Jindal’s Teacher Tenure Legislation Passes Louisiana Senate Education Committee

A critical part of Governor Jindal's education reform package has passed the Louisiana Senate Education Committee. The bill, already approved by the Louisiana House, makes changes to teacher tenure laws.  Supporters say the measure will award effective teachers, while weeding out the  bad ones.

Teacher Unions and many local school administrators still opposed the legislation very strongly. But there was no objection Thursday afternoon from members of the Louisiana Senate Education Committee, which approved the measure unanimously for Senate debate.

The bill affects the power of school boards, local superintendents and principals. And it ties school teacher job security to student performance while eliminating seniority protections for teachers when layoffs are made.

But State Superintendent of Education John White says most teachers should not be concerned about losing their job. He says under the proposed system, teachers that receive ineffective ratings two years in a row are candidate for dismissal

The legislation heads to the Louisiana Senate floor, where a vote could comes as early as next week.

Another one of Jindal's education bills, this one having to do with private school tuition vouchers, has been approved by the Senate Education Committee. This legislation would provide private school tuition vouchers to some children in poor performing public schools. The so-called School Choice bill will go to the Louisiana Senate Finance Committee for discussion of its impact on state revenues.