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LEGENDARY ROCKER OZZY OSBOURNE DIES AT 76 3A THE
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W e d n e s d ay, J u ly 23, 2025
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Schools face new special ed policies Louisiana law requires cameras in classrooms, updated restraint rules
BY ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writer
STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRETT DUKE
Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu celebrates after an interception last season against the Eagles.
Saints and LSU star Tyrann Mathieu retiring
BY MATTHEW PARAS
Staff writer
There aren’t many football players who have meant more to Louisiana than Tyrann Mathieu. A native of New Orleans, born in the 7th Ward, Mathieu was an outright star at St. Augustine. He was a sensation at LSU, where he earned “Honey Badger” as a nickname. And he thrived
ä Rod Walker: Tyrann Mathieu played football for more than himself. PAGE 1C
ment Tuesday on a day when he was supposed to report for training camp. Instead, the 33-year-old decided to hang up his cleats after 12 seasons — stepping away from a in the NFL, winning accolade after decorated career that saw Mathieu accolade on his way to eventually earn three All-Pros, three Pro Bowls playing for his hometown team. and win one Super Bowl. Now, he’s calling it a career. The decision took the Saints someThe New Orleans Saints safety ä See MATHIEU, page 6A unexpectedly announced his retire-
Starting this year, Louisiana school districts must install cameras in all special-education classrooms and make changes to their special education policies, under a new state law that puts additional safeguards in place for students with disabilities. Under Act 479, which the Legislature passed this year, schools must place at least one camera in every special-education classroom by February. The law also puts new restrictions on the practice of physically restraining students with disabilities or putting them in separate “seclusion” rooms. For example, a school nurse or other staffer must visit any student who is secluded or restrained and school personnel must file detailed incident reports. Those changes take effect Dec. 1, though districts have until May to submit updated policies to the state. The law also authorizes the state education department to develop a free “crisis intervention” training program for school staffers on how to properly restrain students during emergencies. The training is expected to roll out this fall. The changes come after a 2024 report from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s Office found that, despite warnings from advocates and the federal government that using seclusion and restraint in schools can endanger students and potentially violate their rights, the state Education Department had failed to properly monitor how public
ä See SCHOOLS, page 6A
Epstein files controversy prompts early House break
House leadership had hoped to vote on an Speaker trying to avoid vote immigration measure and a bill on environregulation this week. But that can’t on releasing documents mental happen without the House Rules Committee
BY MARK BALLARD Staff writer
WASHINGTON — Speaker of the House Mike Johnson sent U.S. representatives home a day early as a debate over whether to release records from the federal investigation into convicted sex predator Jeffrey Epstein continues to roil Congress. For more than a week, Democrats and a handful of Republicans in Congress have repeatedly pressed for a vote to demand the release of the Epstein files. Those demands have haunted proceedings in both chambers of Congress.
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first clearing the legislation, and that panel has bogged down as Democrats repeatedly try to force a vote on releasing the files. Johnson, a Republican from the Shreveport area, made clear the House would not vote on resolutions involving the Epstein files until the Trump administration has an opportunity to get approval from a federal district court to release grand jury testimony. “We all understand that the America First agenda and the American people are best served by putting an end to the Democrats’
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Benton, flanked by Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minnesota, left, and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson, blames Democrats, former President Joe Biden, and Republican lawmaker Thomas Massie, of Kentucky, for the Jeffrey ä See HOUSE, page 6A Epstein situation during a news conference at the Capitol on Tuesday.
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101ST yEAR, NO. 23