The Louisiana House of Representatives today passed the her program that allows low- and middle-income students in low-performing public schools to receive goStudent Scholarships for Educational Excellence Program, a voucvernment-funded vouchers to attend private schools. The state Senate passed the bill Wednesday night, and Gov. Bobby Jindal is expected to sign the bill into law.
The following statements from education policy experts at The Heartland Institute – a free-market think tank – may be used for attribution. For more comments, refer to the contact information below. To book a Heartland guest on your program, please contact Tammy Nash at [email protected] and 312/377-4000. After regular business hours, contact Jim Lakely at [email protected] and 312/731-9364.
“Gov. Jindal’s education reforms are the most comprehensive and systematic that any state has ever undertaken. His leadership was pivotal in converting his massive political capital in Louisiana into system-wide reforms that will change the lives of countless children and families for the better.
“Right now, Louisiana students are near the bottom of rankings comparing them to the rest of the country. But because of this legislation, other states had better start watching out for Louisiana. The substantive forethought and shrewd execution that went into passing these reforms are a model for other states.”
Joy Pullmann
Research Fellow, The Heartland Institute
Managing Editor, School Reform News
jpull[email protected]
312/377-4000
“Louisiana is merely another example of states engaging in a much more important ‘race to the top’ than the president’s top-down bureaucratization and nationalization of America’s schools. As more and more states begin to experience the superiority of school choice, other states will follow the leadership of Wisconsin, Indiana, and now Louisiana.
“It’s time to stop funding bureaucrats, districts, and government employment projects. It’s time to start funding students. Kudos to the Louisiana House.”
Bruno Behrend
Director, Center for Transforming Education
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000
The Heartland Institute is a 28-year-old national nonprofit organization with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Washington, DC. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our Web site or call 312/377-4000.
Joy Pullmann is a research fellow on education policy for The Heartland Institute and managing editor of The Federalist, a web magazine on politics, policy, and culture.
Bruno Behrend, J.D., is a senior fellow for education policy at The Heartland Institute.
