The 2022 Louisiana Regular Legislative Session Began This Week and NSNO is Tuned In
Our state legislature convened on Monday, March 13, and began the work of the 2022 Regular Legislative Session. Our legislators will be coming together to debate, deliberate, and vote on the laws that affect all of us in Louisiana. Legislation often impacts our schools and our children; laws that our legislators create and vote on can influence crucial issues like school funding, state academic standards, and how teachers are evaluated and compensated.
For this reason, education law and policy is one of our priorities at NSNO, and we follow all legislative sessions closely. We work to advocate for policies and laws that will have a positive impact on our students, and push back against those that could harm them. This means support for maintaining the conditions that promote good outcomes for students, families and schools working hard every day.
Specifically, we want to ensure the principles of autonomy, accountability, choice, and equity remain central to our system. This allows our schools to respond rapidly to the needs of students with customized programs, curricula and supports. We allow our schools to innovate and provide creative, varied models while setting clear expectations and guidelines for the excellence our students and families deserve. And we believe students and families should have access to quality schools no matter where they live.
Over the last fifteen years, we’ve seen real academic growth and progress in New Orleans. For example, in 2004, our four-year graduation rate was 54%. In 2020, it had risen to nearly 80%.
New Orleans’ teachers and educators are doing great work and we’re asking our legislative leaders to stand by them through supporting a policy environment that enable their success. Our children deserve our very best.
To stay up to date on the latest in the Louisiana State Legislature, you can visit their website, here.