Lousiana House Says “No” To Electing Louisiana’s Superintendent Of Education

The job of Louisiana's State Education Superintendent will stay an appointed position and not an elected post.

The Louisiana House of Representatives voted 56-41 yesterday against a bill that would have given the job of determining the superintendent to voters.

As it stands now, Louisiana law requires that Louisiana's Superintendent of Education is chosen by the eleven members of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

State Representative Joe Harrison from Napoleonville authored the bill.  He says the people of Louisiana should be given the choice to vote on who leads our education system.  Harrison believes if voters decided on the superintendent, then that person would be more accountable to the citizens of Louisiana.

Those who opposed the bill says if a superintendent were voted in then that person could end up being at odds with members of the BESE board, and that could lead to many issues.

Governor Bobby Jindal opposed the election bill, and the House ended up voting against the measure.