News

(Baton Rouge – October 18, 2010) Unless Governor Bobby Jindal and the legislature can agree on some new funding sources, “the dismantling of education will be the coffin that we bury Louisiana in for decades to come,” Senator Ben Nevers (D-Bogalusa) told the Press Club of Baton Rouge today.

In an effort to overturn a decision against a recruiting company charged with victimizing Filipino teachers hired to work in Louisiana schools, attorney Murphy J. Foster went on the offensive Monday against the unions representing the foreign teachers.

Hundreds of Filipino guestworkers lured to teach in Louisiana public schools were cheated out of tens of thousands of dollars and forced into exploitative contracts by an international trafficking ring run by labor contractors, according to a class action lawsuit filed August 5 by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and Covington & Burling LLP. 

As promised, the Louisiana Federation of Teachers has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Act 749, Governor Bobby Jindal’s “Red Tape Reduction and Local Waiver Empowerment Program.” Joining LFT in the lawsuit, filed in the 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge, are the East Baton Rouge Federation of Teachers and the Jefferson Federation of Teachers.

(Baton Rouge – June 18, 2010) The Louisiana Federation of Teachers will file a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of HB 1368, the so-called “Red Tape Reduction and Local Waiver Empowerment Program,” Federation President Steve Monaghan announced today

(June 16, 2010) On Tuesday evening, the Senate joined the House of Representatives in surrendering its lawmaking authority to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. By a 23-14 vote, the Senate approved HB 1368 by Rep. Jane Smith (R-Bossier City), the so-called Red Tape Reduction and Local Waiver Empowerment program.

LFT strongly opposed the bill, calling it  a "misnamed and misleading" assault on public education and the separation of powers in state government

How bad can things get for public education in Louisiana? As the old song says, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Undeterred by the objections of teachers, the House of Representatives approved Gov. Bobby Jindal’s signature education legislation, HB 1368 by Rep. Jane Smith (R-Bossier City), by a 68-20 margin. The fight to stop this misleading and mislabeled bill will now move to the Senate, with its first stop at the Education Committee.

Universal Placement International to repay $1.8 million in illegally charged fees.

(Baton Rouge – April 16, 2010) A Louisiana Workforce Commission administrative law judge has ruled in favor of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, the American Federation of Teachers and Filipino educators who were victims of an illegitimate California-based recruiting firm.

LFT president: Recruiter’s behavior “disgusting and an affront to basic American values.”

(Baton Rouge - April 6, 2009) Filipino teachers in Louisiana saw the wheels of justice take a turn on Monday when the state’s Workforce Development Commission held a hearing on the validity of contracts that allegedly violate state and federal law.