Seeing nationwide teacher burnout and declining post-pandemic student outcomes, Louisiana launched “Let Teachers Teach” in 2024 by directly asking teachers for solutions and then implementing their recommendations. The initiative boosts autonomy, reduces bureaucracy, and addresses student behavior—an approach that aligns with many of the key reforms Independent Women proposed in its “Give Teachers a Break” report last year.
Everyone loves the party game “Two Truths and a Lie.” Can you identify which of the following statements about Louisiana’s “Let Teachers Teach” initiative is a lie?
A. Teacher retention in Louisiana improved, with the teacher exit rate dropping from 15% in the 2022-2023 school year to 13% in the 2023-2024 school year.
B. Louisiana ranks number one in the country in recovery from pandemic-era learning loss in reading, and the state moved up significantly in NAEP composite rankings from 49th in 2019 to 32nd in 2024.
C. A University of Missouri study from 2025 found that 78 percent of teachers said they plan to remain in the profession long term, despite post-pandemic challenges.
A. TRUTH! While the data currently available precedes “Let Teachers Teach,” it reflects early momentum in the state’s broader push to support educators. Teacher retention in Louisiana has risen, with the teacher exit rate dropping from 15 percent in the 2022-2023 school year to 13 percent in the 2023-2024 school year. This is despite a growing workforce: Per the same report, “the number of candidates who completed a Louisiana teacher preparation program has increased for the first time since the reporting of the teacher exit survey began in 2012-2013.” It turns out that a state that is focused on the well-being of teachers attracts more teachers to enter the profession.
B. TRUTH! Louisiana ranks number one in the country in recovery from pandemic-era learning loss in reading. Between the emphasis on helping teachers succeed and other concerted academic measures, the state moved up 17 spots in the rankings of the composite National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP), from 49th in the nation in 2019—in other words, the second worst in the nation—to 32nd in 2024. Louisiana, alongside Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee, has been considered part of the 2020s “Southern educational surge.”
C. LIE! In reality, the 2025 University of Missouri study found the opposite: 78 percent of teachers have considered quitting since the pandemic. The 2020s have seen increased teacher burnout and attrition.“Teachers cited a range of reasons for wanting to quit,” the press release notes, “including a lack of administrative support, excessive workloads, inadequate compensation and challenging student behaviors.” Most states and districts have responded to these problems with fleeting incentives, like sign-on bonuses, or additional layers of bureaucracy that cause more frustration for teachers than they solve problems. Not surprisingly, they have not seen real improvements in education.
Bottom Line:
As Independent Women’s “Give Teachers a Break: Cutting Red Tape to Unleash the Potential of America’s Great Teachers” report concludes, “That teachers are subject to regulation after regulation shows us the extent to which they are, all too often, victims, rather than perpetrators, of a bureaucratic system that ultimately bars them from spending time on what they signed up to do: helping students learn. Freeing teachers up to do just that—to teach—is in everyone’s best interest: a teaching profession that is highly valued attracts more and more people of high value and only benefits American students and our education system as a whole.”
To learn more, read the Policy Focus: Louisiana’s Promising “Let Teachers Teach” Initiative