Leaders of Color-Louisiana is thrilled to announce our 2023 graduating class of 24 fellows! Together, this class of leaders has worked to support the children of Louisiana through smart education policy that helps kids learn the skills they need to succeed. Here are some highlights from a productive year of education equity leadership:

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• Bringing Leaders of Color to the Capitol: Louisiana fellows participated in the inaugural Leaders of Color Louisiana Day at the Capitol. Fellows testified in support of HB200 & HB381, legislation authored by program alum and State Representative Vanessa Caston Lafluer. HB200 expands genetic testing for newborns, while HB381 creates the Affordable Digital Textbook and Learning Materials Subscription pilot program, to ease education costs for families. 
• Supporting Financial Literacy for Students: Closing the wealth gap means bringing real life skills to the classroom. Fellows organized to support fellow cohort member Karen Burkes and the passage of HB103, which mandates that financial literacy be added to statewide curriculum. Financial literacy will also become a graduation requirement for high school students. From the bill: “The Louisiana legislature recognizes that young people must obtain the skills, knowledge, and experience necessary to manage their personal finances and obtain general financial literacy.  Financial literacy education integrates instruction in valuable life skills with instruction in economics, including income and taxes, money management, investment and spending, and the importance of personal savings.”
• Fighting Revisionist History: Fellows in Louisiana also organized to speak out in opposition of statewide book bans that curb our students’ access to information and diverse perspectives. Fellows also organized to protest proposed modifications of the history curriculum for college students, which aims to remove mentions of racism from the history books.

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We congratulate and celebrate our 2023 Louisiana Leaders of Color for their commitment and contributions to our community! 

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