THREE KEYS FOR LSU WOMEN TO GET BACK TO THE FINAL FOUR 1C THE
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T h u r s d ay, M a r c h 12, 2026
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LAFAYETTE PARISH
High schools see drop in enrollment School Board to vote on whether to close Comeaux
Southside High School has seen an increase of about 100 students when comparing enrollment data from October 2019 to February 2026. Acadiana, Carencro, Lafayette, Northside and Comeaux high schools have all seen a decrease in enrollment. Comeaux has seen the largest deBY ASHLEY WHITE Staff writer crease in enrollment — nearly 570 students — with 643 students enrolled, acAll but one of the high schools in La- cording to a Feb. 1 count. That declining enrollment is one of fayette Parish have seen a decrease in enrollment since 2019, according to en- the reasons Lafayette Parish School Board members said they are considerrollment data.
ing whether to close the school, rezone students and move the district’s career center to the Comeaux campus. The proposal was announced Tuesday, and the board will vote on it at its Thursday meeting. If approved, Comeaux students would finish out the school year as is and then be rezoned to either Acadiana, Lafayette or Southside high schools. The district would then have two years to renovate the Comeaux campus to turn it into the
HIGH SCHOOL ENROLLMENT NUMBERS
School Feb. 1, 2026 Oct. 1, 2019 Change Acadiana High 1,485 1,733 -248 Carencro High 1,005 1,102 -97 Lafayette High 1,789 1,900 -111 Northside High 633 644 -11 Comeaux High 643 1,210 -567 Southside High 1,799 1,690 109 *Note: Early College Academy and David Thibodaux STEM are both magnet academies without zoned students, so their ä See DROP, page 4A enrollment was not included in this chart.
2026 LEGISLATURE EDUCATION
Bills target private pre-K rules
Resignation deepens fight over judicial discipline Letter accuses improper action taken against judges
BY MEGHAN FRIEDMANN Staff writer
would ease the regulations while also requiring public preschools to be licensed. But Sen. Beth Mizell, R-Franklinton, introduced a competing bill this week that fully exempts private and religious preschools from the regulations — effectively voiding the key component of Act 409. Her proposal, Senate Bill 402, will come as a relief to private schools that warn that complying with the new regulations will be costly and complicated and could trigger tuition hikes and pre-K closures.
A former state Supreme Court justice resigned in dramatic fashion last week from the Judiciary Commission, accusing the body of failing to hold judges accountable for wrongdoing, days before Gov. Jeff Landry urged the Louisiana Legislature to pass legislation to rein in “Judges need to judges. “I have realized that I be aboveboard serve no purpose as a mem- and accountable ber,” former Justice Chet as their actions Traylor wrote in a letter to determine Landry explaining why he the way our resigned from the commission, which investigates citizens view our complaints against judges government.” and can recommend their CHET TRAyLOR, discipline to the Supreme Court. He called for more former La. Supreme transparency around judiCourt justice cial discipline and alleged that complaints against judges often go unaddressed. “Judges need to be aboveboard and accountable as their actions determine the way our citizens view our government,” he wrote. “I only wish that my serving could have turned the tide.” Traylor’s scathing remarks stand out in a state where judges often close ranks and rarely speak publicly — and are forbidden from doing so about active cases. His letter paints Louisiana as rife
ä See BILLS, page 4A
ä See DISCIPLINE, page 4A
STAFF FILE PHOTO By BRAD KEMP
Two bills have been filed in the Louisiana Legislature aimed at the state’s new law regulating private preschools.
One would ease regulations; another would end them
islature last year, Act 409 imposes stringent licensure rules on prekindergarten programs at private schools but exempts programs at public and Montessori schools. Proponents say the law strengthens protections for young children in BY PATRICK WALL private settings, but critics — inStaff writer cluding two private schools that Competing bills in the Louisiana unsuccessfully challenged the law Legislature that aim to quell the in court — call the regulations exuproar over a new state law regulat- cessive and unnecessary due to the ing private preschools take starkly schools’ existing safety protocols. Sen. Regina Barrow, D-Baton different approaches: One proposal would revise the law, while the other Rouge, who authored the original legislation, responded to the comwould gut it. Passed unanimously by the Leg- plaints by filing a bill last month that
Iran targets ships, oil facilities as economic concerns mount BY JON GAMBRELL, SAM MEDNICK and DAVID RISING Associated Press
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran fired on commercial ships Wednesday and targeted Dubai International Airport, CO ONFLICT escalating a campaign of bottling IN THE T MIIDDLE up the oil-rich Persian Gulf as global EAST AST energy concerns mounted and American and Israeli airstrikes pounded the Islamic Republic. Iran’s response to the surprise Israeli and U.S. bombardment that started 12 days ago has upended trade routes, choked supplies of
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ä U.S., other countries will tap strategic reserves. Page 3A ä Trump unclear on explaining Iran endgame. Page 3A ä As war continues, price of everything could be affected. Page 5A fuel and fertilizer coming out of the Gulf and threatened air traffic through one of the world’s mosttraveled regions. Both sides have dug in, hoping to outlast the other. An Israeli intelligence assessment, meanwhile, found Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah
Mojtaba Khamenei, was wounded at the start of the war — on the day when his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in an Israeli airstrike. An Israeli intelligence official and a reservist with knowledge of the assessment spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with the media. They gave no details on the nature of the injuries. The 56-year-old, whose wife was also killed in the Israeli strike, has not been seen since becoming supreme leader on Monday. Yousef Pezeshkian, the son of Iranian
ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO By HASSAN AMMAR
Flames rise from an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut’s southern suburbs, ä See IRAN, page 4A on Wednesday.
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