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House panel rejects measure to require LEAP testing for LA Gator scholarship students
Summary
Representative Tanner Landry proposed HB 243 to require LA Gator scholarship students take the same LEAP tests used for public school accountability. After extended debate about assessment alignment, private‑school autonomy, parental choice and data comparability, the committee voted 4‑9 against advancing the bill.
Representative Tanner Landry told the House Education Committee he introduced House Bill 243 to add accountability for the LA Gator Scholarship Program by requiring students who receive state scholarship funds to take the LEAP assessment used in public schools. Landry said that if the state will spend tens or hundreds of millions on the program, legislators must ensure the money produces results.
Teachers, private‑school leaders and choice advocates responded. Lauren Jewett, a special‑education teacher, supported consistent comparative assessment but cautioned that different nationally norm‑referenced tests assess skills differently and that LEAP includes constructed‑response components. Representatives of Catholic schools, the Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops and other private‑school leaders argued that the LEAP is criterion‑referenced to state standards and does not align with many nonpublic curricula; they warned that mandating LEAP could stigmatize scholarship students and penalize schools that did not sign up for that testing regime.
Members debated whether requiring a single assessment for scholarship recipients would provide fair, actionable comparisons. Representative Carlson and others asked whether private schools would be required to rework curricula; Representative Landry said voucher students already take nationally norm‑referenced tests, but committee members said the tests and curricula differ in purpose and rigor.
Representative Taylor moved to report the bill favorably but Representative Carver objected; the roll call resulted in 4 yeas and 9 nays and the motion failed. Members said the issue of accountability is important but disputed the appropriate standards and timing, noting that the LA Gator program and voucher rules were extensively negotiated in the prior session and that Department of Education staff had recommended caution to preserve curriculum‑test alignment and avoid overtesting.
