Public education in Louisiana

in Louisiana

Fiscal Budgets Louisiana state budget and finances Tax policy in Louisiana Finance Financial regulation in Louisiana Pensions Public pensions in Louisiana Pension health in Louisiana Civil liberties Affirmative action in Louisiana Campaign finance requirements in Louisiana Campaign finance requirements for Louisiana ballot measures Nonprofit regulation in Louisiana Education Charter schools in Louisiana Higher education in Louisiana Public education in Louisiana School choice in Louisiana Elections Ballot access Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Louisiana Ballot access requirements for political parties in Louisiana Political parties in Louisiana Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Louisiana Redistricting in Louisiana Voting in Louisiana Energy and Environment Energy policy in Louisiana Fracking in Louisiana Oil and gas extraction on federal land in Louisiana Endangered species in Louisiana Environmental policy in Louisiana Healthcare Healthcare policy in Louisiana Medicaid spending in Louisiana Effect of the Affordable Care Act in Louisiana Immigration Immigration in Louisiana

This article does not contain the most recently published data on this subject. If you would like to help our coverage grow, consider donating to Ballotpedia.

K-12 education in Louisiana

Education facts

State superintendent: Cade Brumley

Number of students: 710,903

Number of teachers: 46,493

Teacher/pupil ratio: 1:15

Number of school districts: 80

Number of schools: 1,407

Graduation rate: 73.5%

Per-pupil spending: $10,490

See also

Louisiana Department of Education • List of school districts in Louisiana • Louisiana • School boards portal

Public education in the United States Public education in Louisiana Glossary of education terms

Note: The statistics on this page are mainly from government sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics. Figures given are the most recent as of June 2015, with school years noted in the text or footnotes.

The Louisiana public school system (prekindergarten through grade 12) operates within districts governed by locally elected school boards and superintendents. In 2013 Louisiana had 710,903 students enrolled in a total of 1,407 schools in 131 school districts. There were 46,493 teachers in the public schools, or roughly one teacher for every 15 students, compared to the national average of 1:16. There was roughly one administrator for every 248 students, compared to the national average of one administrator for every 295 students. On average Louisiana spent $10,490 per pupil in 2013, which ranked it 26th highest in the nation. The state's graduation rate was 73.5 percent in 2013.^[1][2][3]

Common Core[edit]

Common Core, or the Common Core State Standards Initiative, is an American education initiative that outlines quantifiable benchmarks in English and mathematics at each grade level from kindergarten through high school. The Louisiana State Board of Education adopted the standards on July 1, 2010. Full implementation took place during the 2013-2014 academic year.^[4][5]

In June 2014, Governor Bobby Jindal issued an executive order that would effectively, albeit indirectly, withdraw Louisiana from Common Core. The order required competitive bidding for education standards tests. Because the Common Core testing program is among the most expensive of these tests, it was unlikely that the tests could be purchased in a competitive bidding process. Louisiana Superintendent of Education John White, however, insisted that the state would continue with Common Core. White said, "The state will continue to implement the Common Core Standards [...] this is a long term plan we have been working on for four years and committed to another 10 years of implementation. We are not willing to subject our children to last minute changes to throw our system into educational chaos."^[6][7]

Jindal continued making his opposition to Common Core known in 2015. He appointed Mary Harris to the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Harris had previously come out in public opposition to the Common Core standards. Jindal also issued an executive order in January 2015 allowing parents to opt their students out of Common Core assessments. This order also asked Louisiana schools to propose alternatives to the Common Core-affiliated standardized tests. A month later, Jindal revealed his proposal for education reform at the national level, which would have repealed the Common Core law throughout the nation and diminished federal oversight over education. Jindal made several other public statements against the Common Core throughout 2015.^{[8][9][10][11][12][13][14]}

On February 4, 2016, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) announced he would not continue former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's (R) lawsuit against the United States Department of Education over Common Core standards.^[15] Jindal originally filed the lawsuit in 2014, arguing that the federal government was illegally pressuring states to adopt Common Core standards. Edwards commented on the lawsuit, saying "It does not benefit students to continue to use time and resources to pursue litigation that no longer has any bearing on classrooms in Louisiana."^[16]

To view a more comprehensive timeline regarding Common Core in Louisiana and the rest of the United States, click here.

