Press

“It is universally known there are huge problems with this system, and the system is currently being tweaked,” (LFT President Steve) Monaghan said. “Nonetheless, there is still an unrelenting persistence to defend the system by any means necessary, including the use of suspect data to impugn the quality of teachers who are fed up and are voting with their feet.”

Update: The hearing for a new trial has been rescheduled and will be held on Monday, March 4, in Baton Rouge's 19th Judicial District Court.

(Baton Rouge – January 24, 2013) A Baton Rouge district judge has agreed to rehear arguments that one of Governor Bobby Jindal’s signature education acts violates a constitutional prohibition on bundling multiple objectives in one piece of legislation.

Act 1 tied virtually every aspect of a teacher’s professional life, from salaries to tenure to termination, to a new evaluation system. But it also changed several sections of law dealing with the powers of school boards and superintendents.

“Today’s ruling was a victory for the constitution and the rule of law,” said LFT President Steve Monaghan following the verdict. “It was also a victory for the nearly 700,000 children who depend on public schools for an education, and for local citizens who do not want their tax dollars diverted away from the uses they intended.”

“Today’s ruling was a victory for the constitution and the rule of law,” said LFT President Steve Monaghan following the verdict. “It was also a victory for the nearly 700,000 children who depend on public schools for an education, and for local citizens who do not want their tax dollars diverted away from the uses they intended.”

(Baton Rouge – November 28, 2012) The preliminary sparring is over, and court proceedings begin in earnest today to determine the legality of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s scheme for privatizing public education.

U.S. District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle agreed with the Tangipahoa Parish School Board that both Act 1 and Act 2 of the 2012 legislative session will upset the agreement that allows Tangipahoa Parish schools to operate within federal desegregation guidelines.

Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan praised the judge’s ruling, saying that Gov. Jindal’s plan was hustled through the legislature too quickly for proper debate and oversight.

(Baton Rouge – November 18, 2012) Six members of the Gannett newspaper chain’s reporting team were recognized by the Louisiana Federation of Teachers today for their groundbreaking series of reports on education issues emerging from the 2012 Louisiana legislative session.

Also receiving a School Bell Award for Excellence in Education Journalism was Matthew Cunningham-Cook, a reporter for The Nation magazine, who investigated the role that billionaire donors played in last year’s election to the state board of education.

These activities exemplify what the Federation stands for 

(Baton Rouge – November 18, 2012) Six local chapters of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers today received the Union Values in Action Award for improving the lives of members, enhancing the influence of the union and advancing the mission of public education.

(Baton Rouge – October 25, 2012) Private and religious schools that receive state funds through vouchers should be held to accountability standards comparable to public schools, Louisiana Federation of Teachers resident Steve Monaghan said today.