Louisiana’s longtime state superintendent of education has been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, the state education agency has announced.
Cecil J. Picard says he intends to stay in his post, which he has held since 1996, with backing from the governor and the state board of elementary and secondary education.
“I pledge to them and the people of this state that I will continue to focus on doing what’s best for the children of Louisiana, despite this diagnosis,” Mr. Picard, 67, said in a May 18 statement.
The progressive neuromuscular affliction is commonly known by the name of the New York Yankees baseball star who was diagnosed with the disease in the 1930s.