General information[edit]

See also: General comparison table for education statistics in the 50 states and Education spending per pupil in all 50 states

The following chart shows how Louisiana compared to three neighboring states with respect to the number of students, schools, teachers per pupil and administrators per pupil for the 2012-2013 school year. The chart also displays that information at the national level. At $10,490, Louisiana had the highest spending per pupil of its neighboring states.

Further comparisons between these states with respect to performance and financial information are given in other sections of this page.

Schools by type[edit]

Education policy on Ballotpedia
Education policy in the U.S.
Public education in the U.S.
Higher education by state
School choice in the U.S.
Education statistics
State information
Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming
School board elections portal Glossary of education terms School choice on the ballot Education on the ballot

See also: Number of schools by school type in the United States

Of the 98,454 schools in the United States, 89,031 were classified as regular schools. After regular schools, magnet schools and charter schools were the most prevalent non-traditional schools in the country, at 6,079 and 5,986, respectively.

The table below breaks down each of the different types of schools in Louisiana and nearby states. Also listed are the numbers of schools in each state that are classified as "Title I" schools. These are public schools that have been specially targeted to correct achievement gaps in public schools.^[17]

In Louisiana, there were 1,218 regular schools as of 2013. The second most prevalent type of school in the state was alternative schools, with 152 schools.

Demographics[edit]

See also: Demographic information for all students in all 50 states

The following table displays the ethnic distribution of students in Louisiana as reported in the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data for 2012-2013.^[18]

During the 2012-2013 school year, just over half of all students in K-12 public schools were white. About a quarter of the students in the country were Hispanic, with black students making up about 16 percent of the student population.

In Louisiana, the majority of students were white. White students totaled 334,175, which was about 47 percent of the student population in the state. There were 319,734 black students in Louisiana, which accounted for 45 percent of the total student population.

Enrollments by region type[edit]

See also: Student distribution by region type in the United States

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 30 percent of all public school students in the country attended city schools during the 2012-2013 school year. About 40 percent attended suburban schools. Approximately 11.5 percent of all students attended schools in towns, while about 18.7 percent attended rural schools.^[19]

A plurality of students in Louisiana attended suburban schools during the 2012-2013 school year. Approximately 55.5 percent of the state's students attended city or suburban schools, compared to the approximately 45 percent who attended rural or town schools.

Academic performance[edit]

Education terms
For more information on education policy terms, see this article.
School board elections portal Glossary of education terms School choice on the ballot Education on the ballot

NAEP scores[edit]

See also: NAEP scores by state

The National Center for Education Statistics provides state-by-state data on student achievement levels in mathematics and reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The table below presents the percentage of fourth and eighth grade students that scored at or above proficient in reading and math during school year 2012-2013. Compared to three neighboring states (Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi), Louisiana tied with Mississippi for the lowest percentage of fourth grade students who scored at or above proficient in math during the 2012-2013 school year.^[20]

Graduation, ACT and SAT scores[edit]

See also: Graduation rates by groups in state and ACT and SAT scores in the United States

The following table shows the graduation rates and average composite ACT and SAT scores for Louisiana and surrounding states during the 2012-2013 school year. All statements made in this section refer to that school year.^[20][21][22]

In the United States, public schools reported graduation rates that averaged to about 81.4 percent. About 54 percent of all students in the country took the ACT, while 50 percent reported taking the SAT. The average national composite scores for those tests were 20.9 out of a possible 36 for the ACT, and 1498 out of a possible 2400 for the SAT.^[23]

Louisiana schools reported a graduation rate of 73.5 percent during the 2012-2013 school year, lowest among its neighboring states.

In Louisiana, more students took the ACT than the SAT in 2013, earning an average ACT score of 19.5.

