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STATE OF LOUISIANA <br /> DEPARTMENT OF STATE CIVIL SERVICE <br /> 4��• i. <br /> ' LOUISIANA BOARD OF ETHICS <br /> P.O. BOX 4368 <br /> * • Sj <br /> * BATON ROUGE, LA 70821 <br /> corovi (225)219-5600 <br /> FAX (225)381-7271 <br /> 1-800-842-6630 <br /> wwwethics.la.gov <br /> December 30, 2019 <br /> Ms. Emmy O'Dwyer <br /> VIA email: Emmy.odwyer@la.gov <br /> RE: Docket No. 2019-1217 <br /> Dear Ms. O'Dwyer: <br /> The Louisiana Board of Ethics, at its December 20, 2019 meeting, considered your request for an <br /> advisory opinion as to whether the Code of Governmental Ethics would prohibit you from serving <br /> as a Board Member of Abeona House Child Discovery Center while you are employed with the <br /> Louisiana Department of Education as an Educational Program Consultant 4 through the Office of <br /> Policy and Analytics on the Early Childhood Strategy Team. <br /> FACTS PROVIDED <br /> You stated that you have been employed as an Educational Program Consultant 4 through the Office <br /> of Policy and Analytics on the Early Childhood Strategy Team in the Louisiana Department of <br /> Education ("DOE") since November 2017. You stated that prior to your employment with DOE, <br /> you were employed as the Executive Director of Abeona House Child Discovery Center("Abeona <br /> House"), an early learning center in New Orleans. You stated that your duties with DOE include <br /> working with early learning centers to strengthen their business, administrative, and instructional <br /> practices. You stated that you do not directly inspect or evaluate any centers,but rather,develop and <br /> implement initiatives to help them improve. You stated that the initiatives promote professional <br /> development and enhanced business practices. You stated that you have been approached to join the <br /> Board of Abeona House. You stated that as a board member you would not be compensated and <br /> your focus would be on fund raising,expansion and long-term planning of the early learning center. <br /> You stated that while Abeona House is licensed by the State of Louisiana through DOE,the Office <br /> of Policy and Analytics in which you are employed does not license or regulate early learning <br /> centers. <br /> LAW <br /> La.R.S.42:1111C(1)(a)prohibits a public servant from receiving any thing of economic value for <br /> any service, the subject matter of which is devoted substantially to the responsibilities, programs, <br /> or operations of the agency of the public servant and in which the public servant has participated. <br /> La. R.S. 42:1112B(3) prohibits a public servant from participating in a transaction involving the <br /> governmental entity in which,to his actual knowledge,any person of which he is an officer,director, <br /> trustee, partner, or employee has a substantial economic interest. <br /> CONCLUSION <br /> The Board concluded and instructed me to inform you, the Code of Governmental Ethics (Ethics <br /> Code)would not prohibit you from serving as a Board Member of Abeona House while employed <br /> AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER <br />