Louisiana School Discipline Laws & Regulations: Alternative placements

Louisiana School Discipline Laws & Regulations: Alternative placements

Category: Exclusionary Discipline: Suspension, Expulsion, and Alternative Placement
Subcategory: Alternative placements
State: Louisiana

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Louisiana

LAWS

§17:7. Duties, functions, and responsibilities of board.

In addition to the authorities granted by R.S. 17:6 and any powers, duties, and responsibilities vested by any other applicable laws, the board shall:

Defense that is located on a federal military installation.

(32) Report in writing to the House Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education by not later than September 15, 2010, relative to the standards and criteria used by the board to approve alternative schools and alternative education programs for students in public elementary and secondary schools who are suspended for more than ten days or who are expelled from school for violations of school discipline law or policy and who remain under the supervision of the city, parish, or other local public school taking the action. The report shall specify in detail all minimum standards and criteria that must be met in order for the board to approve the alternative school or program and note standards and criteria that are subject to waiver by the board in making approval determinations.

§17:7.5. Alternative educational programs of instruction; submission of plans; board approval; program monitoring.

A. The Department of Education, in collaboration with other appropriate state agencies, shall establish guidelines, with the approval of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, for alternative educational programs of instruction for at-risk public middle and high school students in grades six through twelve. The Department of Education shall provide for the definition of said at-risk students with the approval of the board.

B. Each city and parish school system shall submit plans for such alternative educational programs for instruction to the board for approval, based on approved guidelines pursuant to Subsection A, at any time during the 1992-1993 school year. Plans submitted by each city and parish school system shall include a written program regarding alternate schools and programs for the prevention of school dropouts. Prior to the 1993-1994 school year, the board shall approve standards for said alternative educational programs of instruction for each city and parish school system in this state.

C. Alternative educational programs provided for in this Section may include provisions allowing students to advance through the board approved curriculum or pursue a course of instruction relative to the General Educational Development Testing Program (GED), when applicable and approved by the board.

D. Programs shall be monitored by the Department of Education through an interagency monitoring process as established by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. The board shall report annually on the effectiveness of such programs to the governor and to the House and Senate Committees on Education.

§17:100.1. Alternative educational programs; certain adjudicated students; students in the custody of the office of juvenile justice; funding; authority of the local school board to contract; inclusion in minimum foundation program; funding formula.

A. (1) Any child who has been adjudicated delinquent or as a member of a family in need of services by a court or who is in the custody of the office of juvenile justice as a result of any such adjudication and is assigned by the office of juvenile justice to a community-based program or facility shall be counted by the city, parish, or other local public school board for the city or parish where such program or facility exists for purposes of the minimum foundation program and any other available state or federal funding for which the child is eligible. No other city, parish, or other local public school board shall include such a child in any count for purposes of the minimum foundation program or any other available state or federal funding for which the child may be eligible. Funds inuring to the city, parish, or other local public school board as a result of the presence of such children in its jurisdiction shall be used to provide educational services for such children.

(2) Subject to the requirements of Subsection B of this Section, any city, parish, or other local public school board may contract for the provision of educational services for children described in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection.

B. Private providers of alternative educational services shall be approved by the city, parish, or other local public school board and the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education as alternative schools pursuant to standards established by the state board before a contract as authorized by this Section may be entered into by the city, parish, or other local public school board.

C. (1) An alternative school located in a secure care facility under the jurisdiction of the office of juvenile justice shall be considered a public elementary or secondary school and, as such, shall be included by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education in the formula required by Article VIII, Section 13 of the Constitution of Louisiana used to determine the cost of a minimum foundation program of education in all public elementary and secondary schools.

(2) Each student in such an alternative school shall be provided for and funded at one hundred percent of the state share per pupil amount as provided in the approved minimum foundation program formula for the city, parish, or other local public school system in which such student would otherwise have been enrolled, as contained in the budget letter approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the board shall allocate such funds to the office of juvenile justice.

(3) In addition to the allocation of the state share per pupil amount provided for in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, the city, parish, or other local public school system in which the student would have otherwise been enrolled shall allocate and transfer to the office of juvenile justice an amount of money equal to the local share per pupil amount allocated by such system times the number of students enrolled in alternative schools located in secure care facilities under the jurisdiction of the office of juvenile justice who would have otherwise been enrolled in such local school system. The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education shall provide for the transfer of the local share per pupil amount from the appropriate city, parish, or other local public school system to the office of juvenile justice.

