Louisiana Teachers File Lawsuits|Southern Education Desk 6-14-2012

Janet Ward has taught school for thirty-four years.The fourth-grade teacher says that changes to state education laws need to be overturned. She’s especially concerned for the future of the profession.

 

“If the lawsuit doesn’t stop what’s happening, for beginning teachers, it’s going to cause them to be nervous when they start teaching. They’re going to have a fear of making a mistake. They feel that they have to be perfect and be a perfectionist by the time they start teaching, which, that’s not what teaching’s about.”

 

 

The Louisiana Federation of Teachers has filed two lawsuits that challenge new education laws. And Louisiana Association of Educators President, Joyce Haynes, says her union is working on filing documents disputing the legality of some of that legislation as well.

 

The Federation of Teachers’ legal actions dispute the constitutionality of bundling together several pieces of legislation into a single act. LFT’s first lawsuit names the state of Louisiana as a plaintiff; the document takes aim at Act 1 of the 2012 legislative session, specifically at changes to teacher tenure and reduction in the power of local school boards.

 

The LFT’s second suit names the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education as well as the state of Louisiana. The document challenges Act 2 of legislative session, citing what it claims is a list of “unrelated” items. Central to the brief is the legislation’s proposed use of public money to pay for tuition at private schools.  

 

Louisiana Federation of Teachers Vice President, Sandie Lollie

Sandie Lollie is the Vice President of the union. She says the legislative process was rushed.

 

“We would like to slow the pace down. If in fact all this reform legislation is good, if in fact it can stand up to scrutiny, let the public – let the people ask questions. Let’s delve into it, let’s get some of the logic as to why we’re changing this policy?”

 

Louisiana’s Superintendent of Education, John White released a statement saying that "The LFT is preventing parents from doing what they think is best for their children.  It's time to return our focus to teaching and classrooms, but the LFT keeps dragging us back to politics and courtrooms." The Department of Education refused to respond to the Southern Education Desk’s question about the constitutionality of the legislation.

 

But former BESE board member Leslie Jacobs did offer her opinion.

 

 

 “In Louisiana it is constitutional to use state money to pay for vouchers. The question is, can you use a particular instrument – the Minimum Foundation Program formula, or MFP, which is a constitutionally created, constitutionally protected as a source of funding for public schools – can you use that funding formula as a way to fund vouchers?” 

 

Dr. John Sutherlin has taught political science and worked as a political consultant in Louisiana for 17 years. He says that the court challenges have a hard road ahead.

 

“I think state courts are going to be unlikely to step into this. The governor’s in favor of it, the vast majority of the legislators were in favor of these measures. So it’s going to be pretty difficult for a state court, which really is often loath to step into these things when the other two branches of state government seem to be in favor of it.”

 

Still, Sutherlin says that the LFT’s complaint regarding the use of public money for tuition at private schools may yet find a sympathetic ear. He says that a federal district court might be willing to hear such a case.