LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Confusion surrounds new law requiring finance education
Published 1:10 pm Wednesday, August 16, 2023
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High school seniors are required to complete the same graduation requirements as entering freshmen, according to Bulletin 741 and the Louisiana Department of Education graduation requirements.
Parents and students go over these planned courses with the assigned counselor that oversees through the freshman year how the students are doing; if a change happens, the parents are notified and in most cases help in the changes.
Students at West St. John High have been told they have to take the newly approved course signed on June 9, 2023 by Governor Edwards requiring every student to learn more about finance.
Students will have to complete the course in order to graduate and receive TOPS.
The bill is now a law. It will be a yearlong elective course, and local school boards will decide how it’s implemented in each district.
State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley is praising the move. After the board meeting on Thursday (August 10), I have been hearing that the same thing is happening at East St. John High. The children are confused because they chose the courses and for three years everything was in line for graduation and now students are being given new schedules reflecting the newly passed law that is not implemented across the state. Why are our children being taken out of the approved IGP Senior classes when the students should be concerned about the classes they were told they had to take in their freshman year?
Students are also being taken out of the Early Release program. Why is this happening? The stress and anxiety that I am hearing from students should not be happening. Parents: you need to call your Board member and ask how is this happening.
We had finance courses as well as a credit union working on campus with students being monitored and working the program. However, administration made changes and the program was cut.
The bottom line is students and parents were not made aware of the changes because of this new bill that is now a law.
Some members of Congress are saying this should not be happening. If the whole Congress has to make this change of implementation, I guess parents need to get started on this now to help the students continue their school choices as planned and approved by the school districts when they did their IGP graduation forms.
The next St. John the Baptist Parish School Board meeting is scheduled for August 24,2023 in Reserve.
Citizen Jean
Concerned Citizen