(4) The office of juvenile justice shall expend all minimum foundation program funds allocated to it pursuant to this Subsection to operate the alternative schools located in secure care facilities under its jurisdiction.

(5) The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, in collaboration with the office of juvenile justice, shall develop an equitable means by which to identify and determine the number of students eligible for funding each year pursuant to this Subsection.

(6) The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education shall adopt necessary rules and regulations to assure that no funds provided through the minimum foundation program or any other state or federal program as provided in this Section shall supplant any other funding provided to the office of juvenile justice for the educational services for such children.

D. It is the intent of the legislature that the expenditure of minimum foundation program funds and other state and federal funds for office of juvenile justice schools be subject to the same oversight and accountability as the expenditure of such funds for city, parish, and other local public school boards.

§17:100.5. Alternative schools; establishment by local boards.

A. Parish and city school boards, with the approval of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, may establish and maintain one or more alternative schools for children whose behavior is disruptive. Any alternative school shall be maintained and funded at the same level of support as other schools for children in the school district.

B. The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education shall develop, adopt, and implement guidelines for alternative schools which, at a minimum, shall provide for the following:

(1) Identifying the needs of students.

(2) Using group and individualized courses of study.

(3) Providing assistance with social skills and work habits.

(4) Using alternative teaching methods.

C. (1) Teachers employed in alternative schools established pursuant to this Section shall be selected from regularly employed school teachers who volunteer.

(2) Eligibility for enrollment in alternative schools shall be determined from a list compiled by each city and parish school board of students with discipline problems whose behavior is disruptive. Students selected for enrollment in the alternative schools from the eligibility list shall be selected from volunteers, provided that there shall be no racial, sexual, or ethnic discrimination in either the compilation of the eligibility list or in the operation of the school.

D. Each city or parish school board operating an alternative school annually shall evaluate such school. The evaluation shall include testing of basic skills for student participants. The process of evaluation shall also include teacher, parent, and student input from the alternative school.

§17:221.6. Louisiana School Dropout Recovery program.

A. Each school district and charter school that provides instruction to high school students may offer a dropout recovery program for eligible students. School districts and charter schools should maximize the use of federal Title 1 funds and funds provided through the minimum foundation program formula to establish such programs. [...]

G. Dropout recovery programs shall be classified as alternative programs.

§17:224. Unadjustable or incorrigible children; reports to juvenile courts; expulsion, assignments, and transfers.

B. Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 17:416 to the contrary, any student who exhibits disruptive behavior, an incorrigible attitude, or any other discipline problems in general, may be recommended by the principal for expulsion, assignment to an appropriate alternative education program, or transfer to adult education if such student is:

(1) Seventeen years of age or older with less than five units of credit toward graduation.

(2) Eighteen years of age or older with less than ten units of credit toward graduation.

(3) Nineteen years of age or older with less than fifteen units of credit toward graduation.

§17:252. School master plans for supporting student behavior and discipline.

A. (1) The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, in collaboration with the Louisiana Juvenile Justice Planning and Coordination Board, shall formulate, develop, and recommend to the Juvenile Justice Reform Act Implementation Commission by March 1, 2004, a model master plan for improving behavior and discipline within schools.

(2) The model master plan may include but need not be limited to guidelines for accomplishing the following:

(h) Improving methods and procedures for the handling of school suspensions, the referral of students to alternative schools, and the use of seclusion and physical restraint in addressing challenging student behavior.

§17:416. Discipline of students; suspension; expulsion.

A.(1)(c)(iii) A pupil in kindergarten through grade six removed from a class pursuant to this Subparagraph shall not be permitted to return to the class for at least thirty minutes unless agreed to by the teacher initiating the disciplinary action. A pupil in grades seven through twelve removed from a class pursuant to this Subparagraph shall not be permitted to return to the class during the same class period unless agreed to by the teacher initiating the disciplinary action. Additionally, the pupil shall not be readmitted to the class until the principal has implemented one of the following disciplinary measures:

(ee) Assignment to an alternative school.

§17:416.2. Supervision of suspended or expelled students; alternative education programs.

