School Choice & Charters

State of the States 2003: Louisiana

April 09, 2003 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Louisiana

Private Schools Would be Tested
Under Gov. Foster’s Voucher Plan

Gov. Mike Foster outlined two proposals to build on Louisiana’s accountability system during his annual address to the legislature: a pilot voucher program and state management of low-performing schools.

State of the States

The voucher initiative would target students who attend low-performing public schools. It would require participating private schools over time to take part in state tests and receive school performance scores as public schools do. But the private schools would not face other portions of the state accountability system.

“In education, let’s talk about some things that are going to cause a little stir,” said Mr. Foster, a Republican who is in the last year of his two terms in office. “I can’t imagine how you or I can leave this session and say we don’t have a plan for failing schools.”

The idea of roping private schools into even a portion of the accountability system, however, has spurred opposition from some private school leaders in the state, especially from Roman Catholic schools, who support an alternative voucher plan now before the legislature and which would not mandate testing.

Meanwhile, some public education groups, such as the Louisiana School Boards Association, have said they will strongly resist any voucher plans.

Gov. Foster said that if a school has performed poorly over time despite efforts to help the school, other options ought to be considered. “Vouchers are one way out of that,” he said in the March 31 speech.

Idea for Intervention

The governor also put forward another idea: state management of low-performing schools through the creation of a so-called Recovery School District to be operated by the Louisiana education department. Under the plan, state management would occur for a limited time.

“If you’ve got a better idea, have at it,” Mr. Foster challenged lawmakers. “I think we’ll have committed a sin if we leave here and we leave youngsters in failing schools where they cannot get out.”

He also proposed a modest package of measures to help address school discipline, including increased public awareness of laws already on the books and suspending or delaying driver’s licenses for students with discipline problems.

Mr. Foster spent considerable time in his speech promoting the need to protect school aid, and he pointed to what he believes were some of the results of the state’s prior spending on schools, as well as its accountability system, such as improved test scores.

“Continued investments in education and economic development, particularly, will continue to bring our citizens into the mainstream of full productivity,” he argued.

In February, the governor put forward a budget request for fiscal 2004 that would provide a slight increase in K-12 education spending, raising it from $2.69 billion this year to $2.73 billion, a hike of 1.5 percent.

Analysts say it will be a difficult budget year, though, because Louisiana, like many states, is facing a budget shortfall. Recent estimates place it at least $500 million, out of a budget of about $16 billion.

Related Tags:

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School Choice & Charters Q&A How the Charter School Movement Is Changing: A Top Charter Advocate Looks Back and Ahead
Nina Rees, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, plans to step down as leader of the group at the end of the year.
6 min read
Nina Rees, CEO of the National Public Charter School Association.
Nina Rees, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, emphasizes that she has "always thought of [charter schools] as laboratories of innovation with the hopes of replicating those innovations in district-run schools."
Courtesy of McLendon Photography
School Choice & Charters Lead NAEP Official Faces Scrutiny Over Improper Spending Alleged at N.C. Charter School
Peggy Carr, the National Center for Education Statistics' head, is vice chair of the school's board and part-owner of school properties.
7 min read
Peggy Carr, Commissioner of the National Center for Education, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press about the National Assessment of Education Process on Oct. 21, 2022, in Washington.
Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press about the National Assessment of Education Process on Oct. 21, 2022, in Washington. Carr is facing scrutiny over allegations of improper spending by a North Carolina charter for which she serves as vice chair and landlord.
Alex Brandon/AP
School Choice & Charters 3 Decades In, Charter Schools Continue to Face Legal Challenges
Debates are raging in Kentucky and Montana over whether charter schools violate state constitutions.
6 min read
Illustration of a school building with a Venn diagram superimposed
iStock/Getty
School Choice & Charters More Young Kids Opted for Private School After COVID Hit
Newly released federal data shed light on where some students who left public schools during the pandemic ended up.
3 min read
A teacher with group of students standing in private school campus courtyard and talking
E+