Associated Press - February 9, 2010 7:14 PM ET

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A Louisiana teachers union is criticizing a proposal offered by Gov. Bobby Jindal that would let public schools get a waiver from state law and education policies, letting them function more like charter schools.

The head of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers says the proposal seems to be driven by ideology, rather than research-driven policy. Steve Monaghan, LFT president, wrote a letter to Jindal asking him for give & take discussions with education groups about the proposal.

The waiver could apply to teacher pay requirements, curriculum standards, length of school day or school year and budget restrictions. Jindal described it as a way for schools to cut through "red tape" that doesn't give schools enough flexibility.

But Monaghan says teachers haven't complained that many of those regulations are impediments to student achievement.

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