The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Louisiana House Bill 83 Revises Voting Rules for Converting Public Schools to Charter Schools
Last action · March 9, 2026: Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Education.Sponsors: Michael Echols and 1 other
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Proposed
House Bill 83 modifies the voting rules and eligibility criteria for teachers, staff, and parents when deciding whether to convert a preexisting public school into a charter school. The legislation establishes secret ballot requirements for parent votes, adjusts voter eligibility windows, and directs the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to adopt uniform election rules.
The measure changes how school conversions are authorized by altering who is eligible to cast a ballot and the threshold required for a successful conversion vote, directly affecting school staff and families at public schools considering conversion.
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Public school faculty and staff
Their voting eligibility rules and the approval thresholds for school conversion elections are altered by the legislation.
Parents and guardians of public school students
They are subject to new voting eligibility criteria, secret ballot mandates, and revised majority requirements for school conversion votes.
State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education
The board is required to adopt rules implementing the new election processes and ensuring transparency and voter anonymity.
Key Facts
- Faculty and staff approval for school conversion requires a favorable vote of a simple majority of eligible members voting in the election.
- Eligible faculty and staff voters must be certified by the state board, employed on the election date, and employed since the preceding October first.
- Parent or guardian approval for school conversion requires a favorable vote of a simple majority of eligible parents or guardians voting at the election.
- Only one parent or guardian per student is eligible to vote, with an additional vote permitted for each additional enrolled child.
Show all 6 facts
- Parent and guardian elections must be conducted by secret ballot.
- The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is required to adopt rules to implement a fair and transparent election process and protect voter anonymity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible to vote on a faculty and staff level for a school conversion?
How many votes can a parent cast if they have multiple children enrolled in the school?
What is the voting threshold required for parent approval of a school conversion under the bill?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
4 actions- Mar 9, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Education.
- Feb 6, 2026HouseFirst appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/6/2026.
- Feb 4, 2026HousePrefiled.
- Feb 4, 2026HouseCommitteeUnder the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Education.
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Streamlining Charter Conversion Balloting
The bill shifts conversion election standards by replacing specific percentage turnout rules for parents with a simple majority of voting participants and mandating secret ballots.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.la.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 45)
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools