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Bobby Jindal and John White: Deceptively Attempting to Manufacture Consent on School Voucher Program
Update: Superintendent White’s prior communications with BESE Board members may have violated open meetings laws. With only a day’s notice and with less than a month before the beginning of the school year, Louisiana Superintendent of Education John White rolled out a set of academic standards for private schools participating in the newly-launched voucher program. Christened as “Louisiana Believes,” it represents the centerpiece of Governor Bobby Jindal’s education reform initiative. And although the initiative was swept through the state legislature through a series of somewhat shady maneuvers, Governor Jindal and Superintendent White were, nonetheless, subsequently required to provide an objective criteria…
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LA Superintendent John White: Voucher Program Will Fund Failing Private Schools
As a part of his ongoing efforts to “muddy up a narrative” about Louisiana’s voucher program, Education Superintendent John White announced new “accountability standards” for schools that qualify for voucher funding. And this time, Mr. White (no relation to me, by the way) seems to have convinced The Times-Picayune to run with his spin. Quoting: Private schools participating in Louisiana’s new voucher program for low-income students will have to clear roughly the same academic bar that public schools do in order to keep accepting taxpayer dollars, according to a new accountability plan proposed by the state’s top education official. Except that’s not entirely…
