Trainer pay, scholar studying loss amongst training priorities for 2022 common legislative session | Training
How to address the worsening teacher shortage in Louisiana, teacher salary increases and steps to recover from the pandemic-induced learning loss will be key topics during the 2022 legislature, officials said Monday.
The Louisiana Federation of Teachers, the Louisiana Association of Educators, and the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry have started defining their educational priorities ahead of the regular session that begins March 14.
What the state can do to ensure that every public school classroom has a teacher will be one of the issues.
Tia Mills, president of the Louisiana Association of Educators, said her group’s legislative committee said Saturday that one of its goals was to bring retirees back into the workforce from educators.
The teacher shortage in Louisiana is getting worse as retirements rise, the number of new teachers falls sharply, and it becomes increasingly difficult for school principals to fill classroom jobs.
State education leaders say the once chronic shortage in special, math, and science classes has spread to virtually all subjects.
The retirement of teachers and other school staff increased by 25% from 2020 to 2021.
Seasoned educators say they face unprecedented challenges just to make sure students have a teacher in their classroom.
Mills said the decline has been going on since 2010.
“There has been a steady decline in teacher reintegration into work,” she said. “There is a critical defect everywhere.”
Governor John Bel Edwards, who is entering the third year of his sophomore term, likely still has a chance to fulfill his promise to raise teacher salaries to the regional average. The 2023 session is in an election year, and the Democratic governor’s lame duck status will prevent any pressure on breakthrough action.
A new poll shows the average teacher salary in Louisiana is 12th out of 16 states in the south, raising doubts as to whether Governor John Bel Edwards …
Teacher salaries here ranks 12th out of 16 states in the south, according to the Southern Regional Education Board, with average salaries of $ 51,566 compared to the regional average of $ 55,205.
The US average is $ 64,133.
Cynthia Posey, legislative and policy director for the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, said that salary increases of at least $ 1,000 were needed to make sense in the face of rising health insurance and other costs. Posey said some of the problems stemmed from “political games” played by Edwards critics, including debates about how much money should be given to teachers and other areas.
The Revenue Estimating Conference is scheduled to meet on Tuesday to determine the financial outlook for Louisiana through June 30 and for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
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Mills said the LAE was also in favor of a raise, but hadn’t agreed on details.
“We have to remain optimistic and hold the necessary talks,” she said. “We are losing so many educators to other federal states.”
Stephen Waguespack, president of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry, said one of his group’s priorities will be to address the 22-month educational upheaval on learning loss caused by the pandemic.
Almost three out of four public schools showed a decline in their school performance in the 2020/21 school year. This year saw a mix of face-to-face and virtual classes as part of an effort to contain the coronavirus.
Annual public school letter grades have been removed here as part of the freeze on school accountability measures across the country.
Louisiana Supreme Schooling Board voted Tuesday to put public school grades on hold this year, but suspended them from final approval by the f …
Waguespack was Chief of Staff to then Governor Bobby Jindal in 2012 when the legislature, at Jindal’s insistence, approved major changes to public school operations. He later served on the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
“Every state will focus on it,” Waguespack said of the learning loss.
“You have two years of students who either stayed at home or went in and out,” he said. “We cannot leave this generation of children behind.”
Another priority for the LAE and LFT will be legislation to ensure that teachers have 45-minute planning time after a failure to apply for 2021.
LFT’s Posey said another goal of the session was to enable teachers to get key test results like LEAP 2025 in a timely manner to aid in teaching. “Right now they are getting it so late that there is no way to inform,” she said.
Waguespack said expanding parenting school offerings, especially for students with special needs and those stuck in failing schools, is another goal of LABI.
Virtual education in Louisiana is “spotty at best,” and needs more government oversight, according to a Public Affa report released Wednesday.
