ENROLLED
2019 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 45
BY REPRESENTATIVE HOFFMANN AND SENATOR W ALSWORTH
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to study laws and
policies relative to benefits, including sick leave, for teachers at facilities under the
jurisdiction of the office of juvenile justice who are injured or disabled as a result of
assault or battery while acting in their official capacity and to submit a written report
of findings and conclusions, including any recommendations for related legislation,
to the House Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice and the Senate
Committee on Judiciary B not later than sixty days prior to the beginning of the 2020
Regular Session of the Legislature.
WHEREAS, Louisiana law grants the Department of Public Safety and Corrections,
office of juvenile justice (OJJ) full control of all juvenile institutions, facilities, and programs
under its administration and tasks OJJ with ensuring that all children in OJJ institutions,
facilities, and programs receive appropriate education; and
WHEREAS, some citizens have expressed concern that there are inconsistencies in
terms of how under some circumstances, teachers at OJJ facilities are subject to the same
requirements and eligible for the same benefits as teachers who are employed by public
school boards but under other circumstances, they are subject to different requirements and
eligible for different benefits; one example of this is sick leave for teachers injured or
disabled while acting in their official capacity as a result of assault or battery by any student
or person; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana law provides that any member of the teaching staff of a
public school who is injured or disabled while acting in his official capacity as a result of
assault or battery by any student or person shall receive sick leave without reduction in pay
and without reduction in accrued sick leave days while disabled as a result of such assault
or battery; in the definition of "teaching staff" for these purposes, the law limits the term to
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those employed by a city, parish, or other local public school board, which has caused some
confusion relative to teachers at OJJ facilities who are injured or disabled on the job under
these circumstances; and
WHEREAS, adding to this confusion is the fact that students in OJJ facilities are
treated in many ways like students in public schools under the jurisdiction of public school
boards; for example, school-age children in the custody of OJJ and any alternative school
located in a secure care facility under OJJ's jurisdiction are included by the State Board of
Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) in the formula used to determine the cost of
a minimum foundation program of education in all public elementary and secondary schools
in the state; and
WHEREAS, there is a need for clarification as to under what circumstances teachers
in OJJ facilities are treated like teachers in traditional public school settings and under what
circumstances their treatment differs from teachers in such settings, particularly with respect
to OJJ teachers who are injured or disabled on the job.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to study laws and policies
relative to benefits, including sick leave, for teachers at facilities under the jurisdiction of
the office of juvenile justice who are injured or disabled as a result of assault or battery while
acting in their official capacity and to submit a written report of its findings and conclusions,
including any recommendations for related legislation, to the House Committee on
Administration of Criminal Justice and the Senate Committee on Judiciary B not later than
sixty days prior to the beginning of the 2020 Regular Session of the Legislature.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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