La. Admin. Code tit. 28 § XI-4503

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

Section XI-4503 - One Year Waiver for "Severe Impact" Schools and Districts [Formerly LAC 28:LXXXIII.4503]

A. Schools that meet either of two conditions associated with disasters shall be labeled "severe impact" schools and shall receive a one year waiver of accountability decisions based on the schools' school performance scores. The one year waiver is limited to the year in which the disaster occurred. The conditions are:

1. the school was closed, due to a disaster, for 18 or more consecutive school days during a given academic year; or

2. the school either gained or lost 25 percent or more of its testing population due to a disaster.

a. This 25 percent gain or loss is calculated by dividing a school's prior year October 1 enrollment of students in grades 311 into its current year October 1 enrollment of 3-11 students exited using "disaster" codes or entered using "disaster" codes (see §4507).

3. for the 2016-2017 school year school performance scores and letter grades, any school which sustained significant damage as a result of federally declared disaster DR-4277, Louisiana Severe Storms and Flooding, such that schools temporarily relocated to another school campus or facility, or received a displaced school or entire grade levels from another school at its campus as a result of such disaster, the LDE shall use for school accountability purposes the higher of the 2016-2017 or 2015-2016 school performance score. This policy shall also apply to all schools within the East Baton Rouge Parish system. The state superintendent, with consent of the president of the board, may provide for the same in cases of extraordinary and abnormal displacement of teachers and students and hardship due to such disaster, if such displacement directly and indisputably contributed to abnormal changes in school performance scores and assessment results, based on analysis conducted by the LDE.

B. Schools that do not meet the severe impact criteria shall be labeled "limited impact" schools.

C. Severe impact schools that receive the one year "disaster" waiver shall not have school performance scores, growth labels, or letter grades published for the year of the waiver. Assessment results will be provided to the districts for planning purposes.

D. The year following the waivers, the waived schools shall be considered new schools and shall enter accountability according to the policy in Chapter 33.

E. Districts shall be considered " Severe Impact" districts and receive a one year waiver from accountability labels and decisions if:

1. they are closed for 18 consecutive school days; or

2. they gain or lose 25 percent of their testing population before October 1; or

3. they have 25 percent or more of their schools granted a one year waiver or classified as new schools due to a disaster.

F. Districts receiving a one year waiver shall not have district performance scores, or letter grades published for the year of the waiver.

G. Districts may elect to have severe impact schools:

1. remain fully in accountability and receive scores and labels as limited impact schools (see §4507 and §4509); or

2. receive scores and letter grades as limited impact schools, but schools:

a. will not enter or advance in comprehensive or urgent intervention labels or academically unacceptable status as a result of accountability labels based on data collected during the year of the disaster; but

b. schools can exit comprehensive or urgent intervention labels based on data collected during the year of the disaster.

H. Districts must provide justification to the LDE and receive LDE approval if they elect to:

1. have some of their severe impact schools receive the one year waiver and subsequent new school status, while;

2. they elect for other severe impact schools to follow one of the choices in Paragraphs G. 1 and 2 above.

I. Districts may request of the LDE that limited impact schools be relabeled severe impact schools if special circumstances exist at the schools. The LDE may grant the request if adequate justification is provided by the district. Requests that attempt to circumvent accountability for schools previously identified as being in school improvement shall be denied.

J. Districts that elect for their schools the provisions in Subsections H and/or I above, must submit in writing, by April 15 of the academic year in which the disaster occurred, any such requests and any justification supporting the requests.

K. Louisiana Department of Education staff will, after conferring with district personnel, notify in writing by the last "business day" in May, the districts of its decisions concerning requests for the provisions in Subsections H and/or I above.

L. Districts must notify the LDE no later than the last "business day" in May of their final decisions regarding severely impacted schools and the choices in Subsection G (above).

M. Situations not considered by this policy but that substantially impact a school's accountability results may be addressed by the school district during the established appeal/waiver period following the official fall release of accountability results.

La. Admin. Code tit. 28, § XI-4503

Promulgated by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, LR 32:1412 (August 2006), amended LR 33:636 (April 2007), LR 36:1994 (September 2010), LR 37:2120 (July 2011), Amended LR 44230 (2/1/2018).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 17:10.1.