La. Admin. Code tit. 28 § CXV-343

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section CXV-343 - Unsafe Schools

A. Students who are the victims of violent crime shall be afforded the opportunity to transfer to a different school.

1. A student at a public elementary school, middle school or high school who becomes a victim of a crime of violence as defined by R.S. 14:2, while on school property, on a school bus or at a school-sponsored event, shall be given the option to transfer to a public school within the school district in which the student's current school is located, which offers instruction at the student's grade level and which is not persistently dangerous, if there is such a school within that school district.

2. A student who is enrolled in an alternative school or a special school and who becomes a victim of a crime of violence, as defined by R.S. 14:2, while on school property, on a school bus or at a school-sponsored event, shall be given the option to transfer to another such public school within the school district in which the student's current school is located, which offers instruction at the student's grade-level for which the student meets the admission requirements, and which is not persistently dangerous, if there is such a school within that school district.

3. A student who has been assigned to a particular school, such as an alternative school or a special school, by court order shall not have the option to transfer.

4. A student who has been the victim of a crime of violence and who must be given the option to transfer should generally be given the option to transfer within 10 calendar days from the date on which the crime of violence occurred.

B. Students attending a school that has been identified as a persistently dangerous school shall be afforded the opportunity to transfer to different school.

1. Students attending an elementary, middle, or high school that has been identified as persistently dangerous shall be given the option to transfer to a public school within the school district in which the student's current school is located, which offers instruction at the students' grade level and which is not persistently dangerous, if there is such a school within that school district.

2. A student who is enrolled in an alternative school or a special school which has been identified as persistently dangerous shall be given the option to transfer to another such public school within the school district in which the student's school is located, which offers instruction at the student's grade-level, for which the student meets the admission requirements and which is not persistently dangerous, if there is such a school within that school district.

3. A student who has been assigned to a particular school, such as an alternative school or a special school, by court order shall not have the option to transfer.

4. The LEA in which the persistently dangerous school is located shall, in a timely manner, notify parents of each student attending the school that the school has been identified as persistently dangerous, offer the students the opportunity to transfer and complete the transfer. Although timely implementation of these steps depends on the specific circumstances within the school district, students should generally be offered the option to transfer within 20 school days from the time the school district is notified that the school has been identified as persistently dangerous. Although the transfer may be temporary or permanent, the transfer must remain in effect for at least as long as the school is identified as persistently dangerous.

5. Schools must meet two of the following criteria for two consecutive school years to be identified as persistently dangerous. For purposes of these criteria, enrolled student body means the year-end cumulative student enrollment count, and firearm means a firearm as defined by the federal Gun-Free Schools Act.

a. One percent or more of the enrolled student body is expelled for possession of a firearm on school property, on a school bus, or for actual possession of a firearm at a school-sponsored event.

b. Four percent or more of the enrolled student body has been expelled for a crime of violence as defined by R.S. 14:2 occurring on school property, on a school bus or at a school-sponsored event.

c. Six percent or more of the enrolled student body has been expelled pursuant to R.S. 17:416 for the following types of misconduct in the aggregate occurring on school property, on a school bus or at a school-sponsored event:

i. immoral or vicious practices;

ii. conduct or habits injurious to associates;

iii. possession of or use of any controlled dangerous substance, in any form, governed by the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law;

iv. possession of or use of any alcoholic beverage;

v. cutting, defacing or injuring any part of a school building, any property belonging to the buildings or any school buses owned by, contracted to or jointly owned by any city or parish school board;

vi. possession of knives or other implements which can be used as weapons, the careless use of which might inflict harm or injury;

vii. throwing missiles liable to injure others; or

viii. instigating or participating in fights.

6. The LDE shall annually reassess persistently dangerous schools. If a school no longer meets the criteria for a persistently dangerous school, taking into account the most recent completed school year and the school year immediately preceding the most recent completed school year, the school will not be deemed persistently dangerous.

C. Nothing herein shall prohibit LEAs from entering into agreements with one another allowing students who become the victims of crimes of violence while on school property, on a school bus, or at a school-sponsored event or who are attending persistently dangerous schools in one school district the option to transfer to a school, which is not persistently dangerous, in another school district. A student who has been assigned to a particular school, such as an alternative school or a special school, by court order shall not have the option to transfer.

La. Admin. Code tit. 28, § CXV-343

Promulgated by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, LR 31:1263 (June 2005), amended LR 36:1498 (July 2010), LR 39:2198 (August 2013).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with 20 USCS 7912.