Caddo Parish teacher tells board daily common planning is overburdening teachers, cites state planning-time rule

Carlos McDaniel, a teacher at Southwood and president of the Caddo Federation of Teachers, told the Caddo Parish School Board on Oct. 21 that “Louisiana state law, revised statute 17 dash 4 34 … guarantees at least 45 minutes of planning time daily.” He told the board that, under the district’s block schedule, planning time is already compressed and that daily mandatory common planning meetings are crowding out other required tasks.

McDaniel told the board that planning periods serve many functions beyond co-planning — grading, preparing materials, responding to parents, completing IEP and IAP paperwork, supervising clubs and fulfilling duty assignments — and that expecting some departments to meet daily has led to extended meetings that leave supervision posts (student center, cafeteria) uncovered. “Daily co-planning becomes a burden when 1 or 2 days would be enough,” he said.

The comment came during the public-comment portion of the meeting. McDaniel described his department’s existing rhythm — weekly hour-long meetings among art, choir and band teachers — and said those teachers can coordinate entire units in a day and do not need daily meetings. He also reported colleagues’ concerns that some planning sessions run beyond the scheduled hour, creating gaps for assigned duty staff.

Why it matters: McDaniel framed the issue as both a workplace and student-safety concern. Board members did not take immediate action on the remarks but were given the opportunity to ask for follow-up. The superintendent and other board members later agreed to provide more granular attendance and operations data, and board members asked staff to provide per-district breakdowns that could inform scheduling and supervision planning.

The board did not vote on changes to common planning during the Oct. 21 meeting; McDaniel’s remarks were entered as public comment and referred to staff for consideration.