Louisiana is one of just nine states that still require students to pass exit exams in order to graduate. Briefly last year, there was an appeals process for students. 

And while the change was widely supported by educators, it quickly became a political issue. Gov. Jeff Landry killed the policy as soon as he took office. So now, Louisiana is once again the only state where students can’t appeal.

And the kids most likely to miss out are recent immigrants. Earlier this year, Aubri Juhasz, WRKF/WWNO education reporter, spoke with teenagers stuck in the middle.

To talk more about exit exams, Anne Hyslop, director of policy development for All4Ed, a nonprofit that focuses on improving high schools and making sure students succeed after they graduate, joins the show.

She’s researched exit exams over the last decade. She also worked in the U.S. Department of Education under President Barack Obama.

LGBTQ+ candidates have campaigned for seats in Louisiana’s state legislature for decades. And despite a growing number of out candidates winning office nationwide, the state’s residents have never elected one.

Matt Bloom, producer for Louisiana Considered, wrote about this for the Advocate, a national magazine focused on LGBTQ issues. 

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Aubri Juhasz. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber; our contributing producers are Matt Bloom and Adam Vos; we receive production and technical support from Garrett Pittman and our assistant producer, Aubry Procell.

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