The House unanimously passed a bill Thursday that will assess if Louisiana students have equal access to quality public education.
House Bill 517 by Rep. Gary Carter, D-New Orleans, requires the state superintendent of education to annually submit a written report to the House and Senate education committees on every public and charter school for the next five years.
The report would include data on students in grades three through 12 who are economically disadvantaged, racial minorities and English language learners, as well as those taking advanced or dual enrollment courses.
It would also track how many students are in world language immersion programs, world language classes or have access to visual and performing arts instruction.
Additionally, the report would study disciplinary statistics, such as suspensions and expulsions, and the effectiveness of teachers, including teacher absences.
In 2022, the superintendent would present findings and recommendations from the five-year period to the legislative committees.
The Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools added its support to HB517.
Last week, Rep. Joseph Bouie, D-New Orleans, failed in committee his attempt to send to the full chamber House Bill 239 that had a similar goal to provide for further charter school transparency regarding experiments and data reports.