About the Rulemaking Docket

 

Pursuant to Louisiana R.S. 49, §957, as enacted under Act 401 of the 2014 Regular Legislative Session, BESE maintains the Rulemaking Docket to provide the public with certain information concerning proposed rules and policy revisions approved by the Board. For this guide’s purposes, a proposed change can be a new rule, an amendment to an existing rule, or the repeal of a rule.

To better guide users, each field of the Docket is explained below.

 

Rulemaking Docket - sample entry

 

a Current policy: the full text of the current rule, as contained in a Bulletin or BESE Code. Once a proposed rule change becomes effective, a "Previous Policy" link will appear in this area, which links to the previous version of the rule.

b Proposed change: clicking on this link provides a copy of the proposed rule in strikethrough/underline format, reflecting changes proposed to the current rule. Only those proposed changes, which have been Board approved and are in the process of being promulgated through the rulemaking process, will be featured on this Rulemaking Docket. If multiple documents are necessary, the linked documents will be labeled '(A)', '(B)', etc. Any amendments to the initially proposed policy change made by the Board at a Committee/Board meeting may also be linked here and labeled '(AMENDMENT)'. Required by R.S. 49:968(C)(1). Once a proposed rule or rule change becomes effective, a "New Policy" or "Revised Policy" link to the updated rule will appear in this area.

c Date approved by BESE as NOI: BESE meeting date in which the Board approved the proposed rule or rule change as a Notice of Intent (NOI).

d Date NOI submitted to Louisiana Register: the date BESE staff submitted a NOI to the Louisiana Register for adopting, amending, or repealing the rule. By clicking on this link, a copy of the submitted NOI can be accessed, which includes the proposed rule change, Family Impact Statement, Poverty Statement, Small Business Statement, Provider Impact Statement, Public Comments Paragraph, Fiscal and Economic Impact Statement, and comparison document. Required by R.S. 49:953(A)(1)(b).

e Date NOI published in Louisiana Register: the date the NOI is published in the Louisiana Register, as submitted by BESE staff. Because the Louisiana Register is only published on the 20th of each month, this date will always be the 20th day of the applicable month and year. Clicking on this link provides a copy of the edition of the Louisiana Register in which the NOI is published.

f Date of Summary Report submission: the date BESE submitted a summary report to legislative oversight committees, announcing BESE's plan to proceed with rulemaking by finalizing the NOI published in the Louisiana Register. This occurs after the public comment period has elapsed regarding the proposed rule, or, if comments are properly submitted to BESE, after the Board formally receives and/or takes action regarding said comments at a Committee or Board meeting. Clicking on this link provides a copy of the summary report submitted by BESE staff, which includes the published NOI. Required by R.S. 49:968(D)(1)(b).

g Date rule published in Louisiana Register: the date the final rule is published in the Louisiana Register, whereupon it immediately becomes effective. Because the Louisiana Register is only published on the 20th of each month, this date will always fall on the 20th. Clicking on this link provides a copy of the edition of the Louisiana Register in which the final rule is published.

h Date rule becomes effective (projected): the effective date of the proposed policy change, projected to be the expected date of the final rule's posting in the Louisiana Register, unless a specific effective date is included in the rule.

i Deadline for public comments or hearing requests: the deadline date for the submission of public comments (instructions provided in the public comments field) in response to the proposed rule or request for a public hearing. This deadline will always set 20 calendar days after the date of the NOI publication.

j Date of public hearing (if any): the date for a public hearing regarding the proposed rule, only if such a hearing has been scheduled. A public hearing on the proposed rule will be scheduled only if said hearing is requested by at least 25 individuals, or by a single organization with at least 25 members. Public hearings will be held 35 to 40 days after the date of NOI publication. Clicking on this link provides a copy of any reports made in response to the public hearing. Required by R.S. 49:968(H)(2).

k Date of Legislative Oversight Hearing (if any): the date for a legislative oversight hearing on the proposed rule, if such a hearing has been scheduled. Legislators may schedule an oversight hearing five to 30 days after receiving the Summary Report.

l Report of Legislative Oversight Hearing (if any): clicking on this link provides a copy of any report received by BESE on the proposed rule from a legislative oversight committee or from the governor. Required by R.S. 49:968(I).

m Contact person for policy inquiries: BESE and/or Louisiana Department of Education (LDE) staff contact information for inquiries regarding the proposed rule change. Required by R.S. 49:953(A)(1)(a)(iv).

n Description: a brief description of each rule BESE is in the process of adopting, amending, or repealing. This is from the description contained in materials provided to Board members at Committee/Board meetings (and available to the public here), whereby the Board voted to adopt, amend, or repeal rules. Finalized rules are contained in Bulletins and the BESE Code.

o Public comments: the time, place, and manner in which interested persons may present their views concerning the proposed rule change. Required by R.S. 49:953(A)(1)(a)(v).



Docket users should note that there are other possible outcomes for an NOI:
  • The legislative oversight committees and/or governor may not approve a particular NOI (unfavorable review).

  • BESE may rescind a Notice of Intent from the process of being adopted as a rule. If this happens, a notation will be made (e.g., "Rescinded"). Notices of Intent that are pulled from the process will not go into effect.

  • Any step in the process may result in material changes being made to the Notice of Intent (a material change is one that goes beyond a grammatical correction or wording change; it alters the meaning of the language in the notice from its originally approved version). If this happens, the changed notice must be resubmitted as a new proposal and must begin the rulemaking process again (it must be voted on by BESE to become a Notice of Intent, etc.). This will be appropriately indicated on the Rulemaking Docket.