Dropout rate[edit]

See also: Public high school dropout rates by state for a full comparison of dropout rates by group in all states

The high school event dropout rate indicates the proportion of students who were enrolled at some time during the school year and were expected to be enrolled in grades nine through 12 in the following school year but were not enrolled by October 1 of the following school year. Students who have graduated, transferred to another school, died, moved to another country, or who are out of school due to illness are not considered dropouts. The average public high school event dropout rate for the United States remained constant at 3.3 percent for both school year 2010–2011 and school year 2011–2012. The event dropout rate for Louisiana was higher than the national average at 3.9 percent in the 2010-2011 school year, and 5.7 percent in the 2011-2012 school year.^[24]

Educational choice options[edit]

See also: School choice in Louisiana

School choice options in Louisiana included charter schools, school vouchers, school choice tax credits, intra-district and inter-district enrollment policies and online learning programs. In addition, about 16.31 percent of school-age children in the state attended private schools in the 2011-2012 academic year, and an estimated 2.67 percent were homeschooled in 2012-2013.

Developments[edit]

Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue (2020)[edit]

Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue
Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue
Media coverage and commentary
U.S. Supreme Court 2019-2020 term
Blaine Amendment (U.S. Constitution)
Blaine amendments in state constitutions
School choice on the ballot
Education on the ballot

See also: Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue

On June 30, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, which concerned whether the government can exclude religious institutions from student-aid programs. The case related to Article X, Section 6 of the Montana Constitution, also known as Montana’s Blaine Amendment.^[25]

In its 5-4 opinion, the court held that the application of Article X, Section 6 violated the free exercise clause of the U.S. Constitution. The majority held Article X, Section 6 barred religious schools and parents who wished to send their children to those schools from receiving public benefits because of the religious character of the school.^[26]

The case addressed the tension between the free exercise and Establishment clauses of the U.S. Constitution—where one guarantees the right of individuals' free exercise of religion and the other guarantees that the state won't establish a religion—and the intersections of state constitutions with state law and with the U.S. Constitution.

Louisiana is not one of the states with a Blaine Amendment.

Education funding and expenditures[edit]

See also: Louisiana state budget and finances

Breakdown of expenditures by function in fiscal year 2013
Source: National Association of State Budget Officers

According to the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO), states spent an average of 19.8 percent of their total budgets on elementary and secondary education during fiscal year 2013. In addition, the United States Census Bureau found that approximately 45.6 percent of the country's school system revenue came from state sources, while about 45.3 percent came from local sources. The remaining portion of school system revenue came from federal sources.^[27][28]

Louisiana spent approximately 19.3 percent of its budget on elementary and secondary education during fiscal year 2013. The state school systems' revenue came primarily from local funds. Louisiana spent the second highest percentage of its total budget on public education when compared to its neighboring states.

Revenue breakdowns[edit]

See also: Public school system revenues in the U.S. to compare all states.

According to the United States Census Bureau, public school system revenues totaled approximately $598 billion in fiscal year 2013.^[28]

In Louisiana, the primary source of school system revenue was local funding, at $3.5 billion. When compared to its neighboring states, Louisiana was the only state to receive the majority of its revenue from local sources.

Expenditure breakdowns[edit]

See also: Public school system expenditures in the United States

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, public school system expenditures totaled approximately $602 billion in fiscal year 2012.^[29]

Public education expenditures in Louisiana totaled approximately $8.5 billion in fiscal year 2012. This was the greatest reported total expenditures when compared to Louisiana's neighboring states.

Personnel salaries[edit]

See also: Public school teacher salaries in the United States

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average national salary for classroom teachers in public elementary and secondary schools declined by 1.3 percent from the 1999-2000 school year to the 2012-2013 school year. During the same period in Louisiana, the average salary increased by 13.6 percent.^[31]

Organizations[edit]

State agencies[edit]

See also: Louisiana Department of Education

The Louisiana Department of Education is helmed by the Superintendent of Education, who is appointed by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Beth Scioneaux was appointed as acting superintendent in March 2020 following the resignation of former superintendent John White.^[32]

The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) is the administrative body governing the state's public elementary and secondary schools as well as some non-public schools. The board is composed of 11 members, eight of whom are elected by district and three of whom are appointed by the Governor to represent the state at-large. Members serve four-year terms.^[33]

The mission statement of BESE reads:^[34]

Unions[edit]

