LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

William Marmande Sr.
March 19, 2015
Xavier Keion Richard
March 20, 2015
William Marmande Sr.
March 19, 2015
Xavier Keion Richard
March 20, 2015

BESE, state reps offer their take for ‘A REAL Louisiana Plan’


Dear Editor,

We are optimistic that more important work can and will be accomplished over the next few months for the best interests of the children of our state.

Supt. John White openly acknowledged some of the problems with Common Core in Louisiana, proposed three new recommendations for consideration of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), and agreed that Louisiana should have its own K-12 education standards.


Two days earlier, a letter by four Common Core supporters in the Legislature was published statewide making similar recommendations and calling for BESE to “continue the Louisiana plan” for education reforms. These are positive steps, and we look forward to working together during the upcoming legislative session to make critical adjustments to ensure that a REAL Louisiana plan advances.

Supt. White has suggested that BESE needs to review the state’s academic standards as early as this fall, and we agree. Indeed, his suggestion that BESE should convene a commission of Louisiana educators, parents and university leaders to assist in a comprehensive review is one that we have long advocated. However, we note there will be no point in engaging such a review if the stakeholders here are limited by the existing Common Core State Standards Initiative that was developed elsewhere. Since no more than 15 percent of the Common Core Standards can be altered or changed by participating states, it seems obvious that our mutual goal of improving Louisiana standards cannot be reached so long as we remain participants in Common Core.

With regard to student assessment, Supt. White has suggested that our Department of Education should follow the Administrative Procedures Act and allow a transparent bid process for vendors to propose a test that is “unique to Louisiana while comparable to other states.” We certainly agree and have been advocating this for nearly a year. However, we note it will be impossible to obtain bids for a new test if its underlying standards are not yet decided. It would thus be unwise to rush into a new testing contract without having these foundational questions answered first.


We agree with Supt. White and our colleagues who have now acknowledged that a two-year baseline of testing results is needed before any sanctions are placed on our students, teachers, schools and districts. Our teachers and districts work extremely hard to comply with every state mandate, and this delay will greatly reduce the stresses related to implementation. Superintendent White has been very vocal on this point, and we agree that no hardworking teacher, principal, or district should be punished based on decisions made outside their control.

Parents and teachers have voiced their concerns loudly across this state and nation, and we elected officials should be listening. Indeed, that is our duty. The people of our state are understandably wary of all tests, textbooks and curriculum that are aligned to national standards, because such an alignment is always accompanied by the dangers of federal intrusion and wasteful spending that brings no benefit to our kids.

Again, we reiterate our optimism about these critical points on which more and more state leaders now agree. We look forward to working with all in good faith to ensure that in the very near future we are truly developing a REAL Louisiana Plan for the children of our great state. They deserve it, and the stakes are too high for us to deliver anything less.


Jane Smith,

BESE, member-at-large, Bossier Parish

Mary Harris,BESE, District 4


Dr. Lottie Beebe,BESE, District 3

Carolyn Hill,BESE, District 8

Rep. James Armes,District 20


Rep. Terry Brown,District 22

Rep. Richard Burford,District 7

Rep. Henry Burns,District 9


Rep. Greg Cromer,District 90

Rep. Brett Geymann,District 35

Rep. Lance Harris,District 25


Rep. Kenny Havard,District 62

Rep. Cameron Henry,District 82

Rep. Bob Hensgens,District 47


Rep. Valarie Hodges,District 64

Rep. Frank Hoffman,District 15

Rep. Paul Hollis,District 104


Rep. Frank Howard,District 24

Rep. Mike Johnson,District 8

Rep. Eddie Lambert,District 59


Rep. Jim Morris,District 1

Rep. Kevin Pearson,District 76

Rep. Rogers Pope,District 71


Rep. John Schroder,District 77

Rep. Alan Seabaugh,District 5

Rep. Lenar Whitney,District 53


Sen. A.G. Crowe,District 1

Sen. Bob Kostelka,District 35

Sen. ElbertGuillory, District 24


Sen. Fred Mills,District 22

Sen. Jonathan Perry,District 26

Sen. John Smith,District 30


Banks keeping tight watch on fraud

Dear Editor,

Louisiana banks are required by law to develop and maintain robust internal protections to combat and address criminal attacks, and are required to protect consumer financial information and notify consumers when a breach occurs within their systems that will put their customers at risk. The same cannot be said for other industries, like retailers, that routinely handle this same information and increasingly store it for their own purposes.


For more than 15 years, banks have been subject to significant regulatory requirements and internal safeguards which have been substantially enhanced over the years. These include:

• Federal Requirements to Protect Information – Title V of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.

• Federal Requirements to Notify Consumers – Louisiana banks are also required to notify customers whenever there is a data breach.


• Strong Federal Oversight and Examination – Under their broad-based statutory supervisory and examination authority, the Federal Reserve System, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation regularly examine banks for compliance.

• Strong Federal Sanction Authority.

This extensive legal, regulatory examination and enforcement regime ensures that Louisiana banks robustly protect customer personal financial information. In contrast, retailers that accept electronic payments face no similar requirements or oversight and, as a result, millions of American consumers’ personal financial information has been compromised in recent years. We will work with Congress to assure customer information will be protected across the business community that retains personal financial information.


Robert Taylor,

CEO, Louisiana Bankers Association