School Board members elected at, and serving at, the local level are well aware of a variety of challenges to this process, parish by parish, and are working together, across the state, to overcome these challenges.

 It is our belief that private interests, personal gain and undue bureaucratic dictates have no place in providing outstanding public education services, which should focus upon the children themselves, regardless of the parish in which they live, regardless of their economic circumstances, regardless of any other cultural factors. Every parish public school system has a stake in Louisiana’s overall education success.  We’re all there to support each other.

Mission: 

The Mission of “Louisiana Public Schools – Solutions that Work” is to support traditional public education in our state on its journey toward excellence.

We are a growing work group of school board members, superintendents and state legislators, collaborating to establish common ground, and to set forth researched precursors for true public education progress toward excellence in Louisiana.  Reform may come about as bills in legislative sessions, changes within the Department of Education, or changes brought about by such organizations as the Louisiana School Board Association (LSBA.) Progress is coming, but it must be based on unbiased observation, documentation, communication, and a desire to work together for a statewide joint effort to move our state forward in the realm of public education.

Our Positions:

Based on our stated:

·         Vision that traditional public education is the most equitable, economical and child-centered venue for public education, and our

·         Vision that private interests, corporate profits and personal gain have no place in the arena of public education, and our

·         Mission that we are here to support traditional public education and the traditional public schools of Louisiana,

·         Belief that government governs best, which is closest to the people, and state micromanagement into local decision-making is not usually for the best:

We post these opinions to show that we do not support:

·         The Privatization of public education;

·         The Charter school concept in general, until proven successful for all students of all ability-levels, over time, through independent research  (see Links);

·         Charter school expansion in our state, until all charter schools are proven successful by the same State Accountability tests which all other public schools must take, and must publish their results for complete comparability, transparency and accountability to the tax-paying public; 

·         Expansion of charter legislation in Louisiana, since the success of charter schools nationwide, for all children, has not been established, documented and independently proven;

·         Charter schools being removed from the state authority and regulation of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), and being placed under their own authority, unless they agree to give up all public funding; since charters claim to be “public schools,” they should be treated as such.

·         Any expansions of time in which Recovery School District schools—charter and non-charter -- should be held by the state, rather than returned to their home parishes; we suggest a legislative review of the initial RSD authorization and the possibility of reauthorization of the initial RSD legislation—such as a return to earlier, more restrictive criteria.

·         Term Limits for elected officials, school board members – this is unnecessary since citizens already have the right and responsibility to remove from office any elected officials they choose;

·         Common Core Standards (see Links) – The “Race to the Top” required that states adopt these standards, which hadn’t been written by the deadline to participate in “Race to the Top.” Louisiana was one of 48 states which agreed to the concept of “Common Core Standards.”  We believe that the Common Core Standards should have been considered separate and apart from Race to the Top, especially since the drafts weren’t complete at the time of the deadline to apply.  Further, the Standards should have been reviewed by, and voted upon by, the states’ educators and School Boards, rather than merely signed onto by the states’ governors.  [48 states signed on; Texas and Alaska did not.] After all, this is an educational issue, and educators from every state should have been involved in every part of the process.  Finally, states should have the option to include a portion of their own standards, and further, the option not to participate in the national program, if their own state standards are deemed more rigorous.