There’s a lot to digest in the new School Performance Scores that were just released. The line that grabs you first is that the number of Louisiana schools earning an A for performance declined while the number of F schools went up. While that sounds discouraging, there’s a lot more to it than that. The […]

The early election period in Louisiana ended this past Tuesday and approximately 10% (307,000) of the voting population cast their ballots.  Even though those numbers are the highest outside of a presidential election, the Secretary of State is still only predicting total voter turnout of between 30-35%, well below the 67% of the 2016 presidential […]

Sometimes things happen quicker than you think they will. In 1995 CABL’s first-ever election agenda included an item calling for expanding access and opportunities for students to attend community colleges. That doesn’t sound like a big deal now, but back then no one was even talking about it. As it turns out, that changed quickly. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]