We’re nearing the end of the Louisiana Legislature’s regular session, and what happened in it yesterday was an absolute embarrassment.

Earlier this week, Louisiana BESE Superintendent Cade Brumley announced Louisiana’s partnership with renowned educational media nonprofit PragerU. The announcement of the PragerU partnership came during a recent teacher’s summit in New Orleans.

During the summit, Superintendent Brumley sat down with PragerU CEO Marissa Streit to discuss this exciting, collaborative effort. Under Brumley’s leadership, Louisiana is becoming an educational trailblazer in utilizing PragerU’s resources for the state’s K-12 social studies standards called “The Freedom Framework.”

Here is an important excerpt from Dr. Brumley’s interview:

“Social studies, history, and civics are our [Louisiana’s] lowest proficiency numbers … So, we wanted to do something about that. So, we embarked on a year-long process, and we were ultimately able to have a set of standards for what our children are supposed to know and be able to do in the state of Louisiana from K-12, and we call it the “Freedom Framework”. It sets out the fact that we want students to explore the people, places, and papers that contribute to the greatness of America …”

 

The reality is that the new PragerU social studies materials are not mandated or required. They are just new resources available to Louisiana K-12 teachers. However, this clear enhancement in Louisiana K-12 social studies still ruffled the feathers of several far-left Democrat politicians–namely state Senator Cleo Fields.

As Scott McKay pointed out here in The Hayride yesterday, senator Cleo Fields took yesterday’s Senate governmental affairs committee into an executive session in order to air out his grievances with Brumley over the PragerU partnership:

The word was this “executive session” in Fields’ committee was going to be a struggle session for Brumley over the Prager U partnership. And it’s taking place in Senate Governmental Affairs rather than Senate Education because Brumley is up for confirmation for another term as education superintendent.

LA state senator Cleo Fields criticizes BESE Superintendent Cade Brumley for endorsing @prageru content

Fields took the LA Senate G&A committee into executive session so that the criticism was not recorded

Follow @LAFirstStandard #lalege #lagov https://t.co/jk0QDqjI55

— Louisiana First Standard (@LAFirstStandard) May 30, 2024

Yes, you read that correctly. In a flagrantly nontransparent move, “shady Cleo” Fields essentially tried to hide his baseless questioning of BESE Superintendent Cade Brumley by going into a private, executive session. Why didn’t the public have the ability to witness this soviet-style interrogation of one of Louisiana’s most effective public officials in Dr. Cade Brumley? Talk about a lack of transparency.

Don’t forget: Cameron Henry gave the Senate and governmental affairs committee chair to Cleo Fields back in January. At the time, I criticized senator Cameron Henry for rewarding Cleo Fields, and now, our state is reaping the negative consequences of making deals with “shady Cleo.”

If this hidden interrogation wasn’t bad enough, then you’re in for a treat. Cleo and his fellow Democrat cronies Senator Joseph Bouie and Representative Edmond Jordan decided to sneakily file two problematic resolutions (SR152 & HR 323) late yesterday. Simply stated, these resolutions would request BESE and the LA Department of Education to prohibit PragerU material in our state’s classrooms.

Jordan and Bouie both filed their resolutions only TWO days before the end of the regular session, and both of their resolutions were allowed to skip the committee process. Why would Senate President Henry and House Speaker DeVillier allow these bogus resolutions to skip committee hearings where citizens can share their opinion? Do the rules of the Legislature no longer apply to Democrats?

We should all hope that Senate President Cameron Henry and House Speaker Phillip DeVillier pull these two bogus resolutions from the agenda. As of this writing, it appears more likely that both resolutions will receive a floor vote. So, we’ll need to stay tuned at 10am this morning to see how the vote goes for both of these sneaky resolutions.

It is the responsibility of GOP legislators to shoot down Cleo Fields’s covert power grab. No more excuses, no more kowtowing to Democrats in the Legislature. Now is the time for our state’s Republican supermajority to grow a backbone and not give into “shady Cleo.”

Rep. Denise Marcelle infamously said on May 1st, 2024,  “I’m gonna kill the bill … I’m killing this b*tch.” Louisiana Republican legislators should heed these words and strike them down in today’s floor vote on SR152 and HR 323.

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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