A. (1) Any student suspended or expelled from school pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 17:416, shall remain under the supervision of the governing authority of the city, parish, or other local public school system taking such action using alternative education programs for suspended and expelled students. Alternative education programs of any local public school shall be approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education; however, no school system shall be liable for any student attending an alternative education program at a location other than a school site.

(2) A student expelled pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 17:416(B) and (C)(2) may be readmitted only to a city, parish, or other local public school in the school system from which he was expelled prior to the completion of the specified period of expulsion, in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 17:416(C)(2)(d).

(3)(a) Any student placed in an alternative school or an alternative education program, including but not limited to any student receiving education services pursuant to an agreement subject to Paragraph (D)(2) of this Section, shall attend and participate in such school, program, or education services.

(b) The parent, tutor, or legal guardian of any such student shall ensure attendance as required by this Paragraph and any violation of this Subparagraph shall be subject to the provisions of R.S. 17:221(A)(2) and (3).

(c) Visiting teachers or supervisors of child welfare and attendance, with the approval of the superintendent of the local public school system, shall file proceedings in court to enforce the provisions of this Paragraph.

C. For purposes of this Section, alternative education programs may mean programs designed to offer variations of traditional instructional programs and strategies for the purpose of increasing the likelihood that students who are unmotivated or unsuccessful in traditional programs or who are disruptive in the traditional school environment remain in school and obtain a high school diploma. Alternative programs may include but not be limited to programs that hold students to strict standards of behavior in highly structured and controlled environments, sometimes referred to as "boot camps", "police schools", or "court schools". [...]

(4) Nothing in this Section shall prevent any nonprofit organization that provides alternative education services to a school governing authority from applying to operate a charter school pursuant to R.S. 17:3983.

(5) The governing authority of a Type 5 charter school shall receive approval from the superintendent of the Recovery School District before entering into an agreement with an educational service provider for alternative education services pursuant to the provisions of this Section, and any such agreement shall not be subject to the provisions of Subparagraph (3)(a) of this Subsection.

(6) Any agreement in effect on the effective date of this Paragraph and any prospective agreement between the Recovery School District and an educational service provider for alternative education shall not be subject to Subparagraph (3)(a) of this Subsection, but shall be approved by the state superintendent of education.

REGULATIONS

LAC 28:XI.3501. Alternative education [Formerly LAC 28:LXXXIII.3501].

A. Districts must provide an alternative education placement for students who are expelled or who have been suspended for more than 10 consecutive schools days. Districts must either operate an alternative education program or school (direct-run or charter), or enter into an agreement with an education service provider to run a program or school.

B. Alternative education schools and programs must be approved by BESE. Classifications must be submitted annually to the LDE no later than March 15 and cannot be changed until the following year.

C. Alternative education school and program accountability:

1. addresses student behavior, dropout prevention, dropout recovery, and/or credit recovery through alternative educational placements;

2. serve students self-selecting due to extenuating personal circumstances; and

3. does not exist only for students who are academically advanced, gifted, talented, or pursuing specific areas of study (arts, engineering, medical, technical, etc.).

LAC 28:XI.3505. Alternative education program accountability [Fomerly LAC 28:LXXXIII 3505].

A. Alternative education programs are approved by BESE for the current school year.

B. Scores for students attending alternative education programs will be included at the sending school at which the student is enrolled.

1. For the purposes of this Chapter, a sending school is the last school a student attended. If the student's current grade level is not included in the configuration of the last school they attended, the LEA must enroll the student at school that includes the student's grade using a feeding pattern or attendance zone when possible.

LAC 28:XI.8509. Expelled students.

A. If a student is expelled from school and is not enrolled in any type of alternative program or receiving any services from the school district, the parent/legal guardian may make a timely request that the student be tested and the school district shall make arrangements to test the student.

LAC 28:XXXIX.505. Other Placement Requirements.

B. Alternative Schools/Programs

1. The local school board may establish alternative schools/programs/settings which shall respond to particular educational need(s) of its students.

LAC 28:CXV.1301. Disciplinary regulations.

