Louisiana Vouchers Approved By BESE

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana's education board has agreed to a framework for a new statewide voucher program that will use tax dollars to send children to private schools. But that framework does not have accountability standards required by the Legislature and still being devised by the Louisiana Department of Education.The regulations approved Monday by a panel of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education largely track provisions included in the law passed by the Legislature earlier this year. One exception: BESE's regulations will cap the tuition hikes that private schools can enact as they take voucher students.

Superintendent of Education John White said the accountability criteria for judging participating schools were still being developed and should be complete well before the Aug. 1 deadline. BESE is not required to approve the criteria.