This year, LEAP scores came back from the state of Louisiana in record time. Do parents understand the scores? Do kids? Now, the state begins to crunch school statistics to create School Performance Scores, which could lead to charter-school closures later this fall.
Posted inBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens episode 278: ‘Failed to file’
Matt McBride on a controversial candidate for the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans. Marta Jewson on how state standardized test scores should serve the children who take the tests.
Posted inOpinion
Louisiana’s ban on community air monitoring is an attack on science and free speech
Last year, Louisiana legislators passed a “million-dollar muzzle,” which barred the use of community-gathered air-quality data to advocate for pollution control and enforcement, with fines as high as $1 million per violation.
Posted inHurricane Season
Weather watchdog silenced
This administration is placing vulnerable communities at greater risk when severe weather strikes, says the writer, who helped to craft key forecasting legislation that’s now been undone. She points to the harms done through lapsed weather-data contracts, draconian proposed cuts to the Weather Service, and undermined public confidence in severe weather alerts.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Unlocking opportunity:
It’s a familiar scenario. Potential employers see criminal histories and don’t hire. In New Orleans, improvements to the city’s “Ban the Box” ordinance could better challenge employment barriers. An Oct. 11 ballot amendment could expand that protection to include housing
Posted inOpinion
Letter to Louisiana: ‘They Want to Take It All’
In Louisiana, more than 200,000 people could lose coverage under Healthy Louisiana. Many don’t even realize that Medicaid is the coverage they rely on: for themselves, their kids, their aging parents, or their disabled loved ones.
Posted inCriminal Justice
From jailhouse lawyer to clerk of court candidate
Calvin Duncan’s unfinished mission for justice moves to his political candidacy
Posted inBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens episode 277: ‘Hotter, hotter and hotter’
Bernard Smith on New Orleans’ notorious House of Detention and protections for Angola’s Farm Line workers in summer heat. Marta Jewson on a student’s suspension pending a mental health eval — a flagarent violation of special education law.
Posted inGovernment & Politics
Mayor pulls nomination for ethics-plagued former Sewerage & Water Board member, pledges to reappoint at later date
Kimberly Thomas, who served a decade ago on the S&WB, was given nod by a council committee last week and was slated for Council approval on Thursday
Posted inOpinion
Essence isn’t just facing organizational problems—it’s having an identity crisis
When Essence Communications rebranded its flagship event as the Essence Festival of Culture, it may have seemed like a harmless update. But in a city like New Orleans, where culture is lived—not marketed—that change said more than they likely intended. It marked a shift—away from something rooted and spiritual, toward something packaged, curated, and increasingly […]