CRIMINAL JUSTICE
ULLA SUPPORTS SB16, which repeals parts of the criminal code to make individuals with a Juvenile Life Without Parole (JLWOP) sentence for crimes committed while under the age of 18 eligible for parole.
The League is advocating for an amendment to this bill to provide for parole eligibility retroactively and pro-actively at 25 years.
- JLWOP sentences are disproportionately applied to African American youth who are given these sentences per capita 10 times more than White youth. In Louisiana, 75% of those with JLWOP sentences are African Americans.
- The United States of America is the ONLY country in the world in which juveniles are serving JLWOP sentences, a practice that goes against the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- Parole is sensible since research indicates that recidivism rates are less than 2% for individuals released after long sentences.
- Youth are still developing during adolescence and thus are more likely to be rehabilitated and less culpable for the crimes they commit.
ULLA SUPPORTS HB74, which eliminates mandatory minimum sentences for juveniles.
- Mandatory minimum sentences take this discretion from judges regardless of what is in the best interest of the child and in the interest of public safety.
- Judges should be granted the discretion to determine sentences for juveniles based on the pathway most likely to lead to rehabilitation.
ULLA SUPPORTS revisions to expungement policies.
ULLA supports revisions to expungement policies that allow for the expungement and sealing of juvenile records for two years after the individual has completed the terms of their sentences, provided they have not acquired an adult felony conviction, a misdemeanor involving a firearm, or an indictment of outstanding bill of information.
- Juvenile expungement is a national best practice that affords youth an opportunity to succeed by removing barriers associated with juvenile court records (i.e., housing, employment, education, etc.).
ULLA SUPPORTS the establishment of the Task Force on Secure Care Standards and Auditing
ULLA supports the establishment of the Task Force on Secure Care Standards and Auditing that assembles a group of experts and key stakeholders to develop auditing standards to promote the safety of youth in secure facilities in Louisiana.
- Louisiana currently lacks safety standards for its secure facilities, a practice that puts youth at risk and that is misaligned with security standards imposed by the state for other youth-serving facilities.
- The Task Force would put in place standards that will be used by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor in an annual review of secure facilities to ensure that they follow the newly established safety standards and regulations for operation.
ULLA SUPPORTS changes recently enacted by the Baton Rouge Police Department
ULLA supports changes recently enacted by the Baton Rouge Police Department regarding its use of force policies and advocates for the following improvements for BRPD:
- Continued improvements to training for law enforcement officers including a focus on implicit bias
- Improvements to recruitment strategies to attract a more representative police force in Baton Rouge
- Calls for the independent investigation of officer involved shootings and excessive force complaints
ULLA SUPPORTS HB276, which establishes guidelines for officer involved incident investigations
- Establishes a time line for the investigation providing 14 days for officers to acquire council
- Provides 60 days administrative leave with pay for involved officers for the duration of the investigation and unpaid leave thereafter until the matter is resolved
ULLA SUPPORTS HB277 that provides for ongoing professional development and training of peace officers to maintain Peace Officers Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) certification
- Requires a minimum of 400 hours of core curriculum training and at least 20 hours of in-service training on an annual basis
- Calls for the implementation of de-escalation, bias policing recognition, sudden in-custody death, and crisis intervention training for peace officers by January 2018
- Includes similar provisions for part-time peace officers
ULLA SUPPORTS HB278, which revokes a peace officer’s P.O.S.T. certification under the following conditions:
- Convicted of an offense that restricts them from use of a firearm
- Misdemeanor domestic violence convictions or any felony conviction
- Released from duty for disciplinary reasons
- Failure to complete training requirements
- Voluntary surrendering of the P.O.S.T. certification or in the event of judicial disposition in a criminal case that requires revocation
ECON. & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
ULLA SUPPORTS increasing the minimum wage to a rate that allows families to afford the basic cost of living.
Currently, the New Orleans living wage is $11.29 for a single individual and $22.89 for an adult with one child. (SOURCE)
ULLA SUPPORTS legislation that bans pay secrecy and retaliation in the private sector in Louisiana.
- Pay secrecy is the policy or practice of an employer that forbids or discourage employees from discussing their pay with their colleagues.
- Almost half of workers in a pay secrecy/wage discrimination study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research/Rockefeller indicated that their employers enact some sort of pay secrecy policy. Among private sector employers, the rates were higher (about 61%) (SOURCE)
- This practice perpetuates wage inequities and must be abolished to help end the gender wage gap.
ULLA proposes a study resolution to examine the potential economic impact of mandatory inclusion of minority, women-owned and disadvantaged business enterprises on state contracts.
The participation of small businesses, especially disadvantaged business enterprises (DBE) can be a major driver of economic development and economic parity in the state. Unfortunately, DBE and small businesses face several hurdles in accessing large, state development contracts. The study resolution will examine the potential economic impact of mandatory inclusion of these businesses with the intent to promote small business and DBE participation in state projects.
EDUCATION
ULLA SUPPORTS HB390 that establishes protocols to set the award amounts for TOPS at 2017-18 levels and safeguards economically disadvantaged students in the event of a funding shortfall.
ULLA advocates for the full support of the Louisiana Department of Education’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Framework that provides direction to the State, to schools and to districts on the following:
- New accountability metrics that considers growth, achievement and non academic factors important in the learning and development of children,
- Resources to schools with struggling subgroup (e.g., African Americans, English Language Learners, students with disabilities, etc.) performance to address these gaps,
- Resources to expand educational offerings across schools and districts to include such opportunities as career and technical education and direct student support services,
- New proficiency standards for English language learners,
- Increased access to families and other stakeholders to achievement data (including subgroup data) to help families make informed choices, and
- Resources to districts for professional development for educators to strengthen the educator pipeline in Louisiana.
ULLA advocates for the unification of New Orleans Public Schools to protect educational equity initiatives during the transition of schools from the Recovery School District (RSD) to Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) by:
- Safeguarding the enrollment policy for full participation of all New Orleans Public Schools in ENROLL NOLA
- Successfully transferring the Hearing Office that manages expulsion hearings from the auspices of the RSD to OPSB
- Establishing an “OPSB Task force on Discipline and Accountability” to examine policies and practices New Orleans Public Schools that impact the school-to-prison pipeline made up of school board members, district leaders, school leaders, community based organizations, parent representatives and youth representatives.
- Expanding the capacity of the Therapeutic Day Center that provides mental health services to New Orleans Public Schools.
- Expanding access to career and technical education for all students in New Orleans Public Schools with a special focus on inclusion of students with disabilities.
- Continuing enforcement of OPSB’s policy to have parent participation on public charter school boards.
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