The State Superintendent of Education told the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on Wednesday that Louisiana students improved their Advanced Placement (AP) performance and that the department secured additional federal charter school funds and will issue state Blue Ribbon recognitions after the federal program was discontinued.

The superintendent reported that two‑thirds of AP exams taken by Louisiana students earned qualifying scores (generally a score of 3 or higher), a substantial increase from 38 percent in 2021. He told the board that the number of students earning college credit rose from about 7,000 in 2021 to nearly 13,000 in the most recent year — a change the department calculated as roughly a 77 percent increase.

The department also announced a supplemental federal award for charter schools. The superintendent said the state previously secured $55 million for charter school launch activities and has recently obtained an additional $13.5 million in competitive federal funds targeted to existing charter schools for literacy, math, attendance and work‑based learning efforts.

“We will be working with our charters in short order,” the superintendent said, noting that the funds are federal, competitive awards and that the department’s charter and finance teams would provide guidance to school systems and charter operators.

The superintendent also previewed the Teacher Leader Summit for 2026, scheduled for May at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center; the event will incorporate the department’s Fast Forward Summit to increase attendance and broaden participation.

Finally, after the U.S. Department of Education canceled the National Blue Ribbon Schools program, the superintendent said the department will visit schools that had been nominated and make Louisiana Blue Ribbon presentations on site. The initial list of Louisiana Blue Ribbon recognitions includes Cane View Elementary (Iberia Parish), Cecil Picard Elementary (Vermilion Parish), Early College Academy (Lafayette Parish), Haines Academy (Jefferson Parish), Mulberry Elementary (Terrebonne Parish), South Live Oak Elementary (Livingston Parish) and two nonpublic schools, St. Dominic’s School (New Orleans) and St. Jude School (Baton Rouge). The department will provide dates for the on‑site recognition events once schools confirm availability.

Board members did not pose questions after the report.