ENROLLED
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Regular Session, 2010
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON NO. 147
BY REPRESENTATIVE HARDY
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTI ON
To urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to study the
rate of suspensions and expulsions in Louisiana and to submit a written report of its
findings and conclusions, including any recommendations for legislation relative to
the issue, to the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on
Education not later than sixty days prior to the beginning of the 2011 Regular
Session of the Legislature of Louisiana.
WHEREAS, as stated in the Constitution of Louisiana, it is the goal of the public
educational system to provide learning environments and experiences at all stages of human
development that are humane, just, and designed to promote excellence in order that every
individual may be afforded an equal opportunity to develop to his full potential; and
WHEREAS, according to a 2010 report released by the National Economic and
Social Rights Initiative and Friends and Families of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children, in
Louisiana, the expulsion rate is five times the national rate, and there are more than three
hundred thousand out-of-school suspensions per year; the report also states that within the
Recovery School District, the expulsion rate is ten times the national rate, and the suspension
rate is twice the statewide rate and more than four times the national rate; and
WHEREAS, many incarcerated citizens have a history of suspensions and
expulsions, and it is possible that there is a correlation; and
WHEREAS, many citizens consider the high rate of suspensions and expulsions in
Louisiana to be a matter of grave concern and an issue that crosses all racial, socio-
economic, and political boundaries; and
WHEREAS, in order to fulfill the state's constitutional duty of affording every
student an equal opportunity to develop to his full potential, it is imperative that the state's
rate of suspensions and expulsions receive a thorough study so that determinations can be
made as to how the state can best provide experiences and opportunities to students that help
them succeed in all aspects of life. ENROLLEDHCR NO. 147
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THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to study the rate
of suspensions and expulsions in Louisiana and to submit a written report of its findings and
conclusions, including any recommendations for legislation relative to the issue, to the
House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education not later than sixty
days prior to the beginning of the 2011 Regular Session of the Legislature of Louisiana.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to the president of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE