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Lawsuit filed over La.’s new pre-K law

A BULL MARKET

Private schools claim regulations add burdens

BY PATRICK WALL

Staff writer

STAFF PHOTO By JAVIER GALLEGOS

An inmate gets slammed into the dirt by a bull during the Angola Prison Rodeo on Oct. 12. Every April and October, the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola hosts the last remaining prison rodeo in the nation. It’s a major economic driver for the region.

Angola’s prison rodeo is a major economic driver for the region and for inmates BY CHRISTOPHER CARTWRIGHT

played for thousands of people driving toward the Angola Prison Rodeo. Every Sunday in October and one weekend in April, crowds witness incarcerated men voluntarily parThe gospel music ﬂickers into range around mile 17 on ticipating in rodeo events. Some are traditional bull- or horse-riding competitions, the Tunica Trace, a trail formerly used by the Tunica Native American tribe paved into a 20-mile highway in West Feli- but there are also events like “Convict Poker,” where four ciana Parish. As hundreds of cars pass churches releasing inmates compete to be the last man sitting at a poker table their congregations, the broadcast of 91.7 KLSP FM — “The with an angered bull charging them. Inmates generally speak highly of the event, which allows Incarceration Station” — sharpens. “I’m doing the best I can; I’m doing the best I can,” the them to earn money. Under pavilions outside the arena, Rev. Andrew Cheairs and The Songbirds sing. “While I’m other inmates sell handcrafted items ranging from wooden swing sets to American ﬂag paintings at a craft fair. traveling, I’m traveling through this land.” The broadcast emanates from the road’s end: the LouisiThe festival — the last remaining prison rodeo in the ana State Penitentiary at Angola. It’s a destination few ever nation — has achieved a semimythic status in American leave, imprisoning around 3,900 inmates, with roughly 70% culture, with books, news reports and documentaries of those sentenced for life. ä See RODEO, page 7A However, on Oct. 12, the prison’s inmate-run radio station

Staff writer

Two Christian schools have ﬁled a federal lawsuit challenging Louisiana’s new law that imposes sweeping regulations on private pre-kindergarten programs, arguing that the law unconstitutionally disadvantages religious schools. Act 409 sets new minimum safety standards for all preschools and requires pre-K programs at private schools to obtain a day care center license, subjecting the schools to dozens of additional regulations, site inspections and “Louisiana staff background checks. While the safety standards nonpublic apply to all schools with preschools have K programs, public schools every right and Montessori schools are to challenge exempt from the licensing some of the requirement. Proponents of the law, unintended which took effect in August, consequences of have celebrated it as a win this new law.” for child safety and school accountability. But critics CADE BRUMLEy, call the regulations excesLouisiana sive, warning that some superintendent private schools might raise of education tuition or discontinue their pre-K programs due to the costs of compliance, such as hiring extra staffers, conducting background checks and making facility upgrades. Act 409 “unlawfully discriminates against religious schools and the families they serve by subjecting them to unfunded mandates in the form of burdensome licensure and regulatory requirements,” says the complaint, which asks the court to strike down the law’s licensing requirement. It was ﬁled last week in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. About 80% of the state’s private schools with pre-K programs are faith-based, including Chris-

ä See LAWSUIT, page 5A

Emerson to challenge Cassidy for Senate seat

which oversees legis- Gov. Jeff Landry that gives par- more ineffective legislative outCarencro Republican Committee, lation concerning taxes and major ents money to help pay for private rage.” school. “Voters want a strong conservaconstruction projects. joins crowded field state She also sponsored the legislative senator who can get things “It’s clear that Louisiana Repub-

BY MATTHEW ALBRIGHT and MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writers

State Rep. Julie Emerson, RCarencro, announced Monday that she is running for the U.S. Senate, giving Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, another prominent challenger. Emerson, 37, is chair of the inﬂuential House Ways and Means

WEATHER HIGH 82 LOW 53 PAGE 6B

licans have grown frustrated with our incumbent senator, and they’re looking for a fresh new voice, and we want to make sure that we have someone in there who can get the job done,” Emerson said Monday. Emerson sponsored several prominent bills in recent sessions, including ﬂattening the corporate income tax rate, ending the corporate franchise tax and creating LA GATOR, a program backed by

tion that moved Louisiana to a closed party primary system, in which the Republican and Democratic candidates compete for their party’s nomination before the general election. Previously, all candidates, regardless of party, competed in an open primary election. Emerson emphasized her legislative record in her announcement, saying “our country doesn’t need

done — someone focused on results, not rhetoric,” she said in a news release. “I’m running to bring home real outcomes for Louisiana: infrastructure investment, new jobs, and a seat at the table where decisions get made.” Emerson joins a crowded ﬁeld of Republicans in the race. Many political observers believe Cassidy

STAFF FILE PHOTO

State Rep. Julie Emerson, R-Carencro, is chair of the House ä See EMERSON, page 5A Ways and Means Committee.

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