Teachers Unions Accused of Working to Restore the Status Quo

By Kevin Mooney
05/15/2012
As an alternative to the “draconian Jindal approach” to education reform, the state’s teachers unions have offered up legislation that would revoke value-added teacher assessments, reinstate tenure and empower school boards over superintendents.

TAGS: Gov. Bobby Jindal, Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, Louisiana Association of Educators, Louisiana Federation of Teachers, Standardized tests, teachers

Value-Added Teacher Evaluation Divides BESE Candidates, Draws Union Opposition

By Kevin Mooney
11/03/2011
Test scores that measure the progress students make each year will now be used as part of a new evaluation system that determines how effective teachers are in the classroom. But not everyone with a stake in the public education system is pleased with the change.

TAGS: Advisory Committee on Educator Evaluations (ACEE), BESE, Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, Louisiana Association of Educators, Louisiana Department of Education, Louisiana Federation of Teachers, teachers union, value-added teacher evaluation

Debate Intensifies Over Alleged Profit Motive in Public Education

By Kevin Mooney
10/19/2011
Are business interests plotting to take over the public education system and turn a profit at the expense of the public? That is the charge leading figures within the Coalition for Public Education have aimed against Gov. Bobby Jindal and the school board candidates who favor charter schools.

TAGS: BESE, Charter Schools, Coalition for Public Education, election, Gov. Bobby Jindal, Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, Recovery School District, school board, Teach for America

BESE Candidates Sharply Divided Over Letter Grade System Measuring School Performance

By Kevin Mooney
10/07/2011
Letter grades that show a sizable percentage of Louisiana public schools are either failing or under-performing continue to generate controversy. A union-led coalition warns against Gov. Jindal's privatization agenda, while a business group says the unions fear transparency and accountability.

TAGS: BESE, Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, Coalition for Louisiana Public Education, Gov. Bobby Jindal, Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, New Orleans, Recovery School District

Charter School Movement Could Be Curtailed If Union BESE Candidates Prevail

By Kevin Mooney
09/22/2011
Louisiana’s experiment with charter schools could be restrained and limited if the right mix of candidates running for the state’s top school board seats do not prevail in this year’s election, warn industry officials who are backing several newcomers and three incumbents.

TAGS: Board of Education and Elementary Secondary Education, Charter Schools, Gov. Bobby Jindal, Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, School choice

Union-Backed BESE Candidates Could Face Stiff Competition

By Kevin Mooney
09/02/2011
Union-backed school board candidates who oppose school choice initiatives, teacher evaluations, heightened curriculum standards, the abolition of tenure and other policy changes could face strong opposition this fall. All eight of the elected seats on the 11 member Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) are open to primary challenges.

TAGS: Alliance for Better Classrooms, BESE, Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, Gov. Bobby Jindal, Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, Paul Pastorek

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A Tax Plan for Our Brighter Future

A Tax Plan for Our Brighter Future paper-digital In Louisiana’s Comeback: A Tax Reform for Our Brighter Future, the Pelican Institute identifies the state’s significant tax problems and proposes a path to set the state in a brighter direction, including flattening the personal and corporate income taxes to 3.5% rates, reducing the number of tax preferences, eliminating...

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