A politically fraught effort to give Louisiana students the chance to appeal when low test scores keep them from graduating suffered a blow Thursday amid outcry from influential Republicans and state lawmakers, who said the plan would erode already-meager graduation standards.
Louisiana's Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, the state's top school board, had already approved the controversial plan before the Louisiana House Education committee convened an oversight hearing Thursday to weigh the measure. Supporters call it an attempt to better accommodate underserved students, particularly those who speak English as a second language.
But the Republican-controlled Education Committee sided with GOP officials including Gov.-elect Jeff Landry who opposed the plan, voting 8-3 Thursday to deem the proposal "not acceptable." The plan is supported by Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards, who has final say over whether it takes effect.
Thursday's discussion quickly became entangled with a long-raging debate over the best way to raise Louisiana's educational outcomes, which for decades have lagged behind almost all of the rest of the U.S.
Louisiana is one of only eight states that still require standardized testing for students to graduate. And it's the only state that does not have an appeals process when standardized testing scores keep students from doing so, supporters of the measure noted during the meeting.
At issue are annual exams administered under the Louisiana Educational Assessment Program, or LEAP, which assess proficiency of students in grades 3-12 in math, English, social studies and science. BESE in June approved on a 6-5 vote the new policy to set up an appeals process for certain high school seniors who do not meet the state’s LEAP test graduation requirements.
The policy would give the appeal option to seniors who have demonstrated the knowledge and skills sufficient to graduate, but "struggle with difficulties related to standardized assessments" — such as English language learners and students with other "learning challenges," according to BESE.
To be eligible for an appeal under the rule, seniors must complete unit requirements; demonstrate they understand lesson content by means other than testing; or demonstrate they can qualify for a job, among other things.
Schools would grant or deny appeal requests, according to BESE, and students would still be required to take the LEAP test.
BESE directed the Louisiana Department of Education to develop rules for the appeals process before the 2023-2024 school year, the board said in a statement in June.
"Our children face so many challenges," said BESE President Holly Boffy, a Republican, on Thursday. "They face so many obstacles in life...the artificial barriers created by us in the system are unacceptable, and I think we've come up with a way to remove some of these barriers."
Also supporting the measure were education activists, some of whom work with Louisianans who are learning English as a second language.
"We work with a lot of parents of English language learners who often felt hopeless in terms of their ability to reach the end and get their diploma, specifically because of a test that isn't given in their native language," said Taylor Castillo with Our Voice Nuestra Voz, a New Orleans-based group that advocates for equality in the education system.
Major Republicans including Landry, U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-Madisonville, and Louisiana Education Superintendent Cade Brumley weighed in against the proposal. Lawmakers on Thursday read a letter from Landry criticizing the plan and Kennedy addressed the panel in a video segment.
Allowing students to appeal their results, Kennedy said, would be "an admission that we failed."
“It’s not gonna do them any good in the hard, real world out there,” Kennedy said.
Kennedy and others who opposed the plan said it started as a well-intentioned effort to give English language learners greater flexibility in their graduation efforts, but later came to include too broad a section of potential appealers.
Brumley, who clashed with supporters of the appeal on BESE and was grilled at the hearing by Rep. Tammy Phelps, D-Shreveport, for opposing the policy, called the new rule unclear and said it would probably be struck down in the courts or the state Legislature.
"Kids are going to be confused by something that appears bound to be overturned," he said.
The committee's vote against the policy is not a death knell. Committee Chairman Rep. Lance Harris, R-Alexandria, will send a letter to the governor indicating the committee's position. Edwards will then have 10 days to either reject or accept the rule, Harris said.
In a statement, Edwards spokesperson Shauna Sanford said the governor, who leaves office in January, "is supportive of the appeals plan as adopted by BESE."
If Edwards backs the rule, newly elected members of BESE and the Legislature could take up the issue again next year.
Voting against the policy to allow appeals (8): Rep. Lance Harris, R-Alexandria; Rep. Beryl Amedée, R-Houma; Rep. Ken Brass, D-Vacherie; Rep. Julie Emerson, R-Carencro; Rep. Barbara Freiberg, R-Baton Rouge; Rep. Charles Owen, R-Rosepine; Rep. Vincent St. Blanc, R-Franklin; Rep. Phillip Tarver, R-Lake Charles.
Voting in support of the appeals (3): Rep. Tammy Phelps, D-Shreveport; Rep. Patrick Jefferson, D-Homer; Rep. Aimee Freeman, D-New Orleans.