BATON ROUGE, La. – Of a total of 1,119 Louisiana schools, 70 (6.3%) are Academically Unacceptable Schools (AUS) and must offer school choice to students when they open in a few weeks. An additional 7 schools must offer choice due to failing the subgroup component test, as required by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). These 77 schools are located in the following districts:

• 23 in East Baton Rouge Parish
• 12 in Caddo Parish
• 4 in Tangipahoa Parish
• 3 each in Madison Parish, Morehouse Parish, Rapides Parish and City of Monroe School District
• 2 each in Lafayette Parish, St. Helena Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Landry Parish, and City of Baker School District
• 1 each in Ascension Parish, Calcasieu Parish, DeSoto Parish, East Carroll Parish, Evangeline Parish, Franklin Parish, Iberia Parish, Natchitoches Parish, Point Coupee Parish, Richland Parish, St. James Parish, and St. Mary Parish
• 2 Marine Institutes
• 2 Board of Elementary and Secondary Education Special Schools

Schools severely impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita will not receive School Performance Scores until next year but are included this year in the subgroup analyses.  

The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) recently approved a new labeling system for Academically Unacceptable Schools. It is based on the number of years a school has received the label.

Schools labeled Academically Unacceptable enter AUS 1 and must offer choice for the academic year 2007-08. They must also revise their school improvement plans and submit them to the Louisiana Department of Education (LDE) for review. These schools are frequently eligible for additional Title I funds and a Scholastic Audit conducted by the LDE or by teams of experienced educators contracted by the Department. Louisiana has 15 schools newly identified as AUS.

Each consecutive year that a school is labeled Academically Unacceptable, it moves to a higher level of AUS (2-6+). Each higher level has additional and more stringent consequences for the school and can eventually lead to take-over by the state.

A school in AUS 2 must offer Supplemental Educational Services (SES) if it is a Title I school. The U.S. Department of Education defines Supplemental Educational Services as “tutoring or extra help provided to students in reading, language arts/English, and math from approved providers.” This “extra help” must be offered outside of regular school hours. These schools also must receive additional assistance from the school district along with additional support from the LDE.

Schools in AUS 3 continue the remedies from AUS 2. They must also write reconstitution plans with assistance from the district and add one item from a corrective actions list mandated by NCLB. The state also offers the support of a Distinguished Educator when funding is available.

Corrective Actions List Mandated by NCLB

• Replace school staff
• Implement new curriculum
• Decrease management authority
• Contract an outside expert
• Extend the school year or school day
• Restructure

Schools entering AUS 4 are eligible for the Recovery School District (RSD). Under BESE’s newly adopted policy, schools in AUS 4 will either enter the RSD or be reconstituted by the local school district. BESE will evaluate the reconstitution plans and any charter proposals and determine which approach has the best likelihood of succeeding. If the district retains control of the school, it must implement the reconstitution plan the following year unless it exits AUS. If BESE awards a Type 5 Charter, the school enters the RSD and opens the following year as a new school. Louisiana voters approved the creation of the Recovery School District in September of 2003. Only 2 schools are eligible for the RSD this year due to this AUS 4 label.

When schools are Academically Unacceptable for a 5th consecutive year, they must implement the approved reconstitution plan or enter the RSD as a new school. Five schools moved into AUS 5. Two are alternative schools.

Louisiana has no schools entering AUS 6. This level is a district’s final opportunity to improve student achievement before the school is again eligible for state takeover. Districts that are faithfully adhering to the details of the reconstitution plan receive this additional year.

Schools entering AUS 6+ become immediately eligible for takeover should BESE elect to do so. Four schools have reached AUS 6+.

Additionally, there is a new labeling system for schools that must implement remedies due to consecutive years of subgroup component failure. They receive the labels defined by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Louisiana has six schools in School Improvement Level 1 (SI 1) and one in SI 2. Similar to the AUS sanctions, but dependent upon Title I funding, SI 1 schools offer choice, and SI 2 schools offer Supplemental Educational Services.

These School Performance Scores are preliminary scores. The final scores will be released in the fall along with the annual SPS release for all schools in the state. NCLB requires Louisiana to release a preliminary list of schools that must offer choice to students. A final list will be released in September. Any school not listed in one of the above tables is not in AUS or SI sanctions and is not required to offer school choice (or implement other sanctions discussed above) during the 2007-2008 academic year unless notified in September.

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