Posted on 06/07/2012 1:12:21 PM PDT by BBell
Gov. Bobby Jindal has issued a written statement in response to two state lawsuits that public school teachers filed today challenging parts of the wide-ranging education reforms enacted in April. The suits ask the 19th Judicial District in Baton Rouge to strike down changes to teacher tenure and personnel law, along with the creation of a statewide private school voucher program that used the public school financing formula to pay private school tuition.
The governor did not directly engage in any of the legal arguments the teachers presented in their petitions. Here is the governor's complete statement:
"Forty-four percent of our public schools are failing, 225,000 students are below grade level, and our state is spending a billion dollars a year on failing schools. That's unacceptable. The people of Louisiana demand and deserve better. The coalition of the status quo have fought reform every step of the way, so it is no surprise they are making this last ditch effort to convince the courts to overrule the vote of the people and the Legislature. Holding up these reforms in court will only deny parents and students the opportunity to escape failing schools. Our kids do not get a second chance to grow up."
The Council for a Better Louisiana, a non-partisan advocacy group that backed Jindal's agenda, also has issued a statement:
CABL believes it is unfortunate that the Louisiana Federation of Teachers has chosen to file a lawsuit challenging the landmark education reforms that were passed this session. With 230,000 public school students performing below grade level and 44% of our schools earning a D or F school performance score, Louisiana needs major policy changes to improve education for our children.
Once again the actions by the LFT show that the union is more interested in taking care of adult issues at the educational
(Excerpt) Read more at nola.com ...
I have always liked Gov. Jindal.
I also like Louisiana! I have a daughter in Lafayette, and I love to go visit her!
I also like Louisiana!
Bobby Jindal sure has classed up our state. I can hardly believe just a few years ago Louisiana was a blue state completely controled by Dems. Then slowly but surely we turned red and in my area we are proud of it. We love Bobby Jindal but would gladly share him with the nation if it meant he could help turn our country around!
One of union’s supposed selling points is the idea that they provide “qualified” workers to fulfill the needs of the contract. How come the states and the districts don’t sue the unions for poor/non-performance?
Republicans control both houses of the legislature. They have no excuse.
Been here in lousyanna for 14 years now,,transplant from Texas due to job. Never been better people...food...attitudes.Was a redneck when in Texas, more of a redneck now than ever before. Guns , Bible and very conservative..try to take any away from me...prepare to meet your maker. Jindal needs to stay here for a while and let him do his thing and lead the way for everyone else. The man is fearless and on the bleeding edge of real change for the better.
La. is way ahead of Wisconsin. If you if you send your kid to a private school you get to deduct the tuition cost from your taxes. Charter Schools are very popular, so much so that the number of charter Schools opening up can not keep up with demand. Lotteries have to be held for the few spots in these charter schools. These charter schools are not unionized, which bothers the teachers unions, and teachers can be fired for not producing results or for just about anything. These charter schools seem to attract the best and the brightest of teachers. Teachers who really care for more than just a paycheck. The long term goal of La. and Jindal seems to be to privatize public education and the unions are not happy with this.
Sounds good to me!
One problem for those with a strict view of "natural born citizen": Jindal was born "in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Amar and Raj Jindal, who came to the United States as immigrants from Punjab, India, six months before he was born".
Neither parent was a citizen when he was born.
Y'all have a really interesting Red on Red congressional primary coming up..Boustany v. Landy..BOTH sitting congressmen.
From what I've read, and not much has been written about it..Landy seems the real deal..though Boustany has a pretty decent record. What are Jindal and Vitter doing....staying neutral, or have they endorsed?
Also, will Mary retire in 2014?..I think she loses if she runs again..who's the likely GOP pick for the seat?
I haven’t heard anything about Jindal or Vitter endorsing anyone. But, there is one thing for sure, I really want to see Landrieu go. I write and e-mail her on issues as I am sure many people do but she pretty much votes with the Democratic party even though her state is red. The last two times she has ran, she narrowly won (I’m sure a lot of dead people voted). This time will be the charm - I just say’n and pray’n. She voted for Obamacare and lambasted Vitter for not. I hope that comes back to bite her. Like they say, anyone but Obama I say the same for Landrieu.
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