Louisiana news briefs

Student data privacy bill signed by governor
BATON ROUGE (AP) — Gov. Bobby Jindal has signed a bill requiring that public school students get new student identification numbers and adding new privacy protections for student data.
Parents had pressed for the protections in the recently-ended legislative session, in a bill sponsored by Republican Rep. John Schroder. Lawmakers agreed without opposition.
The bill puts limits on how Louisiana handles the data and requires a shift away from using social security numbers to identify students.
Jindal’s office announced Tuesday the governor signed the bill.
The education department must complete the student identification system by May 1. Local school boards must assign each student a number by June 1.
The state education board agreed last week to spend up to $1 million on the effort.

Debt recovery office able to seize casino winnings
BATON ROUGE (AP) — A state debt collection office created by lawmakers last year now has the authority to seize casino and lottery winnings to pay off delinquent debts people owe to state agencies.
But first the state Office of Debt Recovery and the casinos have to devise a computer database to check the names of gambling winners against the list of people who haven’t paid their debts.
The bill allowing the seizure was sponsored by Republican Rep. Chris Broadwater, of Hammond, who pushed for the creation of the Office of Debt Recovery last year. Gov. Bobby Jindal’s office announced Tuesday that the governor has signed the measure into law.
The first draw on any seized gambling winnings will be to pay back-owed child support.

Ex-prison guard pleads guilty to beating inmate
BATON ROUGE (AP) — A third former guard at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola has pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the beating of a handcuffed inmate.
Mark Sharp, of Amite, pleaded guilty to violating an inmate’s civil rights and lying to the FBI.
Sharp, a former captain at the prison, joined a search for an inmate who had escaped Jan. 24, 2010. After the inmate was captured, Sharp and two other guards got in the back of the truck with him.
Federal authorities say Sharp admitted striking the inmate with a baton and seeing one of the other officers kick the inmate in the head and shoulder. The 33-year-old faces up to 15 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
He and the other ex-officers await sentencing.

3rd state auditor pleads guilty in fraud case
BATON ROUGE (AP) — A former managing auditor for the state Department of Children and Family Services told a federal judge that he used his state credit card to rent hotel suites in New Orleans and also was reimbursed more than $27,000 for official travel that never occurred.
Corey S. Polk, 33, is the third ex-DCFS auditor to plead guilty to federal program fraud since late May.
Former auditing director 34-year-old Delrice Augustus pleaded guilty May 28 to theft from a federally funded entity, and 38-year-old Kaneasha Goston, who reported to Augustus, pleaded guilty last week to the same charge.
Polk, Augustus and Goston, all of Baton Rouge, are awaiting sentencing.

Nicholls State accreditation warning lifted
THIBODAUX (AP) — Nicholls State University says its accreditation warning has been lifted.
The school made the announcement Tuesday.
The warning was issued in June 2013 by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission and concerned the institution’s number of faculty and education success.
The university is now gearing up for the next phase of its ongoing accreditation process.
Dr. Bruce Murphy, Nicholls president, said the warning was lifted after the university provided additional documentation regarding student learning outcomes and demonstrating sufficient faculty oversight of programs.
Accreditation is essential to students for access to various forms of financial aid, transfer of credit to other institutions of higher education and recognition of their degrees. For faculty, accreditation is necessary to access most research funding.