Louisiana has seen literacy rates amongst elementary and middle-grade students decline for several years in a row now. Matt Doyle spoke with Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley about how to fix this…
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On the field at Mumford Stadium Monday Governor Edwards wrapped up the first day of the Legislative session with a call for ambitious reforms. Matt Doyle has the story.
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A number of antitransgender bills have been filed that one political analyst says could be costly for the state if any pass. Brooke Thorington explains.
Cut 3 (30) “…I’m Brooke Thorington.”
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The Louisiana Department of Education is launching a new campaign to boost the state’s shockingly poor levels of literacy amongst young students. Right now only half of third-graders are reading on or above their grade level. Superintendent Cade Brumley says that number has been declining for several years in a row.
That number is as low as 40 percent for Louisiana kindergarteners. To do that the state is launching a new series of training programs for teachers and administrative staff in elementary and middle grades. Brumley says part of that is a school system literacy roadmap.
Furthermore, Brumley says it’s very concerning that by the end of 3rd grade only 46 percent of students have achieved mastery of their English Language Arts studies.
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The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says a rehabbed brown pelican that was found covered in oil near Queen Bess Island in 2010, and then released in Georgia, has found its way back to the Bayou State. LDWF Biologist Casey Wright says this is the first pelican released from the Coast Guard Station in Brunswick to return home.
The pelican known as 33Z remains tagged on his right leg and while it’s not known exactly when he returned from Georgia, Wright says it’s not a complete shock that’s he found his way back.
Wright says this is not the first pelican rehabbed from the oil spill that found its way home.
The brown pelican is one of 582 successfully rehabbed during the aftermath of the spill.
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Governor Edwards wrapped up the first day of the Legislative session Monday with a speech at Mumford Stadium outlining his hopes for the next two months.
Edwards challenged lawmakers not to allow the state to return to the pre-pandemic normal, but to something better, highlighting his support for equal pay, minimum wage increases, and other reforms.
Edwards also spelled out his support for a mandatory sexual misconduct reporting bill for college employees, a budget that features teacher and higher education pay raises, and early childhood education funding.
It is a fiscal session and Edwards says any tax reforms must be revenue-neutral. He says since 2016 they’ve made great strides in stabilizing the budget and can’t go back to running deficits.
Edwards says he’s extremely grateful for the over three billion in federal American Rescue Act aid we’re receiving, but told lawmakers the money must be spent wisely.
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Houma Representative Beryl Amadee files a bill to bar transgender athletes from participating in girl’s or women’s sports at public schools. House Bill 542 mirrors several other laws introduced across the country by Republican legislators. Political Analyst Clancy DuBos says it has a good chance of passing.
According to The Advocate when questioned how many transgender athletes would be affected by the bill, Amadee was not able to cite an example of where transgender participation created a problem. DuBos says the bill is not relevant to this session.
In 2016 the NCAA pulled tournament games from North Carolina after the passage of a bill restricting the use of bathrooms by transgenders. DuBos says anti-transgender legislation could cause New Orleans to lose the Final Four slated for 2022.
Cut 15 (07)“…transgendered student”
The bathroom bill was later repealed and the NCAA reinstated tournament games in the Tar Hill state. Another bill has been filed requiring transgender youth to receive parental consent from both parents before receiving any gender-affirming medical treatment or counseling and a third bill would ban such treatments of minors outright and penalize healthcare providers who do so.
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The LSU baseball team won two out of three games in the weekend series against Kentucky, their first SEC series victory of the season. The Tigers’ bats finally came alive as they scored 15 runs on Friday before bringing eight runs across the plate on Saturday. A lot of different players came away with big hits and coach Mainieri says that makes the lineup more well-rounded because…
One player who contributed was junior Cade Beloso, who had five hits on the weekend. Beloso has struggled at the plate this year but Mainieri says he knew Cade would catch fire.
Cut 17 (16) “…such a rutt.” _________________________________________________
The Ragin Cajuns baseball team grabbed a series victory over Arkansas State winning two out of three this weekend. The Cajuns were carried by their offense as they had 38 hits and 30 runs this weekend. Head coach Matt Deggs says his team was able to despite some new faces in the lineup.
The Cajuns lead the Sun Belt conference with 62 hits and 34 home runs. Deggs says the reason for his team’s success at the plate is…
Cut 19 (15) “…behind the baseball” ________________________________________________