Gov. Edwards Bows to Education Swamp
The Education Swamp's Investment in Gov. Edwards Pays Off, Hurting Louisiana Families
Today, Governor John Bel Edwards announced his vetoes of SB 203 and HB 194, two bills that would have created Education Savings Accounts for two unique student populations: those reading below grade level and those with special-needs.
Louisiana's public education swamp, solely to killing any legislation that would help parents with kids struggling in their failing public schools, mobilized all session to keep these bills from hitting the Governor's desk- but it didn't matter in the end, because of their massive investments in his 2015 and 2019 campaigns. Between those campaigns, teachers' unions, invested more than $2 Million into getting John Bel Edwards elected Governor. These funds came from the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, the Louisiana Association of Educators, and the National Education Association to his campaign, to the Louisiana Democratic Party, and to an array of Super PACS set up to support his campaigns. Randi Weingarten's National Education Association, who many know from leading the efforts to keep children out of school and masked during the pandemic, alone contributed nearly $1 million to Gumbo PAC in 2019. Gumbo PAC, of course, is part of trial-lawyer John Carmouche's shady PAC network set up to elect John Bel Edwards and friendly candidates to local and judicial offices.
Those investments paid off in a big way today, with the Governor returning the favor, killing hope that parents may have had to create a better future for their children. Apparently, all it takes is $2 million and you too can have a Governor who, with the stroke of a pen, will kill legislation to help Louisiana parents and children.
One of those parents, Shannon Meija-Flores, told a powerful story about how her daughter simply cannot succeed in a public schools because of her special needs. The Governor, and his allies in the education swamp, today killed Shannon's hope of a better future for her daughter. You can see Shannon tell her story here:
In the process of killing choice for parents like Shannon, the education swamp showed their hypocrisy, opposing some bills because they didn't help special-needs students, while still working to kill HB 194 to do just that. The Louisiana School Boards Association used taxpayer funds to ramp up their lobbying efforts. The two largest teachers' unions in the state more than doubled their contributions to legislators. This was a well-coordinated effort by all members of Louisiana's education swamp to keep kids trapped in their failing schools- and deny opportunity to parents desperate for their kids to read on grade level, or go to a school environment free of bullying, and with the necessary support for their special needs.
You can read all of our past stories on Louisiana's education swamp here. Sign up here to receive future stories direct to your inbox. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter for updates!
