School Choice Makes Strides in Louisiana

Jillian Melchior
New measures introduced by Louisiana policymakers make the forecast for more school choice positive, thanks to a $10 million initiative included in Gov. Bobby Jindal's (R) 2008-2009 budget.
The bill to carry out Jindal's initiative, HB 1347, introduced April 22 by state Rep. Austin Badon (D-New Orleans), would distribute scholarships through the Louisiana Department of Education and Board of Education to New Orleans students attending nonpublic schools.
"We must also provide educational scholarships to parents in Orleans Parish who often have no choice for their children other than the local failing school," Jindal said in his March 2008 Regular Session Opening Speech to the state legislature. "These scholarships follow a very simple and pure American principle--that every child has an equal right to good opportunities and a good education."

Stimulating Discrimination

Many Democrats and their allies  complain of writing discrimination in to the Constitution/law when Republicans take action that supports and endorses traditional values. However, in H.R. 1 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act they have written in to the law discrimination of their own. They ban funding from going to institutions or portions of institutions that teach courses with sectarian content at the Post-Secondary level.