HB 283, the "Teacher's Shield Act," requires immediate suspension of students accused of assaulting or battering school employees (including teachers, substitutes, bus operators, or volunteers) on or off school property. If found guilty by a court or school hearing, students face mandatory expulsion for at least two full school semesters, with placement in an alternative school and required anger management, and cannot return to the school where the incident occurred. The bill also expands sick leave for school employees to cover medical, psychological, and rehabilitation treatment following such incidents. These changes aim to protect school staff and establish clear disciplinary consequences for student violence against employees.
SB 98 amends Louisiana law to expand the definition of "educator" to include school resource officers and security guards, in addition to existing roles like teachers and coaches. This change means the prohibition on sexual conduct between an educator and a student will now apply to these additional school staff members. The bill directly affects school security personnel and resource officers by bringing them under this legal protection, while extending coverage to students who interact with them. The amendment will take effect on August 1, 2026.
HB 912 defines "alternative hair design" as styling techniques like braiding, weaving, or locking hair (using synthetic or natural hair) without chemical treatments, and creates a new certification for "alternative hairstylists." It requires the state cosmetology board to include one alternative hairstylist member and sets specific education requirements for obtaining this certification. The bill also establishes teacher certification pathways specifically for teaching alternative hair design and mandates that salons specializing in this service must employ a licensed manager (e.g., a cosmetologist or alternative hairstylist). These changes directly affect hairstylists, salon owners, and educators in Louisiana who practice or teach alternative hair design.
HB 818 limits the time Louisiana public school students spend on standardized tests to no more than 2% of annual instructional time starting in 2027-2028, excluding college exams, accommodations for students with disabilities, and teacher-selected classroom assessments. It requires schools and the state education department to publish annual, publicly accessible schedules of all required tests online by specific deadlines, listing details like test names, grade levels, administration dates, and time estimates. The bill mandates that these schedules exclude locally developed tests not required by federal or state law and must be updated within 10 business days of any changes. This directly affects Louisiana public school students, teachers, and school districts by standardizing test transparency and restricting testing time.
This Louisiana bill creates a specific offense for battery against school teachers, defined as battery committed when the perpetrator knows the victim is a teacher or targets them due to their job. It sets harsher penalties for non-student offenders (up to 5 years in jail or $5,000 fine) versus students (up to 1.5 years jail with 72 hours mandatory for minor cases, or up to 1 year for injuries requiring medical care). Juvenile offenders under 17 are handled under the Children's Code, requiring court-approved counseling (costs borne by the family) and secure detention for teens 14+ who commit this crime. The law applies to all school teachers during work duties and modifies juvenile court procedures for such offenses.
SB 28 lowers the minimum age requirement for associate teachers in Louisiana from 25 to 21 years old. This change directly affects individuals seeking to join Louisiana's associate educator program as new participants. The bill amends existing law (R.S. 17:7.8(B)(3)) to update this age requirement, with no other substantive policy changes described in the text. The bill is currently in early stages, having been prefilled and referred to the Education Committee.
HB 316 requires Louisiana teacher education programs to include specific literacy training for educators preparing to teach students in kindergarten through third grade and for secondary teachers working with grades 4-8. It mandates that programs cover foundational literacy skills (like phonemic awareness and dyslexia support) and adolescent literacy strategies (including science-of-reading approaches for content-area learning). The bill also requires public schools to annually review student literacy plans for grades 4-8 and consolidate related improvement plans into single documents. These changes directly affect teacher training institutions, public schools, and students in grades 4-8 by establishing new standards for literacy instruction and intervention planning.
HB 42 creates a phased retirement program for Louisiana teachers in the Teachers' Retirement System. It allows eligible teachers to gradually transition to full retirement by working reduced hours (e.g., 50% effort = 50% of full benefit) while receiving a proportionally reduced benefit based on their work percentage. During participation, their retirement benefit, compensation, and service credits are frozen at the program start date, and neither they nor their employer pay contributions to the retirement plan. Starting July 2027, employers will cover the full monthly administrative fee for the program, shifting from current cost-sharing. The bill is pending legislative action and would affect current teachers in the system who qualify for phased retirement under their employer’s policy.
HB 28 amends Louisiana's teacher certification appeals process to give the state superintendent of education new authority. It allows the superintendent to override a Teacher Certification Appeals Council's denial of certification if the denial resulted from circumstances beyond the applicant's control (e.g., administrative errors), but not if the certification would conflict with state or federal law. This applies to applicants denied certification after January 1, 2025, including retroactive review of past denials. The bill directly affects educators seeking certification who have been denied by the appeals council. The key change is adding this superintendent override option while maintaining the council's decision as final except under these specific conditions.
