St. Tammany school board urges end to LEAP, approves campus traffic enforcement and other routine measures

The St. Tammany Parish School Board on May 8 unanimously approved several resolutions, including a formal request that the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) not renew the statewide LEAP assessment and that BESE replace it with a nationally norm-referenced test. The board also approved a resolution asking the parish council to pursue an ordinance giving law enforcement authority to enforce handheld-device and child-restraint violations in school zones and on school campuses.

The LEAP resolution, introduced and moved by Board Member Miss Hirstis and seconded by Board Member Miss Gallagher, instructs BESE and other state officials that the board believes the LEAP assessments do not provide a clear benefit for students when used for statewide comparisons and asks for a replacement aligned to nationally norm-referenced measures. Miss Hirstis told colleagues, “I hope that we can get our legislators to support SB 105,” urging a legislative path as part of the effort.

Board discussion included differing views on the value of standardized testing. Board Member Miss Baker said standardized measures still provide useful information for tracking student growth but also criticized the volume of testing, saying, “we are tested at nauseam, and it’s ridiculous.” Other board members cited NAEP results and concerns that LEAP does not align with national scoring metrics.

On campus safety and traffic enforcement, Superintendent Mister Jabia explained the resolution was drafted with Parish Councilman Patrick Burke and parish legal counsel so local law enforcement could issue citations for handheld-device use in school zones and for unrestrained children on school property. The motion on that resolution was moved by Miss Baker and seconded by Miss Rutherford; the board voted unanimously.

The board also adopted a resolution proclaiming May as National Speech-Language-Hearing Month in the St. Tammany Parish School System, honoring speech-language pathologists and deaf/hard-of-hearing staff; that proclamation passed unanimously. The board approved the minutes from its April 3 committee meeting (initial roll-call recorded 11 yeas and one abstention then corrected to unanimous).

Votes at a glance

- Request to BESE to not renew LEAP and to replace it with a nationally norm-referenced assessment — Moved: Miss Hirstis; Second: Miss Gallagher; Outcome: approved unanimously. (Discussion: board members debated testing utility, alignment and test length.)

- Resolution to request parish ordinance authorizing law enforcement to issue citations for handheld-device use and unrestrained children in school zones and on school property — Moved: Miss Baker; Second: Miss Rutherford; Outcome: approved unanimously. (Discussion: board members noted frequent carline safety complaints and asked for enforcement of handicap parking and crosswalk safety.)

- Proclamation: May as National Speech-Language-Hearing Month — Moved/Second: routine; Outcome: approved unanimously. (Recognized district speech, language and deaf/hard-of-hearing staff.)

- Approval of minutes, Curriculum Committee as a Whole meeting, April 3, 2025 — Outcome: approved (noted recorded roll call then corrected to unanimous).

Board members and staff emphasized that the LEAP resolution is a request to state authorities; it does not change current testing requirements for students. Board members and the superintendent repeatedly noted that any change to statewide testing would require BESE or legislative action and that the district will continue to administer required assessments until state policies change.

The board indicated it will forward copies of the LEAP resolution to BESE, the Louisiana Department of Education superintendent, the governor, the Louisiana Senate president, the chair of the Louisiana education committee, and the speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives.