Gov. Jeff Landry’s plan to cut $168 million from public schools’ operating budgets to finance stipends for teachers and support staff is in legal limbo. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s editorial board explains how the Legislature wanted a free lunch – to get teachers a politically popular pay raise without using state dollars:
(G)iving teachers a long-awaited permanent raise — rather than yet another one-time stipend — was not a major priority when the Legislature convened earlier this year. It only became one after voters rejected a broad package of constitutional amendments that, among other things, would have eliminated the trust funds to pay for permanent pay increases.
There’s a better way to increase teacher pay than cutting school operating budgets:
We endorse the idea of reconsidering the MFP, especially in an age of declining enrollment, but this slapdash process was unnecessary and unprofessional. Going forward, the governor and legislators need to get back into a room and do the hard work of finally paying for the raise that our teachers deserve — even if that means calling a special session. Such sessions have certainly been called for less urgent issues.
Are ‘six pack’ juries constitutional?
In 2018, Louisiana voters overwhelmingly overturned a Jim Crow-era law that allowed people to be convicted of crimes even when some of their jurors did not believe they were guilty. The U.S. Supreme Court outlawed non-unanimous jury convictions in 2020. The high court is now considering whether to overturn so-called six-pack juries, which can still be used in Louisiana when crimes do not specify hard labor upon conviction. The Times-Picayune | Baton Rouge Advocate’s John Simerman explains:
(S)ix-member juries render verdicts on felonies including simple robbery, which carries a maximum seven-year sentence, and simple burglary, with a top sentence of 12 years, among other second-tier felonies. Louisiana’s habitual-offender law can apply to convictions from either size jury. The Advocate’s research in 2017 found 14 Louisiana defendants who were launched to life prison terms from habitual offender sentences based on convictions by six-member juries.
Tracking the loss of food assistance in Louisiana
The share of Louisiana children receiving food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has declined by 22% since the federal megabill was signed last July, the second largest percent decline in the nation. The law cuts SNAP by $187 billion over the next decade and imposes new, strict work reporting requirements and eligibility checks. ProPublica’s Nicole Santa Cruz reports:
Although children weren’t the intended targets of the legislation’s changes, they’re increasingly “collateral damage,” said Katie Bergh, a senior policy analyst at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. If states are trying to comply with the law’s changes to SNAP, they’re likely not focusing on making the program accessible, Bergh said. Other experts said that people may be pushed off the program because of increased paperwork requirements to remain eligible.
Prisoners who earn associate’s degree may qualify for time off
Louisiana consistently ranks as one of the most incarcerated states in the country. Under a new bipartisan state law, eligible incarcerated people who earn an associate’s degree while in prison can have their sentences slightly reduced. Maya Bell of Verite News reports:
State Rep. Mandie Landry, who introduced the bill, said it’s important to give prisoners as many opportunities as possible for sentence reduction. “We want people working and in the community and raising their families and not incarcerated. It’s expensive. We want people out in the community, not warehoused,” Landry said.
Number of the Day
18.57 – Number of electricity disconnections in Louisiana in 2024 as a percentage of total electric customers in the state, the fifth-highest rate in the nation. (Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration via the Washington Post)