Content Tagged As vouchers

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  • Voucher supporters to rally at state capitol

    May 15, 2013 10:49 AM

    BATON ROUGE - Supporters of Louisiana's school voucher program will join Gov. Bobby Jindal this afternoon at a rally for the program. The state Supreme Court recently ruled that the method used to fund the program violated the state's constitution. Jindal swore the program would be funded by the... more »
  • Voucher program needs funding Play Video

    May 8, 2013 6:51 PM

    BATON ROUGE- A day after a court ruled the funding source for the state's private school voucher program was unconstitutional, lawmakers at the Capitol are discussing how to fund the program. In previous years, funding for a similar program in New Orleans was allocated in the general budget, known... more »
  • Future of school funding in question

    May 8, 2013 10:39 AM

    BATON ROUGE - Lawmakers working on next year's budget now have new questions to answer when it comes to school funding. The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the state can't use its normal school funding formula for its voucher program. Critics of the program said doing so took... more »
  • Voucher controversy and uncertainty leaves parents in limbo Play Video

    May 7, 2013 10:21 PM

    BATON ROUGE - Private schools and Governor Bobby Jindal tell benefactors not to worry, but parents are the ones left in a state of uncertainty when it comes to vouchers. Tuesday, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled funding of the state's voucher program was unconstitutional. Lawmakers used money set aside... more »
  • Applications for tuition vouchers increases

    March 27, 2013 2:16 PM

    NEW ORLEANS- Louisiana education officials say the state has received nearly 12,000 applications for state-funded private school tuition. That's up from about 10,000 last year - the first year that the tuition voucher program went statewide after being piloted in New Orleans. The increased interest comes despite a judge's ruling... more »
  • BESE approves K-12 funding plan Play Video

    March 7, 2013 6:14 PM

    BATON ROUGE - The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approved Gov. Bobby Jindal's school funding formula for the 2013-2014 school year, which protects his school voucher program. Last year a judge ruled the funding formula unconstitutional. That case is on appeal with the state Supreme Court. ... more »
  • Education reform package in court again Play Video

    December 17, 2012 4:59 PM

    BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Federation for Teachers is challenging another part of Governor Jindal's education reform package, this time taking aim at the constitutionality of a portion dubbed the 'talent act.' The act deals with teacher tenure, hiring, firing and evaluations. New rules allow the Superintendent to hire... more »
  • Judge rules voucher law conflicts with deseg order

    November 26, 2012 3:14 PM

    BATON ROUGE - A New Orleans-based federal judge has halted Gov. Bobby Jindal's voucher program in Tangipahoa Parish, saying it conflicts with a decades-old desegregation case. U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle ruled Monday that a series of sweeping education changes pushed by Jindal clash with court orders in the 47-year-old... more »
  • La. education dept. withholding voucher records

    August 8, 2012 11:23 AM

    BATON ROUGE - Louisiana's education chief is refusing to provide records from the deliberations over how schools were chosen to participate in Gov. Bobby Jindal's new statewide voucher program, which is using tax dollars to send students to private and parochial schools. The Department of Education isn't claiming an exemption... more »
  • Voucher schools include some teaching creationism

    July 30, 2012 1:58 PM

    BATON ROUGE - Taxpayer dollars in Louisiana's new voucher program will be paying to send children to schools that teach creationism and question evolution, challenging the lessons central to public school science classrooms. Several religious schools that will be educating taxpayer-subsidized students tout their creationist views. Some schools question whether... more »
  • Voucher program increases enrollment at local schools

    July 30, 2012 11:49 AM

    BATON ROUGE- More than 5,000 students received scholarships in the new statewide school voucher program. Here in East Baton Rouge Parish, there are more than 800 slots available for students, 300 of those students going to Hosana Christian Academy. Coming up at 6, News 2's Adrian Pittman, talks... more »
  • LAE asking schools to wait before using voucher money

    July 27, 2012 10:24 AM

    BATON ROUGE - An attorney for the Louisiana Association of Educators sent a letter asking voucher schools to hold off on using money until the legal challenge is finalized. The association's president said the latter hopes to prevent schools from having to pay back dollars spent if courts rule... more »
  • BESE considers accountability plan for vouchers

    July 24, 2012 10:51 AM

    BATON ROUGE - Louisiana's top education board is considering accountability standards for the private schools that will get taxpayer-subsidized students through the voucher program. Superintendent of Education John White proposed the standards. The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education votes Tuesday on whether to support them. As proposed, schools in... more »
  • State rolls out accountability for Voucher schools

    July 23, 2012 10:30 PM

    The state rolled out its set of standards for the controversial voucher program. Private schools could lose them if students who transferred from public schools don't perform. State Superintendent John White says holding schools accountable, boils down to testing. If a school has more than 40 voucher students, then just... more »
  • Some La. voucher schools to face performance score

