March 13, 2012 (Education Week, Sean Cavanagh)—Over the objections of teachers’ unions and many Democrats, Louisiana’s Republican governor and GOP-controlled legislature have crafted one of the most exhaustive education overhauls of any state in the country, through measures that will dramatically expand families’ access to public money to cover the costs of both private school tuition and individual courses offered by a menu of providers.

A pair of bills championed by Gov. Bobby Jindal, which he is expected to sign into law, will expand a state-run private-school-voucher program beyond New Orleans to other academically struggling schools around the state, give superintendents and principals direct control over personnel decisions, and set much higher standards for awarding teachers tenure.

Other changes in the package will allow the number of charter school authorizers in the state to grow and give parents the power to overhaul the governance of academically struggling schools—a step known as a “parent trigger” in other states, where the process has stirred controversy.

Education Policy, Organization and Leadership Associate Professor Christopher Lubienski speaks in the Education Week article about the state's stance on course-level choice and overall voucher expansion in Louisiana.

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