SLS 24RS-454 ORIGINAL
2024 Regular Session
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 27
BY SENATOR BOUIE
SCHOOLS. Creates a task force to study and make recommendations relative to the
implementation of the "Charter School Demonstration Programs Law".
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To create and provide for the Task Force on Charter School Demonstration Programs Law.
3 WHEREAS, the Charter School Demonstration Programs Law was originally
4 enacted as Act 192 of the 1995 Regular Session, as a pilot program to allow a small number
5 of school systems to volunteer to participate; and
6 WHEREAS, in enacting the Charter School Demonstration Programs Law, the
7 legislature authorized experimentation by city and parish school boards by allowing the
8 creation of innovative kinds of independent public schools for students; and
9 WHEREAS, the legislature provided a framework for the experimentation by the
10 creation of such schools, a means for all persons with valid ideas and motivation to
11 participate in the experiment, and a mechanism by which experiment results can be
12 analyzed, the positive results repeated or replicated, if appropriate, and the negative results
13 identified and eliminated; and
14 WHEREAS, the wisdom of the legislature believed that the best interests of students
15 who are economically disadvantaged must be the overriding consideration in implementing
16 the provisions of the Charter School Demonstration Programs Law; and
17 WHEREAS, the legislature declared the purposes of Act 192 were to provide
18 opportunities for educators and others interested in educating pupils to form, operate, or be
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1 employed within a charter school with each such school designed to accomplish one or more
2 of the following objectives:
3 (a) Improve pupil learning and, in general, the public school system;
4 (b) Increase learning opportunities and access to quality education for pupils;
5 (c) Encourage the use of different and innovative teaching methods and a variety of
6 governance, management, and administrative structures;
7 (d) Require appropriate assessment and measurement of academic learning results;
8 (e) Account better and more thoroughly for educational results;
9 (f) Create new professional opportunities for teachers and other school employees,
10 including the opportunity to be responsible for the learning program at the school site; and
11 WHEREAS, the law was amended in 1997 to allow the State Board of Elementary
12 and Secondary Education and local public school boards to be chartering authorities; and
13 WHEREAS, the law currently authorizes six types of charter schools throughout the
14 state; and
15 WHEREAS, Type 1, Type 3, and Type 3B charter schools are authorized by local
16 school boards; and
17 WHEREAS, Type 2, Type 4, and Type 5 charter schools are authorized by the State
18 Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE); and
19 WHEREAS, in 2008, BESE promulgated "Part CXXXIX. Bulletin 126-Charter
20 Schools" §105 Purpose of Charter Schools, in Louisiana Register 34:1358 (July 2008); and
21 WHEREAS, Paragraph C of §105 states "the charter school law expresses the
22 intention of the legislature that the best interests of economically-disadvantaged pupils shall
23 be the overriding consideration in implementing the provisions of the law."; and
24 WHEREAS, unintended consequences and adverse effects have resulted for
25 Louisiana's children in school districts most affected by BESE's Bulletin 126, in that the
26 legislature's vision has not been fully accomplished; and
27 WHEREAS, several legislative instruments have been introduced over the years that
28 addressed issues and concerns of the legislature relative to the Charter School Demonstration
29 Programs Law; and
30 WHEREAS, those issues and concerns are more pressing today and need to be
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1 addressed to clarify the specific goal the legislature intended when enacting the Charter
2 School Demonstration Programs Law.
3 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
4 establish and provide for the Task Force on Charter School Demonstration Programs Law
5 to study and to propose recommendations, together with specific proposals for legislation,
6 by written report to the legislature and to the David R. Poynter Legislative Research Library
7 as required by R.S. 24:771 and 772, no later than February 15, 2026.
8 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that as part of its duties the task force shall:
9 (1) Address whether the Charter School Demonstration Programs Law has been
10 applied and followed pursuant to the legislature's goal.
11 (2) Address BESE's promulgation of Bulletin 126, §105 Purpose of Charter Schools,
12 in Louisiana Register.
13 (3) Address the impact of Bulletin 126 relative to the Charter Demonstration
14 Programs Law on the most affected school districts and their students.
15 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall be staffed by the Senate
16 Committee on Education.
17 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall consist of the following
18 members:
19 (1) The president of the Senate or his designee, who shall serve as the chairman of
20 the task force.
21 (2) The speaker of the House of Representatives or his designee.
22 (3) The chairman of the Senate Committee on Education or his designee.
23 (4) The chairman of the House Committee on Education or his designee.
24 (5) The president of BESE or his designee.
25 (6) The superintendent of the Department of Education or his designee.
26 (7) The president of the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents or his
27 designee.
28 (8) The executive director of the Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools or
29 his designee.
30 (9) The president of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers or his designee.
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1 (10) The president of the Louisiana Association of Educators or his designee.
2 (11) The president of the Orleans Parish School Board.
3 (12) The president of the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board.
4 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that each ex officio member who is allowed a
5 designee shall submit the name of the designee to the secretary of the Senate no later than
6 August 1, 2024.
7 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that no later than September 15, 2024, the chairman
8 of the task force shall convene the first meeting. At the first meeting, the members may elect
9 a vice chairman and other officers as the task force may deem appropriate.
10 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that meetings of the task force shall be subject to the
11 Open Meetings Law, R.S. 42:11 et seq., and records of the task force shall be subjected to
12 the Public Records Law, R.S. 44:1 et seq.
13 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a majority of the task force shall constitute a
14 quorum for the transaction of business. All official actions of the task force shall require the
15 affirmative vote of a majority of the members.
16 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the task force shall serve
17 without compensation, except per diem or expenses reimbursement to which they may be
18 individually entitled as members of their constituent organizations.
19 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall terminate on the date of the
20 submission of its report or February 15, 2025, whichever occurs first.
21 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
22 president of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, the state
23 superintendent of education, the executive director of the Louisiana Association of Public
24 Charter Schools, the president of the Louisiana Association of School Superintendents, the
25 president of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, the president of the Louisiana Association
26 of Educators, the president of the Orleans Parish School Board, and the president of the East
27 Baton Rouge Parish School Board.
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The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Mary Frances Aucoin.
DIGEST
SCR 27 Original 2024 Regular Session Bouie
Creates the Task Force on Charter School Demonstration Programs Law to study the intent
and purposes of the Charter School Demonstration Programs Law and to submit a report to
the legislature by February 15, 2025, on its findings and recommendations.
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