Tag Archives: Austin Badon

Less than three weeks after it cleared the major hurdle of the state senate, Louisiana’s private tuition scholarship pilot program officially has become law: Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal [on June 26] signed a landmark $10 million scholarship program into law. The new program will benefit low-income families in New Orleans and marks a major turning point for education reform in the Bayou State. Sponsored by two New Orleans Democrats–Senator Ann Duplessis and Representative Austin Badon–the plan passed both houses of the Louisiana Legislature with bipartisan support. With the new school year fast approaching, it is estimated that hundreds of students will apply for scholarships of up to $6,300 to attend the private schools of their parents’ choice. For the first year of the program, only children in public schools, grades K-3, are eligible to participate. For each additional year, the scholarships would continue to support those students as they advance to the next grade level, with new groups of K-3 students entering every year. This indicates that the program could grow incrementally, and benefit more students each year. The scholarships are reserved for children in families with an income that does not exceed 250 percent of federal poverty guidelines. So […]

Louisiana’s young governor sure looks to be making himself into a school choice hero, with a bipartisan legislative victory nearly under his belt: Gov. Bobby Jindal moved one step closer Wednesday to final approval for a $10 million pilot program that would pay private school tuition for some children in Orleans Parish public schools. The 25-12 Senate vote sends House Bill 1347 by Rep. Austin Badon, D-New Orleans, back to the lower chamber for its reconsideration. Some form of the measure, one of Jindal’s top legislative priorities, is now certain to reach the governor’s desk, with the plan slated to start this fall. [emphasis added] Greg Forster points out that Louisiana now looks to have the nation’s 24th school choice (vouchers or tax credits) program. The Alliance for School Choice notes the dire straits of Louisiana’s public school system, and the “hope and educational opportunities” that a plan like the one moving through the state legislature could provide. With school choice advancing in one more state, this guy Greg Anrig must really regret having written this article now. I’m excited for the new opportunity some needy kids in Louisiana are going to get, and hope that Colorado can some day […]