Tagged News

• Statewide scholastic performance rises to record highs as BESE reports fourth consecutive year of gains Play Video

  November 20, 2025 12:39 PM

  BATON ROUGE — Performance in Louisiana schools rose to record highs in a new report released Thursday by the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. The statewide performance score for the 2024-25 school year rose to 80.9, up more than five points from 2021, on the School... more »

• BESE can take over Baker schools that consistently underperform, 1st Circuit rules Play Video

  September 24, 2025 7:13 PM

  BAKER — A state appeals court said Wednesday that Louisiana education officials can take over a pair of Baker schools that have received "F" grades in statewide assessments. A panel of the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal reversed a Baton Rouge judge's decision preventing the state from taking over... more »

• New Impact Charter board moving to withdraw Chakesha Scott's lawsuit against BESE Play Video

  May 6, 2025 4:57 PM

  BATON ROUGE — The new board operating the Impact Charter School in Baker is moving to withdraw a federal lawsuit filed by the facility's previous director against the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. BESE in February had voted to remove Impact Charter's previous board and replace it... more »

• Baker district, BESE tussle over campus where local board has placed K-8 students Play Video

  April 22, 2025 12:07 PM

  BAKER — The Baker School District says the state board that oversees public education took too long to review plans to improve academic performance among its younger students and cannot now let the Recovery School District lay claim to a facility where the children now go to school. The... more »

• BESE votes in favor of turning control of failing Baker schools over to charter company

  March 12, 2025 1:40 PM

  BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education said it will turn control of two Baker schools that received four consecutive "F" ratings over to a charter company after the local school board voted to close both schools in February. BESE's School Innovation and Turnaround Committee... more »

• State judge denies Impact Charter's request for TRO attempting to stop new BESE-appointed board Play Video

  February 24, 2025 10:25 AM

  BATON ROUGE - A request for a temporary restraining order filed against the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education by Impact Charter School was denied in state court, the school's attorney said. The request asked that the newly chosen board put in place after a Legislative Auditor's report alleging... more »

• BESE wipes Impact Charter board clean, appoints new members in special meeting Friday morning Play Video

  February 21, 2025 11:14 AM

  BATON ROUGE — Louisiana's Board of Elementary and Secondary Education appointed a new board of directors for the Impact Charter School on Friday after state auditors alleged its director used school money to fund an elaborate lifestyle that included trips to Europe and Egypt and payments for expensive cars. ... more »

• Future of two Baker schools in limbo as state considers intervention after consecutive 'F' ratings Play Video

  February 10, 2025 6:39 PM

  BAKER - The fate of Baker Heights Elementary School and Baker Middle School is up in the air after the school received over four consecutive "F" ratings each. Baker School District Superintendent James T. Stroder told parents in an email Monday that the consecutive failing ratings from the state... more »

• BESE meets with judges to help students overcome truancy Play Video

  January 9, 2025 6:09 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Getting students into the classroom is becoming a statewide issue, but the problem is particularly troubling in East Baton Rouge Parish. Since the pandemic, unexcused absences have been on the rise, and leaders say the problem is that students aren’t in the classroom, they could be... more »

• Parents making tough decisions without funding after state expands childcare program Play Video

  October 27, 2022 4:43 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Some parents who have relied on the Louisiana Department of Education's Child Care Assistance Program tell 2 On Your Side that they are now running into trouble securing that funding. Several of them say they have had to make tough decisions for their family which include... more »

• Local Board of Elementary, Secondary Education leaders to be sworn-in by La Chief Justice

  January 18, 2021 11:33 AM

  BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) announced Monday (Jan. 18) that its President, Sandy Holloway, its Vice President, Kira Orange Jones, and its Secretary-Treasurer, Ashley Ellis will be sworn in by Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice John L. Weimer as Board officers for 2021... more »

• State officials allocate $31m in federal relief aid to schools, childcare facilities

  June 17, 2020 9:55 AM

  BATON ROUGE- The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) this week approved nearly $31 million in federal relief funding for school systems and early childhood education communities to ensure a strong start for every child, birth through grade 12, as the state rebounds from a months-long closure caused... more »

• Working group creates policy to help graduates seek financial aid

  March 1, 2016 2:53 PM

  BATON ROUGE - A newly commissioned Financial Aid Working Group came together for the first time in Baton Rouge as they begin developing an action plan to implement the state’s new student financial aid choice policy. The group’s goal is to increase student access to financial aid and to... more »

• School systems concerned about nonprofits authorizing charter schools Play Video

  January 7, 2016 4:22 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Several school systems in the Baton Rouge region are speaking out against the possibility of a nonprofit having authority to approve charter schools. New Schools for Baton Rouge, a local nonprofit, applied for authority to approve charter schools with the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.... more »

• Common Core supporters hold onto BESE seats

  October 25, 2015 12:56 AM

  BATON ROUGE - Despite outcries from people opposed to Common Core, many members of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education who support the standards won back their seats. Six of the eight BESE races went to people who supported Common Core, and two people who lost their seats... more »

• Board approves plan to reopen Istrouma High

  October 15, 2015 7:33 PM

  BATON ROUGE - Thursday night, the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board unanimously agreed to start the ground work of reopening Istrouma High School. Recently, Superintendent Warren Drake said it was his goal to take control of the school back from the Recovery School District and eventually get public... more »