Monday, April 25, 2011

2011 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature Opens Today

The 2011 regular session of the Louisiana Legislature opens today at noon. Throughout the duration of the session, we will send out our Legislative Update weekly to keep you updated on all of the latest information on K-12 public education-related bills and committee activity.

The Cowen Institute has compiled a list of all prefiled bills related to K-12 education, which you can download here. We have also put together our list of the Top K-12 Education Bills to Watch, which can be downloaded here. This list will be continually updated with more detailed information, including any actions taken on each bill as they make their way through the legislative process.

Among the 58 prefiled bills related to K-12 education, there are a handful themes repeated throughout. At least four bills would redraw the district boundaries for the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE). For more information on the need for new BESE district boundaries, click here . Two other bills would address BESE membership by changing its governance structure. Three bills would alter how failing schools transfer into or out of the Recovery School District (RSD), while others would create policies specific to schools in the RSD. Other repeating themes include charter school policies, curriculum and instruction, the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS), and the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL).

The House Education Committee will meet this week on Wednesday, April 27 at 9:00 am in Committee Room 1. The meeting agenda can be viewed by clicking here. The Senate Education Committee will meet upon adjournment in the John J. Hainkel, Jr. Room on Thursday, April 28. The agenda is not posted yet. For more information on activity in these committees, please see http://legis.state.la.us/ , the House Education Committee website, and the Senate Education Committee website.

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Cowen Institute Presents the 2011 State of Public Education in Louisiana

The Cowen Institute is pleased to release today the 2011 State of Public Education in Louisiana. This annual report is meant to inform our state legislators and key stakeholders on public education issues in Louisiana. Download the entire report by clicking here, or each section can be downloaded separately by clicking on the section title below. If you would like a hard copy of the report, please contact us.

Louisiana PK-12 Education: Governance, Demographics, & Enrollment
This first section of the report includes information on local and state governance, 2010-2011 student demographics, and student enrollment data. It also highlights the governance structure in Orleans Parish and contains the report cover and Table of Contents.

Public School Funding in Louisiana
This section includes detailed information on the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP), including the local and state shares and an explanation of the funding structure for public schools in general and in the Recovery School District. It also provides a comparison of school funding across Louisiana districts and between Louisiana and the rest of the country.

Public School Performance
This section includes information on school performance scores (SPS), how Louisiana compares to other states and other countries, and information on the achievement gap in the state.

Recovery School District
This section includes an explanation of the role of the Recovery School District (RSD) in Louisiana, as well as its performance in New Orleans.

Charter Schools
This section provides an overview of charter schools in the state – what they are, their governance structure, location, and student demographics.

Public School Facilities
This section includes information on spending on school facilities both in Louisiana and across the country, as well as an overview of Louisiana’s school facilities needs.

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