LFT President Steve Monaghan says, “It is obscene to say that we can’t meet the obligations we have at the same time that we are giving away billions in tax exemptions.”

(New Orleans – March 2, 2015) Teachers at Morris Jeff Community School today petitioned their administration and board to recognize the United Teachers of New Orleans as their representative and to begin negotiations on a collective bargaining agreement.

(Baton Rouge – February 5, 2015) A rising movement calling for parents to opt their children out of taking high-stakes tests is just the latest sign of chaos in the Baton Rouge education bureaucracy, and a signal that the state education board must take decisive action and give parents, teachers, and local school districts a sense of direction, according to the Louisiana Federation of Teachers.

The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools has ranked Louisiana as the second highest of all the states, based on how our state’s charter school law aligns with the organization’s model law. Their rankings reward states for making charter schools less accountable to local voters and taxpayers.

BESE defers expensive teacher retirement study

In a rare move, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education overruled a recommendation by one of its own committees to fund an expensive study of the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana’s Unfunded Accrued Liability.

In a recent editorial, The Advocate noted that the Supreme Court’s reversal of a lower court ruling that Act 1 of 2012 violated the constitutional prohibition on bundling multiple objects into a single bill is troubling.

(Baton Rouge – December 16, 2014) Funding for public education’s Minimum Foundation Program will increase by some $75 million next year if a plan approved by the state’s MFP task Force today is adopted by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Legislature.

“We started an important conversation today about the choices Louisiana must make for the future of our children,” said Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan.

Click here for more coverage of the LFT 50th Anniversary!

Speaking to more than 200 delegates and guests at the Louisiana Federation of Teachers’ 50th Annual Convention, LFT President Steve Monaghan called for reclaiming the promise of public education and returning the joy to teaching and learning.

(Baton Rouge – November 3, 2014) A Louisiana Department of Education report boasting success for Louisiana’s controversial school voucher scheme amounts to little more than political propaganda on the eve of an election, Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan said today.

Prompted by fears that the Ebola virus could invade Louisiana, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approved emergency rules giving superintendents the authority to close schools or send students home if threats appear.