The Senate Education Committee advanced legislation on Wednesday that would provide six weeks of fully paid parental leave for K-12 public school teachers and support staff. Senate Bill 426 by Sen. Sam Jenkins and Rep. Aimee Freeman promotes economic security, improves maternal and child health and keeps people attached to the workforce. The Louisiana Illuminator’s Allison Allsop reports on the bill, including existing benefits for state employees:  Under Jenkins’ legislation, teachers and support staff will be eligible for paid parental leave, in addition to any sick leave or paid time ..read more

Louisiana public school teachers and support staff work hard each day to teach and care for children across the state. Paid parental leave ensures they are able to take adequate time to care for their own families when welcoming a new child into their homes without sacrificing their sick days, income or savings.  Senate Bill 426 by Sen. Sam Jenkins and Rep. Aimee Freeman would provide six weeks of fully paid parental leave for birth, adoption or foster care of a new child for K-12 public school teachers and support staff. The state would share the cost with local school districts by reimb ..read more

A bill nearing final passage in the state Legislature would make it harder for some Louisiana families to put food on the table during hard economic times. Senate Bill 195 by Sen. Blake Miguez, which is scheduled for debate in the House Committee on Health and Welfare on Wednesday, would block the state Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) from seeking or accepting certain waivers related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. A new issue brief from Invest in Louisiana’s Sissy Phleger explains why this legislation will drive up hunger:  The latest version ..read more

A bill nearing final passage in the state Legislature would make it harder for some Louisiana families to put food on the table during hard economic times. Senate Bill 195 by Sen. Blake Miguez , which is scheduled for debate in a House committee this week, would block the state Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) from seeking or accepting certain waivers related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, is a federal program with a simple but vital mission: to make sure that people with low incomes get enough to eat by helping ..read more

The enabling legislation for Gov. Jeff Landry’s scheme to rewrite Louisiana’s constitution is scheduled for debate on the House floor on Tuesday. Lawmakers added an amendment to House Bill 800 last week that purports to protect the state’s funding formula for public schools and homestead exemption from tampering. While that deal – and other jockeying – may be enough to secure the two-thirds supermajority needed for the bill to clear the House, there’s no guarantee that those protections will be kept once a convention starts. The Times Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Clancy DuBos explains:&nb ..read more

Low-income Louisiana households will receive an extra $120 in food assistance per child this summer after the state announced on Wednesday that it will accept federal cash available through the new Summer EBT program. The decision unlocks up to $71 million in federal funding, and marks a reversal of an earlier decision by Gov. Jeff Landry’s administration. It comes after pressure from the Legislature, led by Landry’s hand-picked legislative leaders. The Times Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Tyler Bridges reports: … House and Senate leaders met Tuesday with (Department of Children and Family ..read more

A federal three-judge panel has rejected Louisiana’s new congressional map that added a second-Black majority House district. The ruling came after the state Legislature, under orders from a different federal court, redrew the state’s congressional boundaries in January to accurately reflect the state’s racial makeup. In Tuesday’s 2-1 decision, the U.S. Western District panel ruled that the map was unconstitutional because it focused solely on race. The Shreveport Times’s Greg Hilburn reports:  The lawsuit challenging the map attacked the new majority Black 6th Congressional District bou ..read more

A Louisiana Senate committee has scaled back legislation that would create a new TOPS-like entitlement program for families that send their children to private schools. The budget-writing Senate Finance Committee amended a bill that creates new Education Savings Accounts amid criticism that it would come with exorbitant costs and siphon off state dollars that support public schools. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Patrick Wall reports:   On Monday, Sen. Rick Edmonds, R-Baton Rouge, proposed a complete overhaul of the plan he sponsored, which would put tax dollars into “e ..read more

The Louisiana House, with many political newcomers, has offered mostly unquestioning support for Gov. Jeff Landry’s political agenda. But the more seasoned Senate has shown flashes of independence under President Cameron Henry, and its actions will be closely watched as the legislative session passes the halfway point. The Times Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s Tyler Bridges reports on the upper chamber’s pivotal role over the next five weeks.  The biggest question mark surrounds the governor’s stepped-up effort to have lawmakers convene a special convention on May 20 to rewrite the sta ..read more

Gov. Jeff Landry tried to ease concerns that his proposed constitutional convention is a power grab by his administration and its allies. In a news conference on Thursday morning, the governor pushed back on criticism that the process has been secretive and is being rushed (which it is). But as the Louisiana Illuminator’s Piper Hutchinson explains, there are still no details about what Landry wants to change in the constitution and why:  Transparency isn’t an issue, Landry said, because he had a transition council on constitutional reform. Critics merely need to check out the council’s p ..read more