Parent Power in Louisiana

Louisiana’s education reform movement, which took root years before Hurricane Katrina and was accelerated in the storm’s aftermath, is just beginning. That is the view of Ann Duplessis, president of the Louisiana Federation for Children.

Duplessis points to New Orleans’ “all choice” school system that has been enthusiastically embraced by parents.

Duplessis says school choice is empowering parents to direct the trajectory of their children’s lives.

“Having the ability to understand the uniqueness of your children and then applying that uniqueness to the space that they are going to be in for the next 13 years of their lives is a lot of power,” said Duplessis.

She says parents are learning the power of their collective voices.

“What I would love to see is that we strengthen their voices, so that they are feared and not just heard.”

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Ann Duplessis is a former state legislator where she served on the Senate Education Committee and fought successfully to expand educational options for Louisiana’s children by authoring and supporting numerous pieces of school choice legislation. Duplessis resides in New Orleans and remains active in numerous civic activities.