| Request to withdraw advisory opinion request regarding whether the Code of Governmental Ethics prohibits an employee with Louisiana Department of Education
from working for Savvas Learning Center. |
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Jenny
Moran is employed as an Education Consultant in the Office
of Career and College Readiness at the Louisiana Department of Education
("LDOE"). Her official duties do not include: participation in curriculum
adoption decisions, vendor approval, procurement or curriculum vendor contract
management, evaluation of instructional materials, decision-making authority
involving educational publishers or curriculum vendors.
Ms.
Moran would like to perform freelance data analysis work as an independent
contractor for Savvas Learning Company ("Savvas") which is an approved
curriculum vendor in Louisiana, but does not have a business relationship with the
Office of Career and College Readiness at LDOE.
The
work Ms. Moran would perform for Savvas involves comparing performance results
to statewide averages, using publicly available data, creating slide
presentations with bar charts, demographic summaries, and links to public state
education data sources. All data used would be publicly available information
and would not involve Louisiana schools. The work would be performed entirely
outside of state working hours, including evenings and weekends, on her
personal computer, and would not use state time, equipment, or resources.
Although
Ms. Moran works with contracts in her role at LDOE, she has no authority,
oversight, or influence over contracts or relationships involving Savvas
Learning Company or any other curriculum vendors. Her contract work is
completely unrelated to curriculum vendors.
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La. R.S. 42:1111C(1)(a): No public servant shall receive any thing
of economic value for any service, the subject matter of which is devoted
substantially to the responsibilities, programs, or operations of the agency of
the public servant and in which the public servant has participated.
La. R.S.
42:1111C(2)(d): No public servant and no
legal entity in which the public servant exercises control or owns an interest
in excess of twenty-five percent, shall receive any thing of economic value for
or in consideration of services rendered, or to be rendered, to or for any
person during his public service unless such services are: (d) Neither
performed for nor compensated by any person or from any officer, director,
agent, or employee of such person, if such public servant knows or reasonably
should know that such person has or is seeking to obtain contractual or other
business or financial relationships with the public servant's agency; conducts
operations or activities which are regulated by the public employee's agency;
or has substantial economic interests which may be substantially affected by
the performance or nonperformance of the public employee's official duty.
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Allow withdrawal of the advisory opinion request.
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| Assigned Attorney: |
Kathryn Calmes |
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