Louisiana Board of Elementary & Secondary Education

Special Commissions & Study Groups

As a means of assisting the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and all parties charged with providing a high quality public elementary and secondary education system in the State of Louisiana, the Governor, BESE, or the Louisiana Legislature may deem necessary the creation of cooperative partnerships or study groups to make recommendations relative to special issues and/or to oversee the implementation of recommendations made by past commissions.

Blue Ribbon Commission on Educational Excellence
Improving Teacher Quality in Louisiana

The Blue Ribbon Commission on Teacher Quality was formed by the Board of Regents and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in April of 1999, and reconstituted in 2001, for the purpose of improving teacher quality in Louisiana. It was given the charge of recommending policies to the Governor, Board of Regents, and Board of Elementary and Secondary Education that would lead to a cohesive PK-20+ system to hold universities and school districts accountable for the aggressive recruitment, preparation, support, and retention of quality teachers who produced higher achieving K-12 students.

Questions related to the Blue Ribbon Commission may be addressed to the Office of Educator Support, Louisiana Department of Education.

School and District Accountability Commission
Accountability for Public Education

In response to a public demand for an improved public system, the 1997 Louisiana Legislature created the School and District Accountability Commission (Act 478) and chartered it with the responsibility of recommending to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) a statewide system of accountability for public education in Louisiana. Louisiana's Public Education Accountability System is based on the concept of continuous growth. Every school can improve and is expected to show academic growth. Every school is compared to itself. The system is designed to encourage and support school improvement by:

  • Clearly establishing the state's goals for schools and students;
  • Creating an easy way to communicate to schools and the public how well a school is performing;
  • Recognizing schools for effectiveness in demonstrating growth in student achievement; and
  • Focusing attention, energy, and resources on those schools that need help in improving student achievement.

Louisiana High School Redesign Commission

Formed by the Governor, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Board of Regents, the Commission will meet to recommend actions that will assist the state in redesigning public high schools to address the academic needs of all students in Louisiana. The Commission is charged with the development of statewide policies and guiding principles that require all high schools to redesign their programs to create rigorous academic and career pathways addressing the current and future needs of the state. See the link on the Louisiana Department of Education home page for more information on the Commission's recommendations and activities.

Virtual Education Study Group

BESE created the Virtual Education Study Group to study policy issues related to schools that deliver full-time, sequential programs of synchronous and/or asynchronous instruction primarily through the use of technology via the Internet in a distributed environment.

Student-Based Budgeting Task Force

BESE created the Student-Based Budgeting Task Force to identify and study statutory and policy obstacles to the implementation of student-based budgeting and develop appropriate solutions.

Meeting Materials – April 5, 2011

SBB Task Force Agenda – April 5, 2011

SBB Meeting Presentation 1
SBB Meeting Presentation 2

Meeting Materials - January 6, 2011

SBB Task Force Agenda - January 6, 2011
SBB Meeting Presentation 1
SBB Meeting Presentation 2
SBB Meeting Presentation 3
SBB Meeting Presentation 4

Meeting Materials - November 3, 2010

SBB Meeting Agenda - November 3, 2010
November 3, 2010 - SBB Presentation 1
November 3, 2010 - SBB Presentation 2
November 3, 2010 - SBB Presentation 3

Meeting Materials - August 26, 2010

Student-Based Budgeting Task Force Agenda-August 26, 2010
Baltimore Case
Student-Based Budgeting PowerPoint
Additional Materials
Student-Based Budgeting Task Force Presentation-August 26, 2010