Louisiana § RS 17:2505 - Powers, duties and functions

§ RS 17:2505. Powers, duties and functions

To accomplish the purposes of this Chapter and for the general welfare of education in Louisiana, the Authority shall have the following powers, duties and functions:

1.  Subject to the provisions of Subparagraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this subsection, the Authority shall have full responsibility and control over the preparation, content, coordination and programming of all programs.

(a)  The State Department of Education shall have the sole responsibility for and control over the preparation, content and programming of all instructional television programs used to supplement elementary and secondary education curricula in the schools of the state and shall have priority as to scheduling of television programs during school hours.

(b)  The State Department of Hospitals shall have the sole responsibility for and control over the preparation, coordination and programming of all medical instructional television programs.

(c)  The State Board of Education and the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University, respectively, shall have the sole responsibility for and control over the coordination and programming of all instructional television programs used for granting college credits.

2.  To designate the location of stations so as to utilize any presently unused channels and frequencies reserved by the Federal Communications Commission to Louisiana for noncommercial educational and public use.

3.  To make rules and regulations to govern the operation of all stations licensed to the Authority and the programs televised and broadcast over such stations.

4.  To own and operate television and radio stations utilizing noncommercial educational and public channels and to contract with nonprofit corporations, educational institutions and other governmental agencies for the operation of such stations.

5.  To appoint a program director and an advisory board in each of the congressional districts of the state in which there is located an educational television station licensed to the Authority.  The advisory board shall consist of not less than nine nor more than fifteen members.  The member of the Authority for each congressional district shall serve as chairman of that district's advisory board, except that there shall be but one program director, one advisory board and one chairman for the fifth and eighth congressional districts.

6.  To control programming for the entire state network and to preempt programming for all stations licensed to the Authority.  The Authority shall provide in its rules for local option time for each station licensed to the Authority.  Control of local programming during such local option time shall be vested in the advisory board for each station.

7.  To request and to receive such state funds for public broadcasting construction and operation as may be appropriated or allocated to it, and to solicit and receive contributions, matching funds, gifts, bequests and devices from any source, including federal, state or local, public or private.

8.  To enter into agreements with federal, state or local, public or private agencies, departments, institutions, firms, corporations, or persons for the production, transmission, sale, lease or purchase of public television and radio programs, and to lease antenna space on television and radio towers which are owned by or leased to the Authority.

9.  To appoint advisory committees of any nature.

10.  To initiate or receive for review and approval all applications for educational television and radio licenses submitted to the Federal Communications Commission for or on behalf of any public school system, junior college, institution of higher learning, or private educational institution.

11.  To prescribe official state approved standards for appropriate television equipment which may be purchased by any public school, junior college, institution of higher learning, or municipal educational organization in order to insure a standard of quality and technical compatibility throughout the state.

12.  To provide consultative services in all aspects of public television and radio to any agency, public or private, within the state.

13.  To serve as a clearing house for information on television and radio for educational purposes.

14.  The authority shall establish standards and specifications for the television equipment purchased or leased for use in any statewide television system by any public school boards, public schools, junior colleges, institutions of higher learning, and other public agencies, who shall all comply with said standards when purchasing or leasing television equipment for use in a statewide television system.

Added by Acts 1971, No. 13, §2.  Amended by Acts 1972, No. 758, §1.