Un-lawless: Louisiana’s hazing penalties will toughen, the marriage waiting period will shorten and the types of records shielded from public view will grow, as more than 430 new laws take effect Wednesday. Lawmakers passed the measures during the regular legislative session that ended in May, and they were signed into law by Gov. John Bel Edwards. With the start of August, legislators are requiring schools to give parents information about flu causes, symptoms and vaccines. They’ve lifted the ban on switchblade knives. And they’ve prohibited tying up pets during a hurricane or a flood; violators will face fines. Read the full story.
Pilot program: U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced Monday that Louisiana will be the first state to test new assessments as part of a pilot program authorized by the Every Student Succeeds Act. The new tests will measure students’ understanding in English language arts and social studies by testing students on knowledge of passages from books used in daily classroom instruction at regular intervals, rather than randomly-selected texts once during the school year. Louisiana will pilot its innovative assessments in 20 high schools, across three districts and two charter networks, serving nearly 21,000 students. Read the full announcement.
Dead zone: Scientists say this year’s Gulf of Mexico “dead zone” is surprisingly small but the oxygen-depleted water rose higher toward the surface than usual. Today’s report describes the fourth-smallest area ever measured where water at and above the sea floor off Louisiana holds too little oxygen to support marine life. Scientists had predicted an average-sized area this year. The dead zone, roughly the size of Delaware, covers about 2,720 square miles, rising in some areas about two-thirds of the way to the surface. Read the full story.