In 2012 the Fordham Institute and Education Reform Now assessed the power and influence of state teacher unions in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Their rankings were based on 37 different variables in five broad areas: resources and membership, involvement in politics, scope of bargaining, state policies and perceived influence. Louisiana ranked 42nd overall, or "weakest," which was in the fifth of five tiers.^[36]

The main unions related to the Louisiana school system are the Louisiana Association of Educators (LEA), an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), and the Louisiana Federation of Teachers (LFT). LEA is the largest education association in the state. For the 2003 tax period LEA had $3.6 million in total revenue, $3.2 million in total expenses and $3.7 million in total assets.^[37] For the same period, LFT had $1.8 million in total revenue, $2.4 million in total expenses and $826,009 in total assets.^[38]

List of local Louisiana school unions:^[39]

• Louisiana Association of Educators
• Louisiana Federation of Teachers
• American Federation of Teachers (New Orleans)
• American Federation of Teachers (Baton Rouge)
• American Federation of Teachers (Metairie)
• American Federation of Teachers (Slidell)
• American Federation of Teachers (Shreveport)
• Caddo Association of Educators
• American Federation of Teachers (Monroe)

Taxpayer-funded lobbying[edit]

See also: Louisiana government sector lobbying

The main education government sector lobbying organization is the Louisiana School Boards Association.

Transparency[edit]

On November 12, 2008, Louisiana launched a spending transparency database, Louisiana Transparency and Accountability (La TRAC). La TRAC contains all executive branch spending for the state of Louisiana, including higher education. It also includes a vendor search, as well as a link to performance evaluations for state agencies (through La PAS).

Studies and reports[edit]

Quality Counts 2014[edit]

See also: Education Week survey

Education Week, a publication that reports on many education issues throughout the country, began using an evaluation system in 1997 to grade each state on various elements of education performance. This system, called Quality Counts, uses official data on performance from each state to generate report cards for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The report card in 2014 uses six different categories:

1. Chance for success
2. K-12 achievement
3. Standards, assessments and accountability
4. The teaching profession
5. School finance
6. Transitions and alignment

Each of these six categories had a number of other elements that received individual scores. Those scores were then averaged and used to determine the final score in each category. Every state received two types of scores for each of the six major categories: A numerical score out of 100 and a letter grade based on that score. Education Week used the score for the first category, "chance for success," as the value for ranking each state and the District of Columbia. The average grade received in the entire country was 77.3, or a C+ average. The country's highest average score was in the category of "standards, assessments and accountability" at 85.3, or a B average. The lowest average score was in "K-12 achievement", at 70.2, or a C- average.

Louisiana received a score of 69.9, or a C- average in the "chance for success" category. This was below the national average. The state's highest score was in "standards, assessments and accountability" at 97.2, or an A average. The lowest score was in "K-12 achievement" at 59.8, or a D- average. Louisiana had the second highest score in the country in the "standards, assessments and accountability" category. The chart below displays the scores of Louisiana and its surrounding states.^[40]

Note: Click on a column heading to sort the data.

State Budget Solutions education study[edit]

See also: State spending on education v. academic performance (2012)

State Budget Solutions examined national trends in education from 2009 to 2011, including state-by-state analysis of education spending, graduation rates and average ACT scores. The study showed that the states that spent the most did not have the highest average ACT test scores, nor did they have the highest average graduation rates. A summary of the study is available here. The full report can be accessed here.

School districts[edit]

See also: School board elections portal

District types[edit]

Most of Louisiana's school districts are called "parish school boards." There are also a select number of city school districts that were each established by special act and constitutional amendment. Those are Baker, Bogalusa, Central, Monroe and Zachary Community School District, Louisiana.^[41]

School board composition[edit]

The composition of school boards in Louisiana varies widely; they can have anywhere from seven to 15 members. Each local school board is responsible for establishing its own size, policies and procedures.^[42] They generally serve four-year terms, with elections occurring in even-numbered years.

