A. A public school may be transferred to the
jurisdiction of the RSD if it is determined, as defined by
R.S.
17:10.6, to be either academically
unacceptable or if it is determined to be academically in crisis. BESE has
established a uniform statewide program for school accountability in BESE
Bulletin 111-The Louisiana School District and State Accountability
System.
1. Academically
Unacceptable. A public school determined to be academically unacceptable shall
be designated as a failed school and may be transferred to the RSD subject to
approval by BESE. The state superintendent will make a recommendation to BESE
regarding the transfer of an academically unacceptable school to the RSD.
a. BESE may approve the transfer of an
academically unacceptable school if the failed school meets one or more of the
following criteria:
i. the LEA fails to
submit a reconstitution plan to BESE for approval; or
ii. BESE finds the LEA's reconstitution plan
unacceptable; or
iii. the LEA fails
to comply with the reconstitution plan approved by BESE; or
iv. the school is labeled an academically
unacceptable school for four consecutive years.
b. When the state superintendent makes a
recommendation to BESE to transfer an academically unacceptable school to the
jurisdiction of the RSD, he will propose performance objectives for the failed
school designed to bring the failed school to an acceptable level of
performance such that the school earns the ability to transfer out of the RSD
according to Bulletin 111-The Louisiana School District and State
Accountability System. (LAC 28:LXXXIII.2403. Transfer of Schools out
of the Recovery School District).
c. The state superintendent, in conjunction
with the RSD, shall evaluate any public school deemed to be academically
unacceptable to determine the best method to bring the school to an acceptable
level of performance as determined by the statewide accountability plan. The
state superintendent shall recommend to BESE any of the following methods for
operating a school that has been deemed eligible for transfer to the RSD:
i. the failed school may be operated:
(a). as a direct-run RSD school;
(b). as a charter school,
(c). as a university partnership;
or
(d). through a management
agreement with a management education management organization;
ii. the RSD may enter into a
supervisory memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the LEA under the provisions
enumerated in Section 503, "Conditional Transfer Using a Supervisory Memorandum
of Understanding," below.
d. BESE shall make the final decision for the
transfer of an academically unacceptable public school to the RSD and shall
make the final decision on the appropriate method of operating the school as
enumerated in Section A.1.c, above.
2. Academically in Crisis. A local school
system in which more than 30 schools are academically unacceptable or more than
50 percent of its students attend schools that are academically unacceptable is
academically in crisis. Pursuant to
R.S.
17:10.7, a public school participating in a
Spring cycle of student testing that had a baseline School Performance Score
(SPS) below the state average as defined in BESE
Bulletin 111-The
School, District, and State Accountability System,
§301, was within an
LEA labeled
academically in crisis as defined in
R.S.
17:10.6; and was within an LEA with at least
one school eligible for transfer to the RSD under
R.S.
17:10.5, was designated as a failing school
and was transferred to the RSD by operation of law.
a. The state superintendent, in conjunction
with the RSD, evaluated the schools transferred to the RSD pursuant to
R.S.
17:10.7 to determine the best method of
operation to bring the school to an acceptable level of performance. The state
superintendent shall recommend to BESE a method of operating the schools
transferred to the RSD. BESE shall make the final decision on the operation
method of any school transferred to the RSD by operation of law.
b. Acceptable methods of operation for the
failed schools include operating as:
i. a
direct-run RSD school;
ii. a
charter-operated school;
iii. a
university partnership school; or
iv. an education management
organization.