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Get inspired by a new era of education investments in Louisiana

Last Thursday, we announced that following over a decade of advocacy by Kelli Bottger, executive director of the Louisiana Kids Matter campaign, Louisiana became the latest state to expand educational opportunities for all students by passing a universal ESA.

Known as Louisiana Giving All True Opportunity to Rise (“GATOR”) Scholarship, the new ESA will be available to all Louisiana students, with larger scholarships for low-income students and students with special needs. Additionally, the LA GATOR Scholarship has transparency around academic outcomes built into the program from day one with a requirement that participating students take the state assessment or a nationally norm-referenced assessment each year.

The ESA was Louisiana Kids Matter’s first victory this session but it won’t be its last. Pending passage of the budget later today, Louisiana Kids Matter will have:

• Secured an additional $30 million for school districts to expand and support high-dosage tutoring during the school day.
• Expanded a program that directly funds families to obtain additional tutoring after school or over the summer in math and ELA by $5 million.
• Created a math screener to complement a previously passed literacy screener, with students assessed three times a year in grades K-8.
• Reformed the membership of the Workforce Investment Council to lay the foundation for clear career pathways and industry recognized certifications for all students.

Taken together, these investments and reforms position Louisiana as a leader in providing students with the opportunities, services and support needed for learning loss recovery.

“I’m so proud of Louisiana and our elected officials for putting kids first,” Kelli told us. “We’re working both inside and outside the system here, with our North Star being getting parents and families what they need and deserve. The reality is that now every family in our state has access to in school tutoring, after school tutoring and the ability to choose the education experience that will work best for them. This is a real game changer.”

Get inspired by a new era of education investments in Louisiana

“Tutoring is an intervention increasingly under discussion—and with good reason. It is one of the few educational strategies that we know works for almost all kids,” Liz Cohen wrote in a 50CAN policy brief published in January of 2021, as the country searched for solutions to the then-emerging learning loss crisis. 

Now serving in the role of Policy Director at FutureEd, Liz is partnering with 50CAN to moderate a webinar discussion on Tuesday, June 25 at 1:00pm ET, with panelists including Stanford University Professor Susanna Loeb, JerseyCAN Executive Director Paula White and 50CAN CEO Marc Porter Magee. 

What led to the rapid spread and adoption of tutoring as a solution? What will it take to bring tutoring to the scale? And what can the science of advocacy teach us about how other policy ideas might follow a similar path? 

Key Resources

FutureEd argues for a two-tiered system of assessment in their new vision for assessments, with existing state testing refocused on the mission of informing elected officials on broad trends and a new series of assessments to inform parents, students and teachers on student progress.

AEI hosted a debate on federal spending for learning loss recovery, with experts asking if $190 billion was sufficient enough to address the educational setbacks caused by the pandemic and if more money is warranted.

EdWorkingPapers studies the impact of state funding reforms on state finances, putting a spotlight on the need to think through how additional funding would be raised and the prospect that increasing state revenue can lead to a decrease in local revenue for education.

Governor Kathy Hochul of New York is considering a cell phone ban in schools, according to Chalkbeat, citing both academic and mental health concerns.

The 74 Million profiles parents who faced criminal charges for address sharing in an attempt to get their children into a zone with better schools.

Education Reimagined presents a policy framework for enabling learner-centered education and provides a helpful overview of specific initiatives underway in states across the country.