Dear Louisiana Teachers: The Truth About Amendment 2
The ballot language is intentionally deceptive because if voters knew the truth, they would reject it outright.
I’m talking directly to you—Louisiana educators—because I know how much you give every single day. I know how hard you work, how much you sacrifice for your students and your communities. And I know you’re being misled right now. You deserve the truth about what this amendment actually does.
A friend recently told me about their mom, a lifelong Louisiana public school teacher. She dedicated her whole career to shaping young minds, starting fresh out of college. She worked hard. Became a master teacher. Earned respect. She watched kids grow up, graduate, and go off into the world. She saw families struggle, and she helped kids thrive. Even now, she still believes in the power of education—but she also knows how unstable it can be.
When she finally retired, things didn’t go as planned. After a divorce, she realized she couldn’t afford to stay retired. She had to go back to the classroom, and even now, she’s barely making ends meet. She donates blood plasma just to afford groceries. That’s the heartbreaking reality of Louisiana’s education system.
Now, instead of fixing that broken system, and actually doing something for those he promised to protect, Jeff Landry is trying to sell you a lie.
The Bait-and-Switch
Former Governor John Bel Edwards fought tooth and nail for teacher pay raises multiple times. Republicans fought against him at every turn.
In 2019 and 2021, he managed to secure raises despite GOP opposition.
In 2022, he pushed for another raise, but Republicans refused to make it permanent, turning it into a one-time stipend.
In 2023, he tried again, but the GOP supermajority stripped teacher raises from the budget, moving the money elsewhere.
Now, after his party fought so hard to stop teacher raises, Governor Jeff Landry misleading teachers into thinking it’s on the ballot. If Republicans truly wanted to make teacher pay raises permanent, they would have been included in the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP), the state's primary funding mechanism for public schools.
Instead, the GOP chose to pay down retirement debt, hoping that individual parishes would increase teacher salaries on their own. That means teachers are left at the mercy of local budgets instead of having a stable, guaranteed raise statewide.
I want to be clear: Amendment 2 does NOT give teachers more money. It just moves existing funds around while setting Louisiana up for a financial mess down the road.
The Fine Print:
The language in Amendment 2 is vague on purpose. There’s already a lawsuit challenging it for being misleading. Even lawmakers struggled to understand what it actually does.
Rep. Emerson pointed out that the ballot language fails to explain the amendment’s fiscal impact.
Rep. Taylor, an attorney, admitted she struggled to grasp what the amendment would actually do—despite it being a so-called "summary" of a 130-page bill.
Landry’s team cited a Supreme Court case to justify their deception, arguing that “news organizations” should fill in the gaps left by the misleading ballot language.
Instead of allowing voters to make an informed decision, Louisiana Republicans rushed this amendment through a special session, manipulating the process to push a seemingly hidden agenda.
Winners and Losers?
Let’s call it what it is: Amendment 2 is a tax scam.
It benefits the wealthiest Louisianans while leaving working families—including teachers—struggling. If it passes, here’s what we’re looking at:
✅ The rich get tax breaks.
❌ The bottom 80% of earners get left behind.
❌ Constitutional Protections for education and infrastructure funds get stripped away, making it easier for politicians to raid them later.
❌ Future tax fixes become harder, because the amendment caps state revenue growth and restricts tax changes—making it nearly impossible to restore past income tax rates for the wealthy without another constitutional amendment.
So when the next economic downturn hits, Louisiana’s schools and roads will take the biggest hit—while the wealthiest enjoy their tax cuts. And when teachers like my friend’s mother are still struggling to afford groceries, the people in charge will shrug and say, “There’s no money left.”
Shaping minds should be a respected, stable career, not a financial struggle that forces dedicated educators to sell plasma just to get by. Not one that everyone knows won’t get you by.
The Bottom Line
Amendment 2 uses teachers as a selling point while setting Louisiana up for a financial disaster. The ballot language is deceptive on purpose—because if voters knew the truth, they’d reject it outright.
So I’m asking you—read between the lines. Look beyond the misleading language. Recognize Amendment 2 for what it truly is.
🚨 Vote NO on Amendment 2 and all four Constitutional Amendments on March 29th. Early Voting is March 15-22.