BY DOUG GRAHAM | Staff writer Starting Jan. 1, anyone seeking to obtain or renew a teaching certification in Louisiana will be required to pass a criminal background check conducted by State Police. New teachers will have to wait for their background check to be completed before they can receive their license and start working in classrooms, which could leave schools with unfilled teaching positions. Read why some are opposed to the change. A Baton Rouge lawmaker is calling for changes to the state's Amber Alert system after criticism from law enforcement last week following the deaths of a Tangipahoa Parish woman and her daughter. Sheriff Daniel Edwards said investigators were frustrated by delays in their attempts to get an Amber Alert sent out. Read what Rep. Dixon McMakin said in a letter to Gov. Jeff Landry. In the final days of May, a week before the end of the 2024 legislative session, supporters of Télé-Louisiane's French language programming learned that funding for the programs had been cut from the state budget. Read about how they rallied statewide support to save the programs. | 