BATON ROUGE, La. -- A Louisiana teachers union Tuesday criticized a proposal offered by Gov. Bobby Jindal that would let public schools get a waiver from state law and education policies, letting them function more like charter schools.
The head of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, Steve Monaghan, said the proposal seems to be driven by ideology, rather than research-driven policy.
"We were hopeful that the coming legislative session would be more collaborative and less contentious," Monaghan said in a letter to Jindal. "That hope is not reflected in the proposals outlined in the so-called Red Tape Reduction Act."
The legislation would let schools and school districts apply for a four-year waiver of state laws or statewide policies, like teacher pay requirements, curriculum standards, length of school day or school year, and budget restrictions.
Jindal's executive counsel, Stephen Waguespack, said the proposal would give schools the ability to remove obstacles to student improvement and to have those ideas come from schoolhouses, instead of the state Capitol.
Monaghan said teachers haven't complained that areas like teacher salary schedules, teacher certification and student-teacher ratios -- areas listed by Jindal as regulations that could be waived -- are impediments to student achievement.
Waguespack said the LFT is among education groups that have complained that charter schools have more flexibility than traditional public schools.
"This is an optional tool for districts to consider," Waguespack said.
Lawmakers will consider the proposal, which is supported by Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek, in the regular session that begins March 29.
