An Anniversary Worth Celebrating

It seems Louisiana is always celebrating significant anniversaries. When you have a state that is more than 200 years old and a city like New Orleans that’s 300 years old, that’s to be expected. But this year the state is celebrating an anniversary that’s much shorter in years, but truly major in scope. It was […]

Read More


CABL Recommendations on Constitutional Amendments

This year there are six constitutional amendments on the November ballot. CABL has reviewed and analyzed each of the proposed amendments, and here are our recommendations to assist and inform voters as they make their decisions. Don’t forget to cast your vote. Early voting runs from October 23-30. Election Day is November 6. Download PDF Version […]

Read More


Constitutional Amendments Preview

Things are pretty quiet on the election front right now, but there is a race for Secretary of State on the statewide ballot and a lot of school board and other local races. And yes, there are also six constitutional amendments for voters to decide. CABL will be making its recommendations on amendments in the […]

Read More


Changes coming in new school letter grades

Sometime this fall Louisiana’s school letter grades will be coming out and for some schools the results might be a shocker. That’s because in many cases it’s likely that scores will go down. But it’s important to understand that, in this case, it might not be as bad as it seems. Most people would tend […]

Read More


New School Year Reminds Us That Every Child Can Learn

There are some who suggest that a school that has a high number of economically disadvantaged students can’t be an academically high-performing school. Implicit in their message is that “poor kids can’t learn.” As a new school year begins it’s important to remind ourselves that that view is wrong. This year, CABL has spent a […]

Read More


Expanding Access to Early Education

It’s great news that the parents of about 4,500 children who have been on a waiting list to receive financial assistance for child care will be rolling off that list. But it highlights an issue which deserves far more attention in Louisiana than it’s been receiving. Louisiana’s Child Care Assistance Program, or CCAP, does what […]

Read More


What Did We Learn From Special Session #3?

The third special session of the year is over, a deal was finally struck, and theoretically Louisiana’s ongoing budget uncertainty has been settled for at least the next seven years. Given the drama of the last several months, that’s good news, but what are the takeaways from the long, drawn out process Louisiana has been […]

Read More


Hopes for Compromise & Stability in Higher Education

The third special session of 2018 is about to begin. One thing that can be said is that lawmakers have been here before and they know the issues. Our hope is that this time they will find compromise. Toward that end CABL supports renewal of one-half-cent of the expiring state sales tax in the general […]

Read More


Special Session Fails Over Pennies

It is hard to know just what to say about the second special session this year that crashed without addressing the state’s very real and looming fiscal problems. By any measure it was a disappointment and the blame game is still ongoing. That’s probably to be expected, but at this point it gets us nowhere. […]

Read More


Don’t Move Backwards on Tax Policy

As the clock continues to tick down on this special session, lawmakers get in a rush. With tensions already high, pressure builds, the deadline looms, and that’s when unfortunate things can happen. This time, we hope they won’t. The budget issues and revenue options that legislators have been considering during the special session haven’t really […]

Read More