A decade of court oversight of special education services in New Orleans public schools, the result of a legal settlement, will most likely cease by the end of the year, the judge presiding over the legal settlement said Wednesday (Nov. 12).  

The decision, if it comes to pass, would come at the request of the Louisiana Department of Education and the Orleans Parish School Board, which have been subjected to intensive monitoring under a . The agreement settled a 2010 class-action lawsuit that alleged the city鈥檚 charter schools discriminated against special education students in their application processes and did not provide them appropriate educational services, as federal law requires. 

The case was brought by the Southern Poverty Law Center on behalf of parents and guardians of special-needs students in New Orleans schools. Though problems with special education continue to be identified at some New Orleans charter schools, the consent decree was intended to address systemic issues 鈥� whether the state and district are catching those issues and implementing plans to correct them 鈥� not individual students鈥� experiences, said U.S. District Judge Jay Zainey. 

For the past eight years, an independent monitor assigned by the court has found the defendants 鈥� the Department of Education and OPSB 鈥� in substantial compliance with all provisions outlined in consent decree. Citing those findings, the state and school board earlier this year an end to the agreement. 

The plaintiffs , arguing that the state and NOLA Public Schools district have not created sufficient monitoring, oversight or complaint systems. Their opposition hinges on a 2024 from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor that found faults in the state鈥檚 monitoring of special education programs 鈥� most districts self-reported their compliance with federal rules dictating education plans, without on-site monitoring. (However, some of those problems resulted from the fact that much of the state鈥檚 monitoring capacity has been directed toward New Orleans schools, possibly as a result of the consent decree, .) The audit also noted that the agency reduced the number of workers dedicated to special education between 2012 and 2019. 

Lauren Winkler, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said her team has asked the district to make it easier for parents to bring issues about schools forward to the central office through creating an open complaint system on their website. That was never implemented. 

鈥淸There are] really simple solutions that are not super costly,鈥� Winkler said. 鈥淲e tried to meet with them to agree to some and they just wouldn鈥檛.鈥�

Winkler said noncompliance still exists in the schools. More than people contacted the SPLC about their negative experiences with New Orleans schools鈥� special education programs ahead of this week鈥檚 hearing. 

鈥淚f we didn鈥檛 have any parents coming forward with issues, we鈥檇 maybe have a different position,鈥� Winkler said. 鈥淲ith the breadth of issues in the amount of people that came to us, as we鈥檝e been preparing for this, I think that’s indicative of the systemic issues that are still here.鈥� 

But in a , Zainey wrote that the court anticipates ending federal oversight by the end of the year. 

鈥淭he consent judgement was a temporary measure and was never meant to be a permanent fixture of the school system,鈥� Zainey said in court. 鈥淭hings have been much improved from how they used to be in Orleans Parish.鈥� 

Zainey invited parents to share their experiences with the court and representatives from the LDOE and Orleans Parish School Board during informal hearings on Nov. 12 and 13. Most parents asked the court to continue the federal monitoring of New Orleans schools, but it’s unclear whether their statements will change Zainey鈥檚 plans. Zainey encouraged the state鈥檚 ombudsman, who connects families with resources and informs them of their rights in relation to special education, to connect with parents following their statements. 

But most of the parents speaking at the informal hearing were those who had already tried, and were still trying, to seek recourse through communication with district or state officials. 

Grace Thompson spoke in front of the judge Wednesday morning about her son鈥檚 experience at Audubon Gentilly. According to Thompson, her son was supposed to receive speech therapy and a one-on-one aide to help in class, but never received them. Thompson said she鈥檚 tried to seek help through the district鈥檚 accountability office, which, she said, has offered little guidance and has been 鈥渟low鈥� and 鈥渋nconsistent鈥� in its communications. 

鈥淚鈥檝e literally been calling them for the last year and a half,鈥� Thompson told the judge. 鈥淭hey know who I am.鈥�

Steve Corbett, CEO of Audubon Schools, said Audubon Gentilly has provided students with all necessary services and has been found fully compliant with federal special education law. The most recent state special education found 鈥渘o unresolved areas of noncompliance鈥� at the school. 

Other parents also spoke of slow communication with the district and the schools their children attend. They said their children weren鈥檛 receiving the services outlined in their individualized education plans, that their learning has regressed, that schools were slow in performing evaluations and reevaluations, and that oversight was only afforded to children with parents that could be there to actively fight for them.

District Superintendent Fateama Fulmore and state representatives were present at the hearing. In response to hearing parent concerns, Fulmore said she appreciated the opportunity to hear from them directly and that her team will follow up. 

鈥淲e have an obligation to every child in this system to get this right,鈥� Fulmore said. 鈥淲e are doing better.鈥�

Lyric Lee, a former student at Morris Jeff Community School who had an IEP and graduated last year, said she learned at a young age how to advocate for herself, her brother and other students who have special needs. She said the consent decree should continue. 

鈥淚鈥檝e learned when people are not kept on a watch, they feel like they don鈥檛 have to do it, and they鈥檒l do everything possible to make sure they don鈥檛 have to,鈥� Lee said. 

This first appeared on and is republished here under a .

The Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) failed to investigate a significant number of formal complaints against schools not following federal laws to protect students with disabilities during the 2021-2022 school year, according to a from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor.

Auditors found state education officials investigated and resolved 61 complaints during the 2021-2022 school year but failed to properly address 42 others it received through its dispute resolution email. The department responded to nine of the emails but ignored 13 and couldn鈥檛 provide evidence of how they responded to 20 others.

Education officials refused to address the allegations in those 42 emails because the parents didn鈥檛 provide a signature along with their allegations, according to the audit.

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Federal regulations require formal complaints to be made in writing and signed. But the state should have at least responded to the emails with an explanation of why it couldn鈥檛 review the allegations, the auditors noted.

Some of the allegations were potentially credible. The audit noted they 鈥渨ere similar to other allegations that were accepted by LDOE.鈥�

鈥淏y not adequately responding to all allegations, the LDOE may cause parents to lose faith in the complaint process and fail to submit additional complaints in the future,鈥� the audit said.

There are more than 89,000 students with disabilities receiving special education services out of 685,606 total K-12 students in Louisiana public schools. Of the 61 complaints investigated, the Department of Education substantiated only seven with findings against the school system. It dismissed 17 complaints outright, and it investigated but found no violations in 16 others. The remaining 21 complaints were withdrawn by the complainants.

Auditors recommended the department make its complaint process more accessible and transparent. This would include receiving complaints by phone, ensuring parents are routed to appropriate resources, providing dispute resolution forms in languages other than English, and contacting the complainant during the formal complaint investigation.

Of the 17 complaints state education officials dismissed without investigating, roughly half were dismissed for insufficient or incomplete information.

The department should increase its outreach to parents and give parents the opportunity to submit missing information before simply dismissing the complaint, the audit suggested.

The Louisiana Department of Education accepts formal and informal complaints. Informal complaints can include the same allegations as formal complaints but do not need to be in writing, signed or include the parent鈥檚 contact information or specific facts that prove a school violated the law.

When a parent submits an informal complaint, the state is supposed to forward it to the particular school system and monitor the process to help both sides reach a resolution. If no agreement is reached, the parent has additional options such as mediation or the formal complaint process.

If noncompliance is found following a formal complaint, the education department should try to find out if similarly situated students might be affected across a school system, according to the audit. To do this, the department should review other formal and informal complaints in an effort to identify any patterns of noncompliance, but 鈥淟DOE does not sufficiently track enough complaint information to be used to identify trends of noncompliance.鈥�

In a written response to the audit, Meredith Jordan, executive director of LDOE鈥檚 Diverse Learners, said the department agreed with all of the audit鈥檚 findings and has begun to implement improvements. The agency has created the state鈥檚 first special education ombudsman position and created an additional complaint investigator position, she added.

鈥淭his will give parents greater access to someone to help them navigate their concerns and also more effectively review parent grievances,鈥� Jordan wrote.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com. Follow Louisiana Illuminator on and .

The Louisiana Department of Education will receive some 36,000 applications for teacher certifications this year, ranging from first-time educators to those who want to become principals or specialize in certain fields. But with only a few full-time employees handling those requests, the state鈥檚 top public education official said reducing a backlog will remain a challenge.

Superintendent Cade Brumley appeared Monday before the state to share details on why certifications take up to two months to approve. He told lawmakers the department鈥檚 certification staff has been reduced from 16 employees in 2011 to just eight currently.

鈥淲e鈥檙e moving pieces on the chess board all the time to accommodate, but there are only so many people to do the work,鈥� Brumley said. 

The limited manpower means each certification specialist has to review an average of 300 applications a week to keep pace with the number coming in, Deputy Superintendent Jenna Chaisson said.   

Sen. Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge, who chairs the committee, asked Brumley why the education department didn鈥檛 budget for additional personnel in the certification program. The superintendent said cuts to administration didn鈥檛 allow for new hires, although he added the department is in the process of onboarding four part-time workers for certification.

Chaisson attributed the glut of applications to a combination of factors. They include the lapse of certification renewal extensions given because of COVID-19 and new certifications in areas such as algebra, geometry, dyslexia and sign language. 

The backlog has stretched the certification approval process to about 65 days for some applications, according to Chaisson. Before the pandemic, they could be processed within 10 to 15 days.

Brumley said there are more than 7,000 certifications awaiting approval, but Chaisson said school systems are able to request priority status if they have a teacher candidate they are ready to hire.

Another delaying factor lawmakers explored was the need for two criminal background checks for prospective teachers and certificate applicants. Sen. Beth Mizell, R-Franklinton, said the legislature might want to consider changing state law to require just one.

Despite the difficulties, Brumley reported to the committee that the number of at Louisiana public schools has been cut in half over the past year 鈥� from 2,520 in 2021 to 1,203 this year. He credited the reduction to local school systems tapping into federal incentives for new hires, a pay raise the governor and legislature supported, and teachers who left classrooms during the pandemic returning to work.

The superintendent said his department intends to hire a consultant to look at how its certification program could be run more efficiently. He expects technology upgrades to be among the recommendations along with adding more personnel 鈥� the same suggestion made when a consultant conducted a similar review in 2020

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com. Follow Louisiana Illuminator on and .