We can’t help but be impressed with the continued progress made by the Lafayette Parish School System in educational attainment. The latest news is that the parish posted the highest gains in the state for K-3 reading proficiency during the 2025-26 school year among districts serving more than 29,000 students.

If the close of the 2026 Legislative session offered one lesson, it’s this: Even with a Republican supermajority in a ruby red state, legislative and executive power has its limits. Watching Gov. Jeff Landry and lawmakers tangle at the statehouse this year felt very different from those early, heady days of his administration when they pushed through sweeping changes to elections, criminal justice and taxation.

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