HLS 15RS-1150 ORIGINAL
2015 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 202
BY REPRESENTATIVE HARRISON
EDUCATION: Creates a task force to study the governance of public elementary and
secondary education in Louisiana
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To create a task force to study the governance of public elementary and secondary education
3 in Louisiana and to submit a written report of findings, conclusions, and
4 recommendations to the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee
5 on Education not later than sixty days prior to the beginning of the 2016 Regular
6 Session of the Legislature of Louisiana.
7 WHEREAS, the Constitution of Louisiana charges the legislature with providing for
8the education of the people of the state and establishing and maintaining a public educational
9system; and
10 WHEREAS, the constitution further provides that it is the goal of the public
11educational system to provide learning environments and experiences, at all stages of human
12development, that are humane, just, and designed to promote excellence in order that every
13individual may be afforded an equal opportunity to develop to his full potential; and
14 WHEREAS, the constitution creates and provides for the State Board of Elementary
15and Secondary Education (BESE), composed of eight elected members and three members
16appointed by the governor with Senate consent; and
17 WHEREAS, BESE's constitutional duties include supervision and control of public
18elementary and secondary schools and special schools under its jurisdiction and budgetary
19responsibility for all funds appropriated or allocated by the state for those schools, all as
20provided by law; approval of certain private schools; coordination of public elementary,
21secondary, vocational-technical, career, and higher education programs with the Board of
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HCR NO. 202
1Regents; fixing of qualifications and duties of superintendents of parish schools; control and
2supervision of parish and city school board systems; and prescription of school books and
3other materials of instruction; and
4 WHEREAS, the constitution further provides for a superintendent of education for
5public elementary and secondary education who shall be elected by the state's electors;
6however, the constitution authorizes the legislature to provide for the appointment, in lieu
7of election, of specified elected officials, including the superintendent, by a law enacted by
8a two-thirds vote of the legislature; and
9 WHEREAS, the constitution requires the legislature to prescribe qualifications and
10method of appointment should the office become appointive and authorizes the legislature,
11by a two-thirds vote, to re-establish the office as elective; Act No. 444 of the 1985 Regular
12Session of the Legislature, which became effective on March 14, 1988, made the office of
13state superintendent appointive and provided for BESE's appointment of the superintendent;
14the constitution provides that the superintendent's qualifications and other powers, functions,
15duties, and responsibilities shall be provided by law; and
16 WHEREAS, with this structure of elementary and secondary education governance
17in place, Louisiana measures near or at the bottom of many education rankings; for example,
18in January of 2015, Education Week magazine gave Louisiana a D+ and ranked it forty-
19fourth in the nation in its Quality Counts: 2015 state report cards, and in the fall of 2014, the
20United States Chamber of Commerce gave Louisiana's education system a grade of F in the
21categories of academic achievement, academic achievement for low-income and minority
22students, return on investment (a measure of student achievement relative to state spending),
23postsecondary education and workforce readiness, and international competitiveness; and
24 WHEREAS, fundamental changes to the way Louisiana's education system is
25governed at the state level may afford Louisiana's students their best chance of success in
26the classroom and in life; and
27 WHEREAS, other states may have lessons to offer Louisiana in terms of their
28education governance structures, and these merit serious evaluation and consideration; and
29 WHEREAS, in order to fulfill the state's constitutional duty of affording every
30student an equal opportunity to develop to his full potential, it is imperative that a balanced
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HCR NO. 202
1group of experts thoroughly study the governance of public elementary and secondary
2education in Louisiana.
3 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
4create a task force to study the governance of public elementary and secondary education in
5Louisiana and to submit a written report of findings, conclusions, and recommendations to
6the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education not later than
7sixty days prior to the beginning of the 2016 Regular Session of the Legislature of Louisiana.
8 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall be composed of the
9following members, who shall serve without compensation:
10 (1) The state superintendent of education or his designee.
11 (2) The president of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education or his
12designee.
13 (3) The chairman of the House Committee on Education or his designee.
14 (4) The chairman of the Senate Committee on Education or his designee.
15 (5) A member of the Louisiana House of Representatives selected by the speaker of
16the House.
17 (6) A member of the Louisiana Senate selected by the president of the Senate.
18 (7) A representative from each of the following organizations selected by the
19presiding officer of the organization:
20 (a) The Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana.
21 (b) The Council for a Better Louisiana.
22 (c) The Louisiana School Boards Association.
23 (d) The Louisiana Association of School Superintendents.
24 (e) The Louisiana Association of Principals.
25 (f) The Louisiana Association of Educators.
26 (g) The Louisiana Federation of Teachers.
27 (h) The Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana.
28 (i) The Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools.
29 (j) The Louisiana Association of Business and Industry.
30 (k) The Louisiana Parent Teacher Organization.
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HCR NO. 202
1 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force's report shall include an
2examination of all of the following:
3 (1) The advisability, feasibility, and potential effects of abolishing the State Board
4of Elementary and Secondary Education, transferring its roles, duties, and responsibilities
5to the state superintendent of education, and providing for an elected rather than an
6appointed state superintendent of education.
7 (2) The common characteristics of education governance structures in states with
8successful and highly regarded public education systems.
9 (3) Recommendations, if any, for legislation related to school governance.
10 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the state superintendent of education or his
11designee shall be responsible for designating staff to assist the task force in performing its
12duties and, by September 1, 2015, convening the task force for its first meeting, at which the
13task force shall adopt rules of procedure, a work schedule, and any additional measures that
14it deems necessary for the timely performance of its duties.
15 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the
16president of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and to the state
17superintendent of education, who shall be responsible for transmitting a copy to each of the
18organizations from which the members of the task force are being selected or designated.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 202 Original 2015 Regular Session Harrison
Creates a task force to study the governance of public elementary and secondary education
in La. and provides for the submission of a written report of findings, conclusions, and
recommendations to the House and Senate education committees at least 60 days before the
2016 R.S. Provides that the report shall include an examination of the advisability,
feasibility, and potential results of abolishing BESE, transferring its roles, duties, and
responsibilities to the state superintendent of education, and providing for an elected rather
than an appointed state superintendent of education; the common characteristics of state
governance structures in states with successful and highly regarded public education
systems; and recommendations, if any, for legislation related to school governance.
Provides for 17 members who shall serve without compensation. Provides that state
superintendent of education or his designee shall designate staff to assist the task force and
shall convene the first meeting by Sept. 1, 2015.
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