Louisiana
Louisiana schools have an absenteeism problem. The state has a new plan to fix it.
As the number of Louisiana students who frequently miss school grows, the state Department of Education has unveiled a new strategy for bringing them back.
The new guidelines released this week, called “The Power of Presence,” focus on district and community-level prevention and intervention efforts, rather than punitive measures, to improve attendance. They come as Louisiana’s absenteeism rate has risen the past two school years.
The 31-page guidebook also offers standard definitions of chronic absenteeism, which is when students miss 10% or more of a school year, and truancy to create consistency across school districts. It also emphasizes consistent data collection and reporting so that districts can better track at-risk students.
Some suggested interventions to promote student wellbeing and boost attendance include providing weekend food bags for students dealing with food insecurity, creating a closet with spare clothes for children whose families struggle to afford school uniforms, and encouraging students to join after-school activities.
While schools aren’t required to adopt the strategies, the framework is intended to give districts evidence-based solutions to combat poor attendance, which research has linked to numerous negative outcomes, including lower test scores, poor grades and a higher likelihood of becoming involved in the criminal justice system, education leaders said.
“We are facing a real and urgent challenge,” Sharon Clark, a member of the state education board, said during an annual teacher conference in New Orleans organized by the state education department. “Students are missing too much school, and we are feeling the impact.”
Even as Louisiana climbs in national education rankings, it was one of just five states out of 36 that have released data where absenteeism rates grew during the 2023-24 school year, according to information compiled by FutureEd, a Georgetown University think tank. Last year, nearly 1 in 4 Louisiana students was classified as chronically absent, up three percentage points from the previous year, state data shows.
“Louisiana is the only state in the country where the average student has made” a full academic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, state Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley said. “But that growth has been minimized by attendance and truancy issues.”
Louisiana’s goal is to reduce absenteeism by 2% annually, officials said. If it achieves that goal, nearly 45,000 fewer children will be considered chronically absent by the 2027-28 school year.
While the framework gives districts flexibility to tailor strategies to their needs, it includes a handful of “universal elements” each school system’s attendance plan should include. Those key strategies include creating partnerships with community organizations, such as churches and local government agencies; keeping families engaged in their children’s education; and forming attendance teams at the school and district level that help track data and coordinate efforts
The guidelines draw on findings from a program piloted by Baker High School two years ago that aimed to drive down absenteeism using simple strategies, such as sending letters home when students rack up absences and checking in with at-risk students to find out why they’re missing school and discuss solutions. After one year, the district saw its share of chronically absent students fall 13 percentage points, to 37%.
While many districts already employ some of the methods the state is encouraging, the new guidelines are the most comprehensive set to date and should lead to more uniformity across the state, said Misty Davis, executive director of attendance strategy at the state education department.
By asking every district to use the same language when talking about attendance, it makes it easier for the state to collect and analyze submitted data, Davis explained. For example, the guidelines make clear when schools should label student absences as excused or unexcused in data systems, she said.
State education department staffers will work with districts that continue to struggle with attendance and help them adopt some of the suggested strategies, officials said.
“This is getting everybody on the same page,” Davis said, “about how we do it and what it looks and sounds like.”
The Louisiana Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.
Here’s a look at March 2, 2026, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from March 2 drawing
02-17-18-38-62, Powerball: 20, Power Play: 2
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from March 2 drawing
3-9-9
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 numbers from March 2 drawing
4-1-1-0
Check Pick 4 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 5 numbers from March 2 drawing
0-5-2-9-5
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
All Louisiana Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $600. For prizes over $600, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at Louisiana Lottery offices. Prizes of over $5,000 must be claimed at Lottery office.
By mail, follow these instructions:
- Sign and complete the information on the back of your winning ticket, ensuring all barcodes are clearly visible (remove all scratch-off material from scratch-off tickets).
- Photocopy the front and back of the ticket (except for Powerball and Mega Millions tickets, as photocopies are not accepted for these games).
- Complete the Louisiana Lottery Prize Claim Form, including your telephone number and mailing address for prize check processing.
- Photocopy your valid driver’s license or current picture identification.
Mail all of the above in a single envelope to:
Louisiana Lottery Headquarters
555 Laurel Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70801
To submit in person, visit Louisiana Lottery headquarters:
555 Laurel Street, Baton Rouge, LA 70801, (225) 297-2000.
Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.
Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Louisiana Lottery.
When are the Louisiana Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3, Pick 4 and Pick 5: Daily at 9:59 p.m. CT.
- Easy 5: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.
