It’s time to stand up for Louisiana students and educators!

Right now, the Louisiana legislature is moving bills through the state house that will hurt public education in the state for years to come.

• ❌Dues deduction bills: Takes away your freedom to spend your paycheck as you choose.
• ❌Voucher bills: Our school districts are subject to losing funding to these voucher programs, seriously impacting our public education system.
• ❌There is also talk of a constitutional convention which would severely restrict the ability for education dollars to be used for students and to make our communities better. HB 800 was up for discussion this week. It sets the stage for a Constitutional Convention. Few details are known at this point, but elected officials have been clear that K-12 funding protected in the current constitution is a target. The author of the bill said that he will not move the bill out of committee this week.

It's time to stand up for your rights and the futures of the children in our state.

Broken Promises: Permanent Raises or Uncertain Stipends

     This was the theme at our latest membership meeting. Our members heard a presentation from Cynthia Posey, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers Legislative & Political Director. She discussed the following information and shared what members must do to see changes.

     In the last session, our raise was turned into a stipend. We were promised this session that the stipend would be a permanent raise. Now they say that it is not possible.

     When pressed, lawmakers, BESE members, and the State Superintendent of Education are quick to point out the looming fiscal cliff as a reason the raises cannot be made permanent. That fiscal cliff has made headlines for years, and nothing has been done to address it. Legislators knew that when they promised to make the stipend a permanent raise last year. Why should eliminating our raise and disinvesting in public education be the solutions?

This week will be a busy one. Bills must start moving through the process now for them to be heard during the legislative session due to an expected shortened session.

LFT will continue to update you on progress and actions to take to protect your freedom and rights to compensation, safety and discipline, and a fair workload.

DISCIPLINE & SAFETY

Your Right to Teach Free from Distraction

On Thursday, April 4th, House Education will hear HB 322 which protects your right to teach without distraction.

✅HB 322 addresses your challenges in maintaining a conducive learning environment for all students by making it clear that disrupting the orderly instruction of other students, and safety threats, will result in removal for that class period

     2024 has already been a whirlwind of closed chapters and new beginnings! As we make plans for the future and the direction that we want EBR to move towards, we want to thank our outgoing Superintendent, Dr. Sito Narcisse for his service to our students. Dr. Narcisse stepped up in the middle of a pandemic and provided innovative leadership while dissolving much of the nepotism that has plagued us for many years. We wish him well.

     In that same vein, we send a huge CONGRATULATIONS to Mr. Adam Smith for being overwhelmingly selected as our Interim Superintendent! As many of you know, Mr. Smith has been a valuable part of EBR for many years. We have come to rely on his common-sense approach to the issues, along with his level-headed demeanor and his

On Friday, the Policy and Planning Board of the Louisiana Office of Group Benefits (OGB) met to consider a proposed rate hike. Increasing rates would result in added health insurance costs for teachers and school employees across the state, along with other public employees.

LFT sent out an action alert as soon as news of the meeting was made public. In less than 24 hours, thousands of teachers and school employees wrote to the board, asking them to vote ‘no’ on the proposed increase to the cost of their insurance.

LFT Legislative and Political Director Cynthia Posey spoke before the Board on Friday, relaying the concerns of our members and asking the board members to oppose any rate hikes this year. While we fully recognize the importance of having a stable, well-funded account balance that will ensure reliable insurance coverage for our members, we oppose efforts to unnecessarily increase costs. Currently, the OGB fund is well above target rates. The Louisiana Legislative Auditor recommends that the OGB fund balance should be roughly $275 million. Currently, it sits at $430.8 million. This is money that state agencies and state employees, like teachers and school employees, have paid into the system.

The AFT has always been a solutions-driven union, and our new campaign, launched during TEACH on July 21, proves it once again with a fresh, practical approach to strengthening public education. As AFT President Randi Weingarten pointed out during her keynote speech, the $5 million, yearlong campaign, “Real Solutions for Kids and Communities,” stands up against attacks on public schools and offers real-world solutions to build up, rather than break down, our communities.