Term limits[edit]

Act 386 of the 2012 legislative session provided for an election in every school district, with limited exceptions*, on November 6, 2012, to determine whether the members of the local school board in each district shall have term limits. In the November election of 2012, term limits were approved by voters in every school district in which the measure was on the ballot.^[43]

• Act 386 did not apply to the Recovery School District (which is operated by the DOE and has no board), the governing authority of any charter school and the school boards of Lafayette Parish and Jefferson Parish (which already had term limits in effect).^[43][44]

Elections[edit]

See also: Louisiana school board elections, 2021

Path to the ballot[edit]

In order to become a candidate for a school board in Louisiana, the Louisiana Secretary of State outlines the following:

Recent legislation[edit]

The following is a list of recent education bills that have been introduced in or passed by the Louisiana state legislature. To learn more about each of these bills, click the bill title. This information is provided by BillTrack50 and LegiScan.

Note: Due to the nature of the sorting process used to generate this list, some results may not be relevant to the topic. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation pertaining to this topic has been introduced in the legislature recently.

Education ballot measures[edit]

See also: Education on the ballot and List of Louisiana ballot measures

Ballotpedia has tracked the following statewide ballot measures relating to education.

1. Louisiana Amendment 1, Allow for Out-of-State Members to the University Board of Supervisors Amendment (December 2020)
2. Louisiana Amendment 2, Education Excellence Fund Uses Amendment (October 2019)
3. Louisiana Appointment to the Board of Regents Guidelines, Amendment 2 (1998)
4. Louisiana Appropriations for Education, Amendment 7 (October 1999)
5. Louisiana Authority of College Boards to Establish Tuition and Fees without Legislative Approval, Amendment 2 (2016)
6. Louisiana Baker and Rapides School Districts Amendment (October 1995)
7. Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education Amendment (1992)
8. Louisiana Board of Regents Amendment (October 1991)
9. Louisiana Board of Regents Amendment (October 1992)
10. Louisiana Board of Supervisors Amendment (1970)
11. Louisiana Central Community School System Act, Amendment 8 (2006)
12. Louisiana Colleges to Acquire Stock, Amendment 8 (October 1990)
13. Louisiana Community College System, Amendment 1 (October 1998)
14. Louisiana Creation of New Educational Institutions Amendment (1970)
15. Louisiana Education Act, Ballot Measure 4 (October 2003)
16. Louisiana Educational Funding Amendment (1987)
17. Louisiana Endowed Funds of Colleges and Universities Act, Amendment 10 (September 2006)
18. Louisiana Higher Education Board Student Members Amendment (1980)
19. Louisiana Higher Education Council Amendment (1968)
20. Louisiana Higher Education Fund Amendment (October 1991)
21. Louisiana Limit Administrative Spending, Amendment 3 (October 1990)
22. Louisiana Lottery Proceeds for Education Act, Ballot Measure 9 (October 2003)
23. Louisiana Name of Board of Trustees of University of Louisiana System, Amendment 1 (1998)
24. Louisiana Orleans Parish School Board Amendment (1970)
25. Louisiana Orleans Parish School Board Amendment (1972)
26. Louisiana Rapides Parish School District Amendment (1970)
27. Louisiana Rapides Parish School Grant, Amendment 9 (October 1999)
28. Louisiana School Board Financial Burden Prohibition, Amendment 9 (September 2006)
29. Louisiana State Board of Education Amendment (1968)
30. Louisiana State Board of Education Amendment (1979)
31. Louisiana Vocational Education Tax Amendment (1972)
32. Louisiana Zachary School System, Amendment 3 (1999)

In the news[edit]

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Louisiana education policy. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also[edit]

• Historical public education information in Louisiana
• Louisiana state budget and finances
• Louisiana Department of Education
• List of school districts in Louisiana
• School choice in Louisiana
• Charter schools in Louisiana
• Louisiana
• Education Policy in the U.S.

External links[edit]

• Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE)
• Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
• Louisiana Virtual School
• Louisiana Charter School Association
• Louisiana Middle School Association

Additional reading[edit]

• The Advocate, "School chief: Seek aid," September 2, 2009
• The Town Talk, "Louisiana civil service panel approves 6 new education posts," August 8, 2009

Footnotes[edit]

	v • e State of Louisiana Baton Rouge (capital)
Elections	What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2021 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures
Government	Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy