Louisiana schools chief talks school shootings, teacher shortage, gender issues

School safety, a statewide teacher shortage, the COVID pandemic's effects on student learning and gender-equality issues are among topics Louisiana's school's chief discussed this week with local business people.

State schools Superintendent Cade Brumley spoke Tuesday to members of the Houma-Terrebonne Chamber of Commerce during a luncheon at the Courtyard by Marriott. Here are some highlights:

Preventing school shootings

Louisiana will host its first statewide school safety summit Aug. 4 at the Baton Rouge River Center, Brumley said.

Police, school and government officials, teachers and health experts will discuss best practices to help ensure schools are secure. Brumley said school systems and local authorities should already have plans in place for dealing with crises, but the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in May that killed 19 students and two teachers makes such planning more important than ever.

Teacher shortage

Louisiana is taking steps to address a statewide teacher shortage, Brumley said. A state Education Department survey in December and January estimated Louisiana was short about 2,500 public school teachers.

The Legislature approved $148 million to increase teacher salaries by $1,500 a year starting July 1. Support workers will receive a $750 pay increase.

More: Louisiana is raising teacher pay again. Will it help keep experienced teachers?

Brumley said teachers want more than just a pay raise.

"They want principals that value their input, they want the ability to get better at their job every day, they want to make sure they have discipline in their classrooms, they want to make sure they are not overburdened with their paperwork," he said. "Pay is super important, but it's beyond pay to be able to value educators as the professionals that they are."

State and local officials are working to address those issues, Brumley said.

In addition, the Legislature created the Geaux Teach Program, which will eventually provide college scholarships for students who dedicate themselves to becoming teachers in Louisiana.

Reversing declines in student achievement

A combination of the COVID pandemic and Hurricane Ida took a toll on student test scores statewide, Brumley said.

More: Louisiana helps more kids master reading through family connection and making it fun

The Education Department has pushed local school systems to reverse those declines through an effort called "Louisiana Comeback."

Parish school systems have all created plans to do that. Residents can track their progress at louisianacomeback.com. The site also includes how Louisiana schools are spending about $4 billion in the state received in pandemic relief.

Gender issues

Parents in Terrebonne and Lafourche approached local school boards in recent weeks with concerns about a Biden administration policy statement on gender-equality issues in public schools.

Specifically, some parents say they're concerned a federal anti-discrimination mandate could prompt local schools to let transgender students choose campus bathrooms based on their gender identity. Parents wonder if that will mean boys and girls could end up sharing the same bathrooms.

Local officials told The Courier and Daily Comet that will not be the case, adding that all local campuses already have single-stall bathrooms transgender students can use. State and local officials said the policy guidance won't result in any changes.

More: Will transgender bathroom mandate cost schools federal lunch money? Local officials say no

Brumley said his department has received letters from parents expressing similar concerns. They include questions about whether districts that refuse to abide by the U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines could lose federal money that pays for free and reduced-cost lunches for students whose family incomes qualify.

"It's important because citizens are asking me these questions of 'What do I do with this information?' and 'Are they really going to take away our lunch money for our kids in poverty?' And that just can't stand in the state of Louisiana," Brumley said.

Brumley said he has sent a letter to the USDA seeking clarity.

"The fact that the federal government would even insinuate that they would withhold lunch money from our neediest children is just ludicrous," he said. "And so we just want to get clarity on what they hold as an expectation so we can know what our next positions need to be."

This article originally appeared on The Courier: Louisiana schools chief discusses teacher shortage, gender issues