Policy Will Curb Discrimination by City Contractors Against Job Applicants with Prior Convictions BATON ROUGE, LA—The East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council voted 7-5 to approve an ordinance Wednesday that will require employers receiving money from the Parish to engage in “fair chance” hiring practices. The policy builds on a 2016 ordinance aimed at providing opportunities to apply for Parish …
Ordinance to help convicted criminals get hired passed through Metro Council
BATON ROUGE – After deferring the Fair Chance Ordinance two weeks ago, the ordinance passed through the Metro Council by 7-5. The ordinance aims to help convicted criminals get a job with contractors in the City-Parish by stopping employers from asking potential hires about their criminal record until a proper assessment of their skills.
Baton Rouge contractors now required to ‘ban the box,’ intended to give ex-convicts job opportunities
Private businesses that want to work with East Baton Rouge’s city-parish government will have to change their hiring process to comply with a new ordinance that advocates say will provide more opportunities for formerly incarcerated people. The ordinance, which the Metro Council narrowly approved in a 7-to-5 vote Wednesday, bars contractors and sub-contractors doing work with the city-parish from asking …
Judge tosses new Baton Rouge school board maps, gives Wednesday deadline for new ones
A judge in Baton Rouge ruled Friday that new election maps approved last month are illegal and is giving the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board until 8 a.m. Wednesday to come up with new maps — or he will implement a rival set of maps that would likely flip the board’s racial balance to majority-Black.
Fight over staffing changes in Baton Rouge schools continues as school board debates budget
East Baton Rouge Parish School Board members on Thursday took a deep examination of Superintendent Sito Narcisse’s spending plans for next year, quizzing him and other staff on staff changes, new positions in bilingual education and cutbacks in student transportation. The fallout from the forced reassignment of more than 230 school employees in early May continues. A handful of local activists held a …
Community Leaders To Hold a Press Conference To Address Concern Around EBR School Budget
For Immediate Release: June 2, 2022 Baton Rouge, LA– June 2, 2022, About a dozen or more educators, lawmakers, and activists will meet at the East Baton Rouge (EBR) Parish School Board Office (1050 S Foster Drive) at 4:30 p.m. to hold a press conference before the EBR School Board Meeting at 5 p.m. where the school board will discuss …
Demographer says political map to match Baton Rouge racial balance probably can’t be done
by Terry Jones for The Advocate Creating a sixth majority-minority district on the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council could be impossible. While the city-parish’s racial demographics are pretty much 50/50 when it comes to the Black and White population, demographer Mike Hefner says the parish is still too geographically segregated to create the sixth majority-minority district that could even the power …
The Fight for Our Schools Is Not Over
by Kaitlyn Joshua for the Bayou Progressive In case you hadn’t heard yet, on Thursday, April 7, the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board voted to establish a 9 member plan at the Redistricting Special Meeting. Sure, a 9 member plan would have been an acceptable compromise if said plan resulted in a Black majority, but that was not at all the …
East Baton Rouge School Board Redistricting Special Meeting Results in Approval of Racially Gerrymandered Map
Baton Rouge, LA– On April 7, 2022, the East Baton Rouge (EBR) School Board met at the School Board Office for a Redistricting Special Meeting to approve a final plan that will be ratified on May 5, 2022 and to go into effect with the November 8, 2022 School Board elections. With the redistricting vote up first on the agenda …