2.4.2 The New Orleans Charter School System

While there are a growing number of charter schools throughout Louisiana, New Orleans is unique in that it is the only all-charter school district in the country. Before Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, the New Orleans public school system followed the traditional neighborhood-school model in which most students were assigned to neighborhood schools based on their residence. However, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, both the Orleans Parish School Board and BESE began converting traditional, neighborhood-based schools into public charter schools. Practically speaking, this means that the Orleans Parish School Board (now referred to as “NOLA Public Schools”) does not actually operate any schools; it simply acts in a broad monitoring and supervisory role over the charter schools that it authorizes.

In the 2021-2022 school year, there were 83 schools operating within NOLA Public Schools.1  Within this all-charter system, 76 of these schools were authorized by NOLA Public Schools and the other 7 were authorized either by BESE or by the State Legislature. The vast majority of all these schools operate as their own independent, local educational agency (“LEA”).2  A charter school that operates as an LEA is directly accountable to the state and federal governments for carrying out district-level responsibilities, including those related to the provision of special education.

A charter school that is its own LEA must serve any student—regardless of the student’s disability or needs—who walks in the door. As such, small, independent charter schools with limited staff and resources must nevertheless provide the full range of substantive and procedural rights and services afforded to students with disabilities. In a traditional school system, the district can pool resources and capitalize on economies of scale; the typical result is more specialized services, placements, and resources available to meet the individualized needs of students of disabilities. In contrast, a stand-alone charter school likely lacks specialized teachers and programming for students with significant or unique needs, and these services are very expensive to contract out to provide to just a small number of children. As a result, charter schools often struggle to satisfy their legal responsibilities, and students with disabilities may be denied their substantive and procedural rights.3

• 1For a breakdown of the New Orleans school system, see New Orleans Public Schools 2022-2023 Governance Chart, NOLA Public Schools.
• 2Note that five of the NOLA-Public-Schools-authorized schools act under the NOLA Public Schools LEA. See id.
• 3For more information on the issues related to special education in the New Orleans charter schools, see generally P.B. v. Pastorek, No. 2:10-cv-04049 (E.D. La. 2011).