School officials examine effects of new edicts
by Mike Hasten - The Town Talk (excerpt)

BATON ROUGE -- School officials still are weighing the possible effects of new laws passed by the Legislature this year that could mean dramatic changes.

However, says Cathy Stockton, superintendent of schools in Richland Parish, "it all depends on how they're enforced." The changes being examined are bills that allow home-schooled students to participate in public or private school athletics, establish a uniform grading scale, make half of teachers' evaluations depend on student performance and authorize the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to waive some of the laws that regulate public schools. School officials in Lafayette aren't sure if any home-schoolers would apply to play high school sports and "we won't know until they start practicing" next month, said Superintendent Burnelle Lemoine.

Stockton said she can see "some good things and some bad things" about the new law, which gives principals authority to decide whether non-students would be allowed to participate in sports.