To be continued: Opponents of the Common Core education standards have delayed a hearing on a bill that would place new ethics restrictions on state education leaders. The Associated Press reports the proposal by Rep. Bob Hensgens, R-Abbeville, was scheduled for debate today in the House and Governmental Affairs Committee. But the debate was shelved temporarily while Common Core opponents and supporters continue negotiations over a possible compromise on Louisiana’s use and review of the standards. Hensgens’ bill would toughen ethics limits for Education Superintendent John White and members of the state education board. Common Core critics have suggested White, a supporter of the multistate standards, has been influenced by outside groups pushing Common Core. He denies any improprieties, and the ethics board cleared him after a complaint was filed.
Perception and reality: An education think tank’s annual poll again shows that people in New Orleans have growing confidence in public schools, although the need for improvement remains evident. As The Associated Press reports, almost all public schools in the city are independently run charter schools, and 59% of respondents said charter schools have improved public education. Only 18% disagreed. Thirty-seven percent said schools are better since Hurricane Katrina hit nearly 10 years ago. Twenty-one percent said schools were better before the storm. The poll, released today, was commissioned by Tulane University’s Cowen Institute in partnership with The New Orleans Advocate. Read the full story.
Back to the drawing board: The House Education Committee today refused to add more restrictions to the state education board’s ability to create new charter schools. The Associated Press reports the panel voted 10-6 to oppose House Bill 21, a proposal by gubernatorial candidate and Rep. John Bel Edwards, D-Amite. The bill would have prohibited the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education from starting a new charter school in a school district graded with an A or B that already had denied the charter school application.
