What’s On Tap For The House Education Committee This Week

The House Education Committee will convene again this week on Wednesday at 9:00am. While this week’s agenda sticks with Chairman Steve Carter’s plan to knock out some of the less controversial (i.e., non-Common Core) bills up for consideration, there’s still a few important proposals up for debate.

Here’s a breakdown of the notable bills the committee will consider [full agenda below]:

• House Bill 21 (Oppose) – This bill is nearly identical to a bill that Rep. Edwards filed last year that died in committee. Just because a school system received a designation of “A”, “B”, doesn’t mean it is necessarily meeting the needs of all of its students. BESE should not be prohibited from taking the steps it deems necessary to provide children with educational options.
   
• House Bill 166 (Oppose) – New Orleanians are justifiably skeptical about the OPSB’s ability to resume control over the schools taken over by the Recovery School District. Opinion polls have shown little enthusiasm for the returning eligible schools to OPSB (and support for local control has no doubt further eroded in the wake of Ira Thomas’ indictment). Furthermore, the fact that only one charter has chosen to voluntarily return to local control shows that schools are skeptical, too. Lawmakers should stick with the current policy of letting eligible schools decide whether to stick with RSD or return to OPSB.
   
• House Bill 180 (Support With Reservations) – I think it makes sense to prohibit the construction of schools on former waste sites, but I also think RSD has done the remediation needed to make the Booker T. Washington school site safe. Therefore, I would support this bill if it doesn’t apply retroactively.
   
• House Bill 287 (Oppose) – I believe this bill would create an overly complex and inefficient process for textbook and material adoption, as well as increase the cost of textbooks for taxpayers.
   
• House Bill 340 (Support) – Louisiana’s voucher program has not proven successful for the children it was intended to serve. Therefore, I support bills that seek to restrict the program.
   
• House Bill 342 (Support) – The Meningococcal vaccine is on the World Health Organization’s List of Essential Medicines, a list of the most important medication needed in a basic health system. Seems like an important vaccine to ensure public health.
   
• House Bill 410 (Support With Reservations) – I don’t exactly understand the motivations behind this bill, but a 20-minute lunch seems reasonable, so long as the bill does not mandate the location (i.e., must be in a cafeteria) where this 20 minute lunch period must occur.
   
• House Bill 446 (Oppose) – If parents want to teach their kids about gun safety, they can do it at home. Guns don’t belong in a public school classroom.
   
• House Bill 505 (Support With Reservations) – This bill would eliminate tenure for teachers entering the profession on or after July 1, 2015, but it seems prudent to hold off on this step and see how the tenure reforms set forth in Act 1 play out first.
   
• House Bill 524 (Oppose) – This proposed constitutional amendment is clearly aimed reviving the effort to carve out a new school district – St. George – in southeast East Baton Rouge Parish. It would just open up a Pandora’s Box of messy problems down the road and should be rejected.
   
• House Bill 537 (Oppose) – The bill is clearly aimed at situations like the fight over John McDonogh Senior High, which the RSD is planning to handover to a proven charter operator. This bill would prevent the RSD from providing more students with a high-quality education and should be rejected.
   
  
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