CHAPTER 13.  COUNCIL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF FRENCH

IN LOUISIANA

§651.  Creation; domicile; purposes

A.(1)  The Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, hereinafter referred to as the "council", is hereby created within the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism to preserve, promote, and develop Louisiana's French and Creole culture, heritage, and language.

(2)  The official working language of the council and its employees shall be French.

B.  The council shall be domiciled in Lafayette, Louisiana.

C.  The purposes of the council shall include the following:

(1)   To oversee the development and expansion of the state's economic development and tourism activities designed to promote our French culture, heritage, and language.

(2)  To promote, develop, and oversee cultural and educational relations and exchanges within the state and between the state of Louisiana and other countries, provinces, and states that share Louisiana's historical French heritage, culture, and language.

(3)  To promote, support, and enhance French language immersion educational programs and instruction at all levels of elementary and secondary education in the state by working cooperatively and collaboratively with the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the state Department of Education.

(4)   To develop a model French immersion program which can be used by any school seeking to establish a French immersion program within its curriculum.

(5)  To increase the number of French immersion schools in the state, with the specific goal of establishing, not later than September 1, 2015, at least one French immersion school in East Baton Rouge Parish and in each of the following parishes which comprise the Acadiana Region:

(a)  Acadia

(b)  Ascension

(c)  Assumption

(d)  Avoyelles

(e)  Calcasieu

(f)  Cameron

(g)  Evangeline

(h)  Iberia

(i)  Iberville

(j)  Jefferson Davis

(k)  Lafayette

(l)  Lafourche

(m)  Pointe Coupee

(n)  St. Charles

(o)  St. James

(p)  St. Landry

(q)  St. Martin

(r)  St. Mary

(s)  St. John the Baptist

(t)  Terrebonne

(u)  Vermilion

(v)  West Baton Rouge

(6)  To develop a certification system whereby vendors, festivals, and restaurants may be designated "Francophone Friendly" and design and issue a marquee that may be displayed by each certified entity.

(7)  To provide and approve Louisiana French terms for the supplement to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) to be placed on bilingual and symbol-based signs to be installed by the Department of Transportation and Development on state and federal highways pursuant to the uniform highway marking system, R.S. 32:235 et seq.

D.  To reflect the council's educational, social, economic development, and diplomatic missions as provided in this Chapter, the council shall also be authorized to identify itself as "Office of Francophone Affairs" in English or "Agence des Affaires Francophones" in French.

Acts 1968, No. 409, §1.  Amended by Acts 1968, Ex. Sess., No. 22, §1; Acts 2010, No. 679, §1; Acts 2012, No. 202, §1; Acts 2014, No. 263, §1.