Hello from the nation’s weathervane, where Louisiana’s congressional maps are being redrawn after a Supreme Court ruling that could undermine the core tenets of the Voting Rights Act, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked mail-order abortion medication for the entire country and New Orleans’ largest charter school network is holding out on a big public records request.
Starting locally, after KIPP New Orleans Schools’ board voted to close Douglass High School on March 12 I put in a public records request in hopes of learning what led up to the decision. I’ve long covered school closures in the city and state meetings law protects the public’s right to witness deliberations and discussions of public bodies, including charter school boards. The KIPP vote came as a shock because the board didn’t tell the community it was even considering a school closure. Public meetings experts say the vote skirted state sunshine law and amounted to “subterfuge.”
This week I was set to review 100s of pages of communication between KIPP and Goldin Solutions, the New York-based crisis-communications firm KIPP hired weeks before the unannounced vote to close Douglass. The charter network cancelled the records review window and my subsequent request that they provide the records digitally at no cost has gone unanswered.
I don’t know if this is a calculated delay — what I do know is that the 60-day deadline for the public to challenge whether KIPP’s unannounced closure vote violated Louisiana’s Public Meetings Law falls on Monday.
Elections
Whether you’re a local reader or live outside the state, you’ve likely heard Gov. Jeff Landry suspended primaries for Louisiana’s six U.S. House races after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Louisiana v. Callais. (After 42,000 absentee ballots were sent in.)
“In the eyes of suffrage advocates, the Callais decision imploded Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in election laws and practices involving a person’s race, color or language group,” the Louisiana Illuminator reports.
BUT — the state board of education race, several judicial races and five constitutional amendments are still on the May 16 ballot. Here’s Antigravity’s voter guide.
Louisiana’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education has one seat to fill. I spoke with the three republican candidates about LA Gator, the state’s voucher program, high-stakes standardized testing and the statewide early literacy push for the Louisiana Illuminator. (Northern states continue to report on the reading growth seen in Louisiana and Mississippi.)
In other statehouse news, the special education bill I highlighted was passed in the state house and awaits the senate. Alonzo Knox’s bill could make disagreements over special education services easier for families to challenge. It would specifically shift the “burden of proof” from a family to school districts or charter school organizations.
Updates ~ A Trip to D.C.
I’ve got fun news and an ask! Next month I’m headed to the Investigative Reporters and Editors conference. IRE accepted the panel I pitched: “Data Deluge: The Education Beat Awaits Your Investigation.”
It irks me when education is overlooked as an investigative beat and I’m excited to share my experience at IRE. Meanwhile, the byline you’ve known and trusted to report on education in New Orleans for years lives on here at Lamplighter. After I launched the site with the KIPP stories, a Douglass alumna called me. She said she dialed my number because in 2018 I helped her quickly get information about asbestos at her child’s school. Then she told me about the story she’d read on Lamplighter — and I got to tell her that was me!
I’m excited to continue that critical education reporting. I’m still exploring pay-what-you-can subscriptions and other site models for Lamplighter. I’ll continue to keep you updated. In the meantime ...
Can you financially support my independent journalism?
Absolutely. Initial funds will support my trip to IRE in Washington D.C. where I’ll learn a whole bunch and teach other reporters how to dig into education. My venmo is @marta-jewson and Zelle is my cell.
Why IRE?
Last year’s conference was a turning point for me — I saw an amazing array of work from talented reporters, new models of journalism, and was challenged to reflect on the work I’d been doing. I left reinvigorated, with lots of new ideas and restored confidence.
How else can you support Lamplighter?
Share the site and subscribe to Lamplighter (it’s free!). As you can see, news out of Louisiana’s conservative testing ground routinely has national repercussions — the state is relevant no matter your ZIP code.
Here’s an exclusive 2014 promo photo from my year at The St. Cloud Times. Many of you have already contributed and I can’t tell you how much seeing so many names from different chapters of my life boosted my spirits.
Thank you thank you thank you!
News tips or questions? You can find me at [email protected]
