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Education department connects schools to registry checks, launches webinars and plans training collection
Summary
The Louisiana Department of Education described steps taken to connect school HR systems to DCFS registry checks, to provide guidance and site visits for nonpublic schools, and to collect mandatory-reporter training completion data starting in the 2026-27 school year.
Ashley Townsend of the Louisiana Department of Education told the task force the department worked with the Office of Technology Services to provide EdLink portal access so school HR staff can request state central-registry checks without a middleman. "OTS was able to help us create that additional, security access for HR personnel to be able to, to without using us as a middleman, access a system that they already can use to request those DCFS checks," Townsend said. The department reported it has been doing outreach to public, charter and nonpublic schools and that roughly 254 sites may need licensing inspections as schools submit applications under the new law.
The department said it has curated a set of webinars aimed at nonpublic schools and early-childhood providers; the webinars will be repeated periodically through December to walk schools through licensing, EdLink access and bulletin requirements. Townsend said participation in early sessions was low but expected to increase once the school year settled in. The department also said it is updating policy bulletins (including the early-childhood bulletin, the handbook for school administrators and charter guidance) and will present those revisions to the state boards that oversee school certification and early childhood licensing for consideration.
On mandated-reporter training, the Department of Education said DCFS administers the training and that the department will collect school-level reporting on who completed the training beginning in the 2026-27 school year, with required data due Sept. 30 each year; the department said it can provide soft metrics and qualitative feedback earlier on request. Task-force members asked whether in-person, locally tailored training could be approved; the department said it is coordinating with DCFS to determine whether locally provided trainings could be recognized while maintaining a single standard for curriculum content and reporting.
Why it matters: Schools are a primary setting affected by the law's changes, including expanded registry checks and licensing for some nonpublic preschools. The department's EdLink connection and on-site visits aim to reduce uncertainty for schools, but the department acknowledged capacity questions from licensing and from local providers for trauma and behavioral-health services remained an implementation challenge. The task force requested updates on training-completion numbers and the results of planned site visits at its next meeting.