    July 23, 2012 4:53 PM

    BATON ROUGE - Some private schools who participate in Louisiana's statewide voucher program will face performance scores similar to public schools, under planned accountability standards. The scoring and penalties for low-performing schools will apply to schools with sizable numbers of voucher students, estimated to be a quarter of the schools... more »
  • Applications top 10,000 for La. voucher program

    July 11, 2012 3:53 PM

    BATON ROUGE - The state education department has received more than 10,000 applications for Louisiana's statewide voucher program set to start in August that will use taxpayer money to send students to private and parochial schools. Superintendent of Education John White announced the applicant numbers Wednesday. As many as 2,000... more »
  • More school districts to challenge state education laws Play Video

    June 26, 2012 10:29 PM

    PLAQUEMINE - More school districts are preparing to take the state to court over new education reforms. 30 aren't happy about new education laws, and Iberville parish has become the latest. It's all over the states new voucher program. "Retirement benefits, hospitalization, everything has just gone up. Here... more »
  • Islamic school no longer on La. voucher list Play Video

    June 5, 2012 5:51 PM

    KENNER - A fight over funding for the state's new voucher program caused a heated debate over an Islamic school. The Louisiana House approved a funding plan for public schools on the last day of session. Before the approval, state Representative John Bel Edwards, D-Amite, spoke about the Islamic... more »
  • Schools agree to accept vouchers Play Video

    May 22, 2012 6:14 PM

    BATON ROUGE - More than 5,100 students who have vouchers will be accepted into "A" or "B"-ranked schools next year. In the Baton Rouge area, 30 schools will accept a total of 1,136 kids. That's good news for Nancy LeBlanc and her daughter, Katie, who didn't expect many high... more »
  • Dept. of Education to announce voucher schools

    May 22, 2012 10:28 AM

    BATON ROUGE-- Louisiana's Department of Education plans to announce schools that will accept vouchers at noon Tuesday. In order to be eligible for a state-funded scholarship to an A or B-rated school, children must attend a C, D or F-rated school and meet certain income requirements. News 2's... more »
  • Many public schools say "no" to accepting vouchers Play Video

    May 10, 2012 5:37 PM

    BATON ROUGE - News 2 did not find a single public school system in the Baton Rouge area that definitely planned to accept students taking part in Governor Jindal's voucher program. The statewide scholarship program would let qualified students in failing schools get vouchers to help them attend non-public... more »
  • Zachary schools plan not to accept vouchers

    May 8, 2012 10:00 AM

    BATON ROUGE-- Zachary school officials changed their minds and decided not to accept vouchers from thirty students at failing schools. The school board originally voted to allow the students on April 26. A release Monday reversed that decision. News 2's Stephanie Ryan gets answers on the change of... more »
  • Senate panel Oks Jindal education bills Play Video

    March 29, 2012 5:35 PM

    BATON ROUGE - The Senate Education Committee has approved the two major pieces of Gov. Bobby Jindal's education agenda. One establishes a statewide private school voucher program and paves the way for easier creation of charter schools. Another overhauls the role of school boards, superintendents and principals in the hiring... more »
  • Controversial education bills now going to LA Senate Play Video

    March 23, 2012 5:43 PM

    BATON ROUGE - Two of Governor Bobby Jindal's key education reform bills have cleared the Louisiana House of Representatives after another marathon round at the capitol. One makes sweeping changes to teacher tenure. The other involves student scholarships or vouchers. The voucher bill would expand a program that... more »
  • Teachers union offers competing education revamp

    January 27, 2012 12:51 PM

    BATON ROUGE, La. - One of the most vocal critics of Gov. Bobby Jindal's education proposals, the Louisiana Association of Educators, is suggesting competing plans to improve teacher quality and boost performance at failing schools, saying that Jindal's ideas are on the wrong track. The LAE offered its counter-proposal Friday,... more »
  • Ed Dept.: Too early to gauge voucher effectiveness

    July 6, 2011 3:36 PM

    NEW ORLEANS - A day after an education advocacy group called attention to the poor performance of some private New Orleans schools that accept state-funded tuition vouchers, the state Department of Education said relatively few students in the voucher program have been tested so far. The group Educate Now!... more »
  • A call for 'voucher' accountability

    July 5, 2011 5:42 PM

    NEW ORLEANS - An architect of Louisiana's school accountability system says a state program that lets some New Orleans students go to private schools at taxpayer expense needs performance standards. Leslie Jacobs, a former state education board member, said Tuesday that an analysis of standardized test scores by "Educate... more »
  • Study: Students in private school pilot score low

    July 13, 2010 5:56 AM

    A new study shows that a pilot plan backed by Gov. Bobby Jindal that uses state tax dollars so certain students can attend private schools is producing low test scores. Former member of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, Leslie Jacobs, conducted the review. The pilot program provides... more »
  • Application time for New Orleans school vouchers

    March 15, 2010 5:28 AM

    Registration re-opens Tuesday for a limited voucher program for children from low- and moderate-income families in New Orleans. To be eligible, students entering kindergarten through fifth grade must be from a New Orleans family with an annual income of no more than two-and-a-half times the federal poverty threshold. Also, except... more »

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