This past weekend, the Louisiana Board of Elementary & Secondary Education (BESE) released the meeting agenda for its upcoming Academic Goals and Instructional Improvement Committee meeting on March 5th.

What’s unique about this meeting is that this BESE committee is considering some key policies that will have a positive effect on the state of Louisiana. So, let’s take a look at three key policies that the Louisiana Department of Education and State Superintendent Dr. Cade Brumley are recommending to BESE next week:

1. Removing “social emotional learning” (SEL) from early education in Louisiana

“Social emotion learning” (SEL) is essentially a “trojan horse” in early childhood education. The phrase “social emotional learning” is a friendly-sounding veneer for harmful ideologies like Critical Race Theory and DEI in education.

SEL has no place in Louisiana education, and it is vital for that Louisiana education focuses on core subjects–like reading, history, and mathematics–over indoctrination by radical ideologues.

2. Requiring schools to inform Louisiana parents about immunization exemptions for students

The COVID-19 pandemic is finally past us, but the effects of the pandemic still resonate today. One of the biggest travesties during the pandemic came from the forced vaccination of many people–including students–with m-RNA COVID-19 vaccines. Sadly, many Louisiana parents were unaware that their children were not required to take the COVID-19 vaccine in order to attend public school. Many schools failed to inform parents about immunization exemptions.

Fortunately, this proposed policy looks to resolve this lack of due diligence. Under the recommended policy, schools would be required to inform parents about immunization exemptions for their children. This policy obviously encourages transparency and promotes parents’ rights to make decisions about their own children’s health.

3 Removing the FASFA (i.e. Federal Student Loan Aid) form as requirement for Louisiana high school graduates

Currently, Louisiana high school students are required to fill out the FASFA form in order to graduate high school. Even students who do not plan to pursue higher education must complete the form.

This potential policy would eliminate this requirement. At best, it is a waste of time for some students and forces parents to provide their financial information in order for their child to graduate high school.

Overall, removing the FASFA requirement is another step in the right direction for Louisiana education.

Following last fall’s elections and moving forward, Louisiana citizens can expect a much stronger BESE when it comes to promoting solid, conservative policies. Republicans won six of the eight BESE positions elections last year, and Governor Landry appointed the remaining three members of the eleven members of BESE–giving conservatives a strong majority for the foreseeable future.

Louisiana education has lagged other states for many years. However, a strong governor, legislature, BESE, and State Superintendent provide Louisiana citizens with the hope that brighter days are ahead in Louisiana education.

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Nathan Koenig is a frequent contributor to RVIVR.com, a national conservative political site affiliated with The Hayride. Follow his writing on the Louisiana First Standard substack, on Twitter (X) @LAfirststandard, and on Instagram @tincanconservative. Email him here: louisianafirststandard@proton.me