Illustrations by Robert Neubecker
This is a sidebar to a longer essay, “What if . . . K–12 Education Reform Efforts Focused on Making Teaching Jobs More Doable?“
Louisiana as a leader in education improvement? The idea would have drawn guffaws for many years. The state had some of the weakest K–12 education records in the United States. But in the last several years, Louisiana has been part of what some have called a Southern educational surge that includes Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. Those states have launched reforms in teaching and curriculum, and they have seen improvement in test scores that outpace almost every other state (although that moves them into the middle of the pack, not to the top). Louisiana is the only state in the nation where fourth-grade reading scores released in 2024 were better than the scores prior to the COVID pandemic.
One recent initiative attracting attention to Louisiana is a set of goals called “Let Teachers Teach.” In 2024, a 30-person work group, which included teachers and school administrators, issued 18 policy ideas. Cade Brumley, the Louisiana education superintendent, has backed the proposals, including some that have been particularly popular with teachers. “Teachers want to be working for acceptable leaders, teachers want to have their voices heard, teachers want to have environments where they’re free to teach without distraction and students are free to learn,” Brumley said during a webinar hosted by the American Enterprise Institute on August 8, 2024.
A few of the policy ideas in the Louisiana teaching plan:
Limit cell phone use. “This was probably the number-one item . . . from the teachers on the work group,” Brumley said.
Address chronic absenteeism. Nationwide, absenteeism increased during the pandemic and has remained higher than before 2020. Some schools, which have put particular effort into connecting with kids who aren’t coming to school regularly, have had more success, but absenteeism remains a big issue. Kids can’t learn from a curriculum if they’re not in school and, more broadly, if they’re not engaged.
Ensure ample time for classroom preparation. Brumley said he got enthusiastic applause from a convention of 7,000 Louisiana educators when he promoted this. The plan from the task force said much of the time given to professional learning does not allow teachers to do what they really need, which is to focus on getting ready to teach.
Place ungovernable students at alternative sites for behavior support. Finding alternatives for such students is a tough challenge for many schools. It often involves complex special education questions and financial costs. Brumley said the number of students who need to be put in alternative situations is actually small but that doing this can make learning for the rest of a class much better.
Support mental health challenges through trained professionals. “We need to stop forcing teachers to be mental health therapists,” Brumley said. “Teachers are not trained for this.” Louisiana’s “Let Teachers Teach” plan makes this statement: “Asking teachers to fill this role places teachers in difficult situations. Further, it distracts from the important academic work for which they’re trained and hired to perform. An increased amount of legislation requires teachers to perform mental health duties, and it’s becoming an undue burden on the profession and a disservice to students.”
Abolish antiquated lesson-plan requirements. The task force called for using high-quality curricula that give teachers lesson plans while still affording to the teachers decision-making options of how to teach.
Pay teachers for additional nonacademic work. This does not apply to grading papers and similar duties, but it does apply to providing staffing at school events such as sports competitions. Many schools nationwide have systems for paying teachers for such duties, but some do not, including Louisiana districts. Brumley said there has been resistance to the idea from some school systems because of the financial impact. But advocates say that such steps are needed to make the jobs of teachers more manageable.
Give effective teachers more professional autonomy in their classrooms. The Louisiana plan says, “Teachers with an evaluation rating of proficient or higher should be allowed to internalize lessons within their curriculum and plan to use those materials to meet the individualized needs of their students.”
Brumley said, “Whether it’s burdensome training or disruptive student behavior, we must ‘have the backs’ of teachers so they are empowered to succeed every single day.”
This article was first featured in the Fall 2025 issue of Marquette Lawyer Magazine.
