021
The School Accountability System Should be Simple and Transparent
In just a few weeks, the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) will vote on [...]
Read moreJuly 20, 2021
Jefferson Parish School Board Members Lead the Charge on Transparency Veto Override
As the legislature attempts to override the governor’s vetoes on various bills, one bill that we [...]
Read moreJuly 16, 2021
Debunking the Myths Surrounding Fiscal Transparency for School Districts
In recent days, there has been much misinformation put out about the school district transparency [...]
Read moreJuly 7, 2021
Fiscal Transparency is Never Unnecessary
Last week, Governor Edwards announced a shocking veto of a bill that would have created fiscal [...]
Read moreJuly 5, 2021
What Do School Letter Grades Really Tell Us About School Quality?
Last month, the Louisiana Department of Education proposed a set of changes to the state’s [...]
Read moreJune 11, 2021
Fiscal Transparency is Critical to Improving our Schools
The Pelican Institute is excited to report that the Louisiana Legislature has passed legislation [...]
Read moreJune 8, 2021
School Accountability is too Important to Not Get Right
Last week, The Advocate reported on plans by state education officials to make significant shifts [...]
Read moreMay 5, 2021
Education Savings Accounts: A New Opportunity for Louisiana Kids
While tax reform has rightly dominated the news coverage of Louisiana’s current legislative [...]
Read moreApril 27, 2021
Poll Shows Overwhelming Majority of Louisianans Want Fiscal Transparency in Schools
Why is Louisiana consistently ranked at the bottom when it comes to education even though we [...]
Read moreApril 14, 2021
(BIG) Solutions (mini) Summit(s) Day Three: Education Recap
Every child should have the opportunity to go to a school that is best for them. During the Pelican [...]
Read moreApril 6, 2021
We Need Transparency in our Schools
Taxpayers should know where the government is spending their money.
Read moreJanuary 25, 2021
Celebrate School Choice Week with Pelican
by Daniel Erspamer, CEO, Pelican Institute Today, we begin our celebration of National School [...]
Read moreVirtual Learning and Charter Schools During COVID-19
Virtual learning and “micro-schools” are things we’ve all learned about this [...]
Read moreAugust 19, 2020
Pelican’s New Plan to Transform Education in Louisiana
COVID-19 has taught us many lessons, but something that’s become abundantly clear in recent [...]
Read moreAugust 18, 2020
Education Savings Accounts would help Louisiana students during COVID-19
Some of Louisiana’s greatest innovations have emerged in the wake of natural disasters. Now, as we [...]
Read moreAugust 17, 2020
Pelican Back to School Week Offers Solutions to Transform Louisiana Education
We all remember the first day of school, but this year is clearly different than any other we’ve [...]
Read moreJuly 31, 2020
Louisiana Can Learn from S.C.’s COVID-19 Education Plan
There is no doubt the COVID-19 pandemic will have a lasting effect on the way our country delivers [...]
Read moreJune 30, 2020
School Choice Champions Earn Major Victory in SCOTUS’ Espinoza Decision
Today, in a landmark victory for First Amendment and school choice champions, the U.S. Supreme [...]
Read moreJune 5, 2020
Getting Louisiana Students Connected
The COVID-19 pandemic has made us more reliant on the internet than ever before. And while it has [...]
Read moreMay 20, 2020
Pelican Responds to Selection of Next State Superintendent
Today, in an eight to three vote, the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) [...]
Read moreMay 7, 2020
Pelican Lists Qualities it Seeks in Next State Superintendent
Today, the Pelican Institute released a list of key beliefs the next state Superintendent of [...]
Read moreApril 9, 2020
Pelican Responds to Calls to Extend Louisiana School Closures
This week, the Louisiana Superintendents Association requested Gov. John Bel Edwards to close [...]
Read moreMarch 17, 2020
Rough Day 2? Try These Resources for Student Downtime
Within hours of the announcement closing Louisiana schools for the next month, parents, teachers, [...]
Read moreMarch 11, 2020
Louisianans Deserve Transparency in Education Spending
Despite spending more on education than most of its neighbors, Louisiana is producing worse [...]
Read moreMarch 7, 2020
A School that Fits
A QUALITY EDUCATION. FOR EVERY LOUISIANA KID. As hard as we try, not every school in Louisiana [...]
Read moreOctober 8, 2019
Who does the National Education Association really represent?
There’s been a lot of debate over education policy and, more recently, teacher pay raises, [...]
Read moreJuly 29, 2019
Course Choice: Expanding Educational Freedom
Without ensuring access to a high-quality education for every child, Louisiana cannot have a [...]
Read moreJune 14, 2019
Education Spending Numbers Just Don’t Add Up
During the most recent legislative session, one of the most hotly debated issues was a $1,000 pay [...]
Read more