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Monday, July 2, 2012

Louisiana Educator: Jindal Choice Law: An Invitation to Fraud and Abuse

Louisiana Educator: Jindal Choice Law: An Invitation to Fraud and Abuse:


Jindal Choice Law: An Invitation to Fraud and Abuse

Note to readers: Soon this blog will carry a report on the voting records of all legislators relative to the Jindal school reform package. At that time I will include suggestions for approaching our legislators about possible repeals or other modifications needed in the laws. Again I am encouraging all readers to submit an email to louisianaeducator@gmail.com so you can be added to my DEFENDERS OF PUBLIC EDUCATION data base. Please include your name and preferred email address and home address so that I can classify all participants according to thier own legislative districts. We have much work to do to save our public education system from destruction. Please be part of this effort!

Key portions of the recently passed Jindal Education legislation are being challenged in court by the LFT, the LAE,  and by the Louisiana School Boards Association. The student scholarship (voucher) program is being challenged on the basis that the state is not authorized by the Louisiana Constitution to fund student enrollment in private schools. These groups are attempting to prevent the implementation of this law before the beginning of the 2012 school year. At this point, the court challenges may be our best hope to prevent the new laws from doing serious damage to our educational system.

In addition to the questionable legality of paying for children to attend private and religious schools, in my opinion, the law is an open invitation to unscrupulous individuals to use our taxes for personal enrichment of a