{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cassidy-applauds-15-million-investment-in-louisiana-education/", "Cassidy Applauds $15 Million Investment in Louisiana Education", "2025-12-16", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "Senate", "LA", "Bill Cassidy", "C001075", "www.cassidy.senate.gov", "cassidy", "https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/?jsf=jet-engine:press-list", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) today applauded a $15 million federal grant awarded to the Louisiana Department of Education through the U.S. Department of Education\u2019s Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Expansion program. The funding will support evidence-based literacy initiatives aimed at improving student achievement, particularly for high-need students.\n\n\u201cStrong literacy skills are the foundation for everything that comes next in school and in life,\u201d said Dr. Cassidy. \u201cLouisiana has shown real progress, and this funding helps take what\u2019s working and expand it so more students can succeed.\u201d\n\nBackground\n\nThe award builds on Louisiana\u2019s statewide push to improve literacy and comes as national leaders point to the state\u2019s progress. Earlier this year, Cassidy joined U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and education leaders in Baton Rouge for a roundtable on child literacy, where Louisiana\u2019s results were highlighted as a model for other states.\n\nAccording to the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, Louisiana is one of only three states where fourth-grade reading scores met or exceeded pre-pandemic levels, and the only state where eighth-grade reading scores fully recovered to 2019 levels. Recently, Cassidy released a report outlining ways to improve child literacy and fix the broken K-12 education system to better serve American children and families. He also is leading the 21st Century Dyslexia Act to promote early screening for dyslexia.\n\nThe EIR Expansion program supports the growth of innovative, research-backed approaches that have shown results in improving educational outcomes. Louisiana\u2019s award reflects confidence in the state\u2019s use of evidence-based classroom strategies that help students build strong foundational skills.\n\nCassidy has also pushed to give parents more tools to support their children\u2019s education, including securing the inclusion of his Educational Choice for Children Act in President Trump\u2019s Working Families Tax Cuts bill, giving families more opportunities to choose the school that best fits their child\u2019s needs.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.cassidy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cassidy-applauds-15-million-investment-in-louisiana-education/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7144659757614136, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}