Last Modified: Friday, June 29, 2012 11:14 AM
By Ashley Withers / American Press
A third lawsuit was filed yesterday against Gov. Bobby Jindal’s education reform bills passed this legislative session.
According to Robert Hammonds, legal counsel to Louisiana School Board Association, the LSBA filed the suit charging that Jindal and the legislature violated the Louisiana Constitution when enacting Act 2, the school choice law.
“All elected officials, including school board members, are required to take an oath of office that pledges to uphold the Constitution and laws of the State,” said John Smith, president of LSBA and a school board member in St. Charles Parish.
“To the best of our ability, the members of LSBA operate mindful of our oath. We have a right to expect that the Governor and members of the Legislature do likewise, and we have both a right and a civic duty to challenge them when we feel that they have failed to do so.”
LSBA joins the Louisiana Association of Educators and the Louisiana Federation of Teachers in challenging the education reform bills.
“It is significant that the LSBA, the LFT, and the LAE have similar concerns about Act 2 and SCR 99 and the impact of such legislation on the future of public education in this state,” Hammonds said.
“We will be working together to bring those concerns to the attention of the court in the clearest and most concise fashion.”
A preliminary hearing on the LSBA case, which will be consolidated with the cases filed by the LFT and the LAE, is expected July 10.
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