G. Students who are removed from the classroom for disruptive, dangerous, or unruly behavior or who are suspended for 10 days or less shall be assigned school work missed and shall receive either full or partial credit for such work if it is completed satisfactorily and timely as determined by the principal or designee, upon the recommendation of the student's teacher. A student who is suspended for more than 10 days or is expelled and receives educational services in an alternative school site, shall be assigned school work by a certified teacher and shall receive credit for school work if it is completed satisfactorily and timely as determined by the teacher. Such work shall be aligned with the curriculum used at the school from which the student was suspended or expelled.

LAC 28:CXV.1303. Bullying.

F. Investigation Procedure. When a report of the bullying of a student by another student is received, the school shall conduct an investigation using the following procedure.

8. Parental Relief. If four or more reports of separate incidents of bullying have been made, and no investigation has occurred, the parent or legal guardian of the alleged victim shall have the option to request that the student be transferred to another school operated by the LEA.

a. In order to exercise this option, the parent or legal guardian shall file a request with the superintendent of the LEA for the transfer of the student to another school under the LEA's jurisdiction.

b. The LEA shall make a seat available at another of its schools within 10 school days of receipt of the request for a transfer. If the LEA has no other school serving the grade level of the student, then within 15 school days of receipt of the request, the superintendent of the LEA shall:

i. inform the student and the student's parents or legal guardians and facilitate the student's enrollment in a statewide virtual school;

ii. offer the student placement in a full-time virtual program or virtual school under the jurisdiction of the LEA;

iii. enter into a memorandum of understanding with the superintendent of another LEA to secure a placement and provide for the transfer of the student to a school serving the grade level of the student, pursuant to R.S. 17:105 and 105.1.

c. If no seat or other placement is made available within 30 calendar days of the receipt of the request by the superintendent, the parent or legal guardian may request a hearing with the school board, which shall be public or private at the option of the parent or legal guardian. The school board shall grant the hearing at its next scheduled meeting or within 60 calendar days, whichever is sooner.

d. At the end of any school year, the parent or legal guardian may request that the LEA transfer the student back to the original school. The LEA shall make a seat available at the school.

LAC 28:CXV.2911. Alternative Education Providers.

A. A school governing authority may enter into an agreement with an education service provider to provide an alternative education placement for students.

B. Required Interventions

1. The program or school run by the educational service provider must provide academic, behavioral, and mental health interventions including, but not limited to, those listed in R.S. 17:416.2(D)(3)(b) for any student who meets any of the following criteria:

a. has been adjudicated delinquent by a court having juvenile jurisdiction as defined in Article 302 of the Louisiana Children's Code;

b. has been adjudicated by a court as a member of a family in need of services and is assigned by the office of juvenile justice to a community-based program or facility;

c. is in the custody of the office of juvenile justice as a result of an adjudication and is assigned by the office of juvenile justice to a community-based program or facility; or

d. is a student who has been suspended or expelled pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 17:416(B) or (C)(2).

2. Such services shall be provided to the school governing authority at the actual costs incurred by the provider, not to exceed for each student the pro rata share of the combined state and local per pupil amount of the minimum foundation program for such governing authority.

LAC 28:CXLIX.101. Mission and Purpose.

A. Exemplary alternative education develops a guiding mission and purpose that drives the overall operation of the alternative education site. All stakeholders share in developing, implementing, directing and maintaining the mission and purpose. The mission and purpose include the identification of the target student population, reasons that a student is transitioned to the alternative site, and identified outcomes for students to achieve while at the alternative education site. Each alternative school or program will be organized and staffed to support the identified mission and ensure successful student outcomes.

B. Any student suspended or expelled from school for more than 10 school days will remain under the supervision of the governing authority of the city, parish, or other local public school system taking such action using alternative education programs for suspended and expelled students.

C. Each alternative school or program will develop and maintain a written statement of the mission and the major purposes to be served by the school or program. The statement will reflect the individual vision of the school or program and the characteristics and needs of the students served.

D. The educational school or program will be designed to implement the stated goals and objectives, which are directly related to the unique educational requirements of the student body.

E. The provisions of this Part (Bulletin 131) will not be construed to conflict with any federal or state laws, rules, and regulations affecting special education students as defined in R.S. 17:1943 et seq.

LAC 28:CXLIX.301. Transition Processes [Formerly § 1301].

A. The school system will ensure that students are transitioned to an alternative education site using a formalized intake process that addresses both behavioral and academic needs. The transition process will include a review of academic and behavioral records including, but not limited to, individual academic improvement plans, individual graduation plans, or individualized education plans (IEP), as applicable, in order to ensure that appropriate academic supports and opportunities remain available to the student.

