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M o n d ay, F e b r u a ry 16, 2026
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Cameras now recording special ed classes State funds helped schools install devices
BY ELYSE CARMOSINO Staff writer
The Krewe of Bonaparte shows the crowd some ‘Love’ as it rolls in Lafayette on Saturday.
STAFF PHOTOS By LESLIE WESTBROOK
GIVE IT A THROW
Cameras will now record what happens in special education classrooms in public schools across Louisiana under a new law meant to protect students with disabilities that required the cameras to start rolling this month. Act 479, which the state Legislature passed in 2025, requires public schools to put at least one camera in each classroom where most students receive special education services for at least half of the day. Feb. 1 was the deadline for school districts to install the devices. Families will be able to request footage if they believe their child has been abused or neglected while in the school’s care. The push for classroom cameras began after a St. Tammany Parish parent said her nonverbal 5-yearold son was verbally and physically abused by school staffers. The family sued the school district and worked with lawmakers to introduce legislation in 2022 requiring districts to install cameras in special education classrooms if a parent requested them. However, some parents said their requests were denied or schools took longer to respond than the legislation allowed, said Ashley McReynolds, program director at The Arc of Louisiana, an organization that advocates
ä See CAMERAS, page 5A
ABOVE: Paradegoers reach for throws at the Krewe of Bonaparte parade on Saturday. RIGHT: Riders celebrate and make throws during the parade.
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Thousands of inactive voters to be removed
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Partial government shutdown over DHS funding continues White House and lawmakers clash on oversight BY AAMER MADHANI Associated Press
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Lawmakers and the White House offered no signs of compromise Sunday in their battle over oversight of federal immigration officers that has led to a pause in funding for the Department of Homeland Security. A partial government shutdown began Saturday after
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congressional Democrats and President Donald Trump’s team failed to reach a deal on legislation to fund the department through September. Democrats are demanding changes to how immigration operations are conducted after the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal officers in Minneapolis last month. Congress is on recess until Feb. 23, and both sides appear dug into their positions. The impasse affects agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Coast Guard, the Secret Service,
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The work at ICE and CBP goes on unabated because Trump’s tax and spending cut law from 2025 provided billions more to those agencies that can be tapped for deportation operations. About 90% of DHS em- Homan ployees were to continue working during the shutdown, but do so without pay — and missed paychecks could mean financial hardships. Last year there was a record 43-day government shutdown.
Cards sent, names published for alert about registration
BY CLAIRE TAYLOR Staff writer
White House border czar Tom Homan said the administration was unwilling to agree to Democrats’ demands that federal officers clearly identify themselves, remove masks during operations and display unique ID numbers. “I don’t like the masks, either,” Homan said, But, he said, “These men and women have to protect themselves.” Democrats also want to require immigration agents to wear body
More than 47,000 people registered to vote in Lafayette Parish may be purged from the voting rolls before the next federal election for Congress. Before every federal election, inactive voters in all 64 parishes in Louisiana may be removed from voting lists, Charlene Menard, Lafayette Parish registrar of voters, said. In 2019, for example, Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin published a list of 5,715 people registered to vote in Lafayette Parish who are considered inactive. Some of the voters identified haven’t voted in over 10 years,
ä See SHUTDOWN, page 5A
ä See VOTERS, page 5A
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