Collection:LPB

Genre: Newsmagazine

Place Covered: Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana

Copyright Holder: Louisiana Educational Television Authority

Date Issued: 1984-06-27

Duration: 00:25:05

Subjects: Politics | Louisiana Legislative Session, 1984 | Louisiana World Exposition (1984: New Orleans, La.) | School sports | Environment | Hazardous waste | Education | National teacher examinations | Teacher certification | SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION | Teacher pay raises | Kindergarten | Government | Louisiana. Legislature

Contributors:

• Johnson, Ken Host
• Ekings, Robyn Host
• Gunter, Carl Speaker
• Hainkel, John Speaker
• Campbell, Foster Interviewee
• Fernandez, Manny Interviewee
• Fourrier, Felician Interviewee
• Picard, Cecil Interviewee
• Clausen, Tom Interviewee

This episode of the series “Louisiana: The State We’re In” from June 27, 1984, features Ken Johnson and Robyn Ekings hosting a daily legislative report on the 1984 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature. Johnson first reports on the day’s headlines. These stories include: State Representative Carl Gunter and State Representative John Hainkel debating the $17.5 million bail-out of the 1984 World’s Fair in New Orleans; an interview with State Senator Foster Campbell on the status of his bill requiring public school students to maintain a “C” average in order to participate in extracurricular activities, including sports; an interview with State Representative Manny Fernandez on his bill phasing out the use of land disposal sites for hazardous waste; and an interview with Brother Felician Fourrier, the chairman of the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), on the passage of a bill requiring the BESE Board to approve the passing test scores on the National Teacher Examination (NTE) for teacher certification. Johnson and Ekings then conduct an in-studio interview with State Senator Cecil Picard and Superintendent of Education Tom Clausen. They discuss the status of the educational bills under consideration at the session, including: the NTE test scores bill; a bill changing the Superintendent of Education from an elective position to an appointive position; teacher pay raises; and the bill requiring a mandatory half-day of kindergarten.