By Jordan Marks
EAGnews.org

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Association of Educators (LAE) has joined the Louisiana Federation of Teachers in a lawsuit challenging a series of education reforms that will, among other things, provide money for a statewide voucher program.

Officials from the LAE, an affiliate of the National Education Association, argue that the changes violate Louisiana’s state constitution, which makes it illegal to transfer local tax money from one district to another.

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Louisiana House Bills 974 and 976, recently signed by Gov. Bobby Jindal, will establish a statewide program that will use public funds to pay private-school tuition for certain low-income students. The legislation will also link teacher compensation and superintendent job security to student performance; shift hiring and firing power from easily manipulated school boards to superintendents and create new paths to open charter schools.

Unhappy union leaders, whom Jindal referred to as the “coalition of the status quo,” aren’t limiting their efforts to the lawsuit. They are also organizing a recall campaign against the governor, in the same manner that Wisconsin unions tried to recall Gov. Scott Walker in retaliation for his education reforms.

Walker won the recall election earlier this month.

Jindal is apparently not intimidated by the union challenges. He recently issued the following statement regarding the union effort to derail education improvements.

“Forty-four percent of our public schools are failing, 225,000 students are below grade level, and our state is spending a billion dollars a year on failing schools. That’s unacceptable. The people of Louisiana demand and deserve better. The coalition of the status quo have fought reform every step of the way, so it is no surprise they are making this last ditch effort to convince the courts to overrule the vote of the people and the Legislature. Holding up these reforms in court will only deny parents and students the opportunity to escape failing schools. Our kids do not get a second chance to grow up.”