A class action lawsuit has been filed against Governor John Bel Edwards for failing to adequately fund the state’s public defender system. Deputy Legal Director at the Southern Poverty Law Center, Lisa Graybill, says the US Constitution requires that all accused be provided a suitable defense. But she says that’s not happening in Louisiana…:
Cut 9 (10) “to them”
They want a monitor to supervise the public defense system.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office says a juvenile suspect is in custody in connection with a shooting this morning at Scotlandville High School. Spokeswoman Casey Hicks says it happened today just before noon…:
CUT 12 (06) “fired a weapon”
Hicks says thankfully they were able to take the suspect into custody within minutes and nobody was injured.

The 55-year-old man facing a possible life in prison sentence in the shooting death of a former NFL player Joe McKnight, entered his plea today in Jefferson Parish. Ronald Gasser pleaded not guilty to a charge of second degree murder. His lawyers say this is a case about self-defense and reasonable use of force. Authorities have said the 28-year-old McKnight, who was black, and Gasser, who is white, were driving erratically and yelling at each other on the Crescent City Connection bridge prior to the shooting.

Superintendent of Education John White proposes plans on how to improve public schools to comply with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act that requires states to show how they plan to measure student achievement as part of their grading system. White says for the first time ever schools will be judged by how well a student improves over the course of a year…:
CUT 7 (06) “over time”
He says one way to raise expectations is to increase the benchmarks for a school to achieve an A grade in the state’s rating system.