Issue Position: Education and Employment

Issue Position

People often complain about Louisiana being "last on every list." But there is only one way to change our fate when it comes to rankings for quality of life, health outcomes, and joblessness: a focus on high quality education for every single student in our state.

"Parents and educators should be at the center of every decision we make about education, from funding to testing to curriculum. That's why we need more educator and parent voices at the Capitol. I'm both."
-- Dr. Belinda Davis
As a mom and an educator, Belinda Davis will be a champion for public education and public educators who will deliver results for our children that change the future of our state for generations to come. She is committed to:

1. Truly fund the cost educating our children from pre-K through college - including what it takes to recruit and retain the best educators and school employees
2. Reduce over reliance on high-stakes standardized testing in the evaluation of students, teachers, schools and districts, since this disproportionately disadvantages students living in poverty, students whose second language is English, and students who require accommodation or who have special needs
3. Remove loopholes that allow students to be served by non-certified classroom teachers and funnel public education dollars away from the students who need resources the most
4. Educate other policy makers regarding teacher and school employee benefits - including the fact that they do not receive social security - as a justification for working together to strengthen, not water down, the state's retirement systems and provide for a competitive, dignified retirement
5. Continue to stabilize tuition and TOPS while ending embarrassing disinvestment in our public colleges and universities

Source