- Lotto: 9:59 p.m. CT Wednesday and Saturday.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Louisiana editor. You can send feedback using this form.
NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana National Guard announced Monday that 120 troops will remain deployed in New Orleans through August.
The six-month extension comes after 350 Guard members deployed to New Orleans in late December, in the run-up to New Year’s and other high-profile events like the Sugar Bowl. The troops, which had mainly clustered in the city’s historic French Quarter, had been scheduled to depart in the aftermath of Mardi Gras.
New Orleans is one of several Democrat-run cities, such as Washington and Memphis, Tennessee, where the federal government deployed armed troops under the administration of President Donald Trump. Hundreds of federal agents also converged on Louisiana in December as part of a separate immigration crackdown in and around New Orleans.
During his State of the Union address last week, Trump touted the deployment in New Orleans as a “big success.” In January, Trump credited the troops with reducing the city’s violent crime within a week of their deployment. City police data shows violent crime rates have significantly declined over the past three years in parallel with national trends.
According to a press statement from the Louisiana National Guard, the remaining guard members will serve as a “visible presence to deter criminal activity in New Orleans.”
New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno, a Democrat who initially opposed the deployment, said that the troops would benefit the city in the coming weeks. She pointed out that National Guard troops had assisted the city during last year’s Mardi Gras in the aftermath of a vehicle-ramming attack in the French Quarter that killed 14 people on New Year’s Day.
“I continue to support the partnership with the LA National Guard to assist in our major events and there are several coming up in the next few weeks,” Moreno said in a statement.
While Moreno did not address which events she referred to, visitors flock to New Orleans in the spring for events like the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a Republican and staunch Trump ally, requested the deployment of the National Guard last September, citing rising violent crime rates in New Orleans despite the data showing crime was down.
“This continued deployment will help us combat violence in New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana,” Landry wrote on the social platform X on Monday, noting Louisiana had also sent National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., last year.
Kate Kelly, a spokesperson for Landry, said the federal government would cover the cost of the extended deployment. She did not respond to a question about whether Guard members would be deployed outside New Orleans.
Maj. Gen. Thomas Friloux, adjutant general of the Louisiana National Guard, said in a statement the troops had already worked closely with other city, state and federal agencies to improve public safety during a stretch of high-profile events in the city, including the flood of visitors over Mardi Gras and the city’s carnival season.
“We remain committed to those partnerships as we continue supporting efforts to keep the City of New Orleans safe for residents and visitors,” Friloux said.
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Jury selection begins Monday in what prosecutors describe as one of the largest auto insurance fraud cases in Louisiana history, with two local attorneys set to stand trial on charges that include fraud and obstruction of justice.
Attorneys Vanessa Motta and Jason Giles are accused in an alleged scheme in which drivers — referred to as “slammers” — were paid to intentionally crash into 18-wheelers, file injury lawsuits and allow attorneys to collect the settlements. Both have pleaded not guilty.
63 people have been charged in the case. Many have already pleaded guilty. Motta and Giles are being tried together.
Criminal defense attorney Craig Mordock, who is not directly involved in the case but has been following it closely, said the scope of the litigation is significant.
“You have 10 years of personal injury cases and almost… almost a billion dollars in recovery. That’s all at issue,” Mordock said. “So yeah, this could go two to three weeks.”
Motta’s defense team has advanced a narrative that she was manipulated by a co-defendant.
“There is a compelling narrative that’s been advanced by Vanessa Motta’s lawyer in terms of her being manipulated by one of the co-defendants… about being manipulated by him and him having a prior federal conviction for fraud,” Mordock said.
Motta’s team originally claimed she did not know the crashes were staged. In 2024, her team told FOX 8 she is the victim.
Mordock said Giles faces a more difficult defense.
“I don’t see a favorable juror for one of the other lawyer defendants, Jason Giles. There’s not a clear theory of innocence. This is basically a standard white-collar prosecution where knowledge and intent are going to be the issue,” Mordock said.
The case carries what Mordock described as a shadow. In September 2020, key witness Cornelious Garrison was killed in New Orleans four days after his name appeared in an indictment. Garrison’s admitted killer, Ryan Harris, is expected to testify.
The judge in the case is also allowing the slain witness’s recorded descriptions of the alleged scheme to be admitted at trial.
Mordock said Louisiana drivers have a direct stake in the outcome.
“As your average Louisianan, the idea would be you would save… because the people committing this fraud have been wrapped up. The insurance companies are going to know how to look for this,” Mordock said.
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