Teachers union to file suit today against education acts

The Louisiana Federation of Teachers plans to file suit today to stop implementation of Act 1 and Act 2 of the just-ended session of the Legislature. Act 1 guts teacher tenure, shifts some authority from school boards to superintendents, and makes changes to teacher pay and evaluations. Act 2 redirects state funding to private schools through an expanded voucher program, among other changes. LFT representatives will announce the suits today at 11 a.m. at the 19th Judicial District courthouse in Baton Rouge. “The governor’s people trampled on the constitution, passing Act 1 and Act 2,” says LFT spokesman Les Landon. “We don’t believe there’s any way these bills can withstand constitutional scrutiny.” The state’s other major teachers union, the Louisiana Association of Educators, is holding a board meeting this weekend, attorney Brian Blackwell says, where they may also vote to challenge both acts. “Make no mistake; the lawsuit filed today is nothing more than the latest salvo in the special interests quixotic quest to preserve an educational system that is failing far too many children,” says Aaron Baer, a spokesman for Gov. Bobby Jindal’s office, in a prepared statement. —David Jacobs