1. Each school system with an alternative education site will develop a consistent transition process that includes a checklist of all records produced by a referring school and a fixed timeframe specifying when information will be forwarded to the alternative education school or program.

2. The transition process will:

a. address appropriate behavior interventions and specific goals for behavioral progress;

b. define specific goals for academic progress, including Carnegie credits for grades 9-12;

c. outline a timeframe for updating IEPs for students with disabilities and individual accommodation/section 504 plans (IAP); and

d. provide a plan for students returning to the sending school including, but not limited to, bridge supports such as mentoring or counseling, to assist students in readjusting to a traditional school setting.

LAC 28:CXLIX.501. Safety and Counseling.

A. School systems operating an alternative school or program must address the root cause of the behavioral misconduct while a student is educated at the alternative education school or program site, utilizing evidence based interventions and strategies.

1. An approved alternative education site must:

a. provide clear expectations for learning and student conduct using a multi-tier system of support (MTSS) framework that includes use of any evidence-based behavioral intervention including, but not limited to:

i. positive behavior interventions and supports;

ii. restorative practices; or

iii. trauma-informed response; and

b. detail, through the authorization process and an annual report, the full list of evidence-based interventions used to address student behavior. Each intervention or strategy will be aligned to one of the three tiers within an MTSS.

B. In addition to the required behavioral interventions and supports, alternative sites must prioritize the following:

1. adopt and implement a social-emotional learning curriculum for use that aligns to the selected behavioral intervention and overall behavioral approach selected by the site;

2. maintain a list of identified student growth measures, such as evaluation plans, assessments, and learning outcomes, that measure student behavioral improvement resulting from evidence-based behavioral intervention; and

3. identify annually a set of implementation fidelity measures used to evaluate the efficacy of the selected behavioral intervention and assess interventions needing improvement.

LAC 28:CXLIX.701. Annual Professional Development Plan.

A. Alternative education sites will create an annual professional development plan that will:

1. identify staff training needs;

2. match needs to relevant training;

3. emphasize quality implementation of evidence-based and best practices; and

4. establish performance evaluations aimed at improving program and student outcomes and overall school or program quality.

B. Alternative sites must identify and provide annual staff professional development trainings and tools to that support the target student population as identified in the alternative education site application which includes, but is not limited to:

1. behavioral interventions;

2. classroom management;

3. trauma-informed response;

4. adverse childhood experiences (ACEs); and

5. implementation strategies for selected behavioral interventions.

LAC 28:CXLIX.901. Curriculum and Instruction.

A. School systems operating alternative education sites must address the root cause of academic challenges while a student is educated at the alternative education school or program, utilizing evidence-based academic interventions and strategies.

1. Alternative education sites must:

a. utilize standards-aligned curriculum comparable to curriculum utilized at the sending school in the school system;

b. provide targeted instructional methods to aid student progress and academic achievement;

c. monitor student academic progress on a regular and frequent basis, including a review of academic work completed, noting any improvements from the time since the student was transferred to the site; and

d. meet targeted credit accumulation goals identified in LAC 28:XI.Chapter 35 (Bulletin 111), for students enrolled at the alternative education site for at least one semester. For high school students, the goals must include specific Carnegie credit goals.

LAC 28:CXLIX.1101. Climate and culture.

A. Alternative education sites must have a plan to address and continually evaluate school climate and culture to ensure academic and behavioral improvement.

1. Alternative schools should utilize an annual climate survey. The survey should seek to assess student, staff and administrative attitudes and perception of the environment and overall culture of the site.

2. Results of the annual climate survey, if administered, should be shared with teachers, staff, administration, parents and students no later than May 15 each academic year.

LAC 28:CXLIX.1501. Counseling and Community Partnerships [Formerly § 1701].

A. Alternative education sites must provide students with academic, behavioral, and social-emotional counseling designed to promote student academic progress and to address the underlying causes of student behavioral misconduct.

B. Counseling provided by the site or per R.S. 17:416.2 may include student access to mental health supports and interventions via a community partnership that includes evidence-based cognitive interventions to support improved student behavior, address childhood trauma, and enhance social skills to increase the likelihood of the student success.