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T h u r s d ay, au g u s T 21, 2025
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Power plan for Meta data center gets green light Regulators approve construction of three electricity plants in La.
BY JOSIE ABUGOV | Staff writer
STAFF FILE PHOTOS By PATRICK WALL
The Amira AI tutoring program listens to students read and helps them sound out words that stump them. The state board of education passed a resolution Wednesday calling on the Louisiana Department of Education to lead an ‘ongoing AI research agenda’ so that students can compete in a ‘rapidly evolving AI landscape.’
Louisiana policymakers endorse AI in schools Tech leaders cheer move, but some educators are concerned
ä See META, page 5A
BY PATRICK WALL | Staff writer Louisiana’s education policymakers want schools to embrace the use of artificial intelligence, drawing cheers from some tech-industry titans but raising alarms among education experts who say the hype around AI is not yet backed by strong evidence. The state board of education passed a resolution Wednesday calling on the Louisiana Department of Education to lead an “ongoing AI research agenda” so that students can compete in a “rapidly evolving AI landscape.” It cites the technology’s growing importance to the global economy as well as President Donald Trump’s executive order in April saying teachers and students should learn to use it. Louisiana schools already are experimenting with AI programs, including one that helps students
While some students in a fourth grade English language arts class use an AI tutoring program, others work independently or meet with their teacher. learn to read, and the state Education Department issued guidance for schools last year on how to adopt the technology safely. The resolution pushes the department to ramp up those efforts. Several tech leaders wrote letters in support of the resolution, including Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of the online publishing tool WordPress, and Sal Khan, CEO of Khan Academy, a nonprofit that produces
widely used educational videos and an AI-powered tutoring program. Khan wrote that the resolution would help position Louisiana “as a national leader in both education and workforce development.” Ronnie Morris, the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education president who introduced the AI plan, said schools must move quickly
BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN | Staff writer The 135 Louisiana National Guard troops sent to join President Donald Trump’s crackdown on crime and homelessness in Washington, D.C., arrived Wednesday to help local law enforcement — and they will stay there “as long as the President needs them,” Gov. Jeff Landry said Wednesday. The troops join a federal intervention that began about 10 days ago, when Trump issued an executive or-
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ä Top White House officials make appearances with troops in D.C. PAGE 7A der declaring a “crime emergency” in D.C. He Landry used that to initiate a takeover of the city’s Metropolitan Police Department, and he also deployed 800 D.C. National Guard troops to the nation’s capital. Federal agents and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are also on the ground there. In recent days, six Republican-led states, including Louisiana, Mississippi,
Special legislative session could be called Lawmakers preparing for ruling that would affect maps
BY ALYSE PFEIL | Staff writer
Ohio, Tennessee, West Virginia and South Carolina, promised to send over 1,000 more National Guard troops to participate in Trump’s efforts. The federal government will foot the bill for Louisiana’s deployment and there will be no cost to the state, said Lt. Col. Noel Collins, a Louisiana National Guard spokesperson, in a statement. The Louisiana National Guard will be there “in support of the (District of Columbia National Guard) and assisting local law enforcement,” Collins added. Out-of-state troops will perform duties such as protecting landmarks and
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling later this year in a highly anticipated redistricting case could change the rules for how Louisiana draws its voting maps for Congress — and if it does, legislative leaders are readying for a potential special session. House Speaker Phillip DeVillier, R-Eunice, on Tuesday sent a text message to House members telling them to keep their schedules flexible between Oct. 23 and Nov. 13. “He wants us to be prepared,” said state Rep. Beau Beaullieu, a New Iberia Republican who chairs the committee that would oversee DeVillier a redistricting effort. “He started letting members know today, just to put it on your radar, just in case.” “I don’t think anything is a definite at this point,” he said Tuesday. Beaullieu noted that oral arguments before the Supreme Court are scheduled for Oct. 15, and it’s not possible to know how the high court will rule or what type of action lawmakers would have to take as a result. At the same time, there’s only a narrow window for a special session between that October date and when lawmakers start to become unavailable with the holidays.
ä See TROOPS, page 4A
ä See SESSION, page 5A
ä See AI, page 4A
Louisiana National Guard troops arrive in D.C. Federal government will foot the bill
State regulators on Wednesday approved a controversial plan to power tech giant Meta’s largest artificial intelligence data center yet, to be built in rural northeast Louisiana, clearing the way for construction of three gas-fired electricity plants. The Public Service Commission voted 4-1 in favor of the plan proposed by Entergy at a meeting in the city of Plaquemine following hours of public debate. The power plan is key for Meta’s $10 billion facility to move forward. The project will be built on former agricultural land the size of around 70 football fields. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has spoken of further expanding it to a size that would rival the footprint of Manhattan as the company dives headlong into the high-stakes race to domiZuckerberg nate the emerging AI industry. Wednesday’s approval was largely expected as Louisiana officials, including Gov. Jeff Landry, have welcomed the project as an economic development game-changer in a long-struggling region of the state. But the project in Richland Parish has also drawn sharp criticism over its huge energy needs. Much of the debate has involved whether average electricity ratepayers and businesses statewide will end up shouldering at least some of the costs associated with the power plan Entergy has set out for the
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