Building LA education success bolstered by waiver

The Louisiana Department of Education, already with its foot on the pedal, just put it to the metal.

Last week, the state’s elementary and secondary education delivery stayed on a roll, it was announced. Using the latest national test data and other sources, a consortium of higher education research arms declared that, after previously ranking first among states in reading growth and second in math growth from 2019 to 2024, Louisiana once again earned the top national ranking for growth from 2022 to 2025. Specifically, it is the only state in the nation to surpass 2019 pre-pandemic achievement levels in both reading and math as the only state to exceed those levels in reading and one of only two states nationally to do so in math.

The formula hasn’t changed that has led to this success: a back-to-basics emphasis, plus targeted interventions to shore up areas of weakness, with a reduction of regulations and procedures that interfere with teaching and pursuing proactive initiatives. This week, a lot of that came together in a new development.

The federal Department of Education in the past couple of years has gotten onto the same page as the state, and it announced Louisiana had become the second state to win a Returning Education to the States Waiver. This will consolidate state activities funds and direct more federal resources to improve student achievement rather than federal compliance – freeing more than $18 million through 2029.

States, according to the U.S. Constitution, control education, but that hasn’t stopped the federal government from trying to influence state policy in this area through the grant system. Grants have varying levels of federal control, from nearly open-ended to tight requirements that make states really serve the desires of the federal government, whether these goals dovetail with state priorities.

And quite a bit of control it can bring to bear over Louisiana, as over a third of the nearly $7 billion the state will spend on this level of education this year will come from the federal government. This award is music to the ears of LDOE which has stumped in recent years for more flexibility in use of federal money, and now DOE is singing the same tune with a commitment not to dictate delivery but to encourage bottom-up solutions tailored to discrete needs and conditions.

The waiver brings at least some relief from otherwise straitjacketed dollars, for which LDOE will draw input and map out where these will go, likely in specific programmatic efforts. That will help to keep the state running at the head of the pack, but recognizing the larger goal is to continue to pull the state from the depths of overall achievement, extending the trend from the past few years that has seen delivery outcomes steadily rise. Staying the course will win the course.