The Plan for School Unification in New Orleans

November 2016

For the past decade, public schools in New Orleans have been the focus of national attention. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, building off legislation passed prior to the storm, the Louisiana Legislature voted to give the state-run Recovery School District (RSD) the expanded authority to take over low-performing public schools in New Orleans. The Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) only retained authority over the city’s highest-performing schools. By 2014, all schools under the purview of the RSD had become charter schools and most OPSB schools became charters as well. The result has been the creation of the most decentralized and unique public school system in the country, with 93 percent of students currently attending public charter schools. Educators, advocates, reformers, politicians, teachers, and parents, locally and nationally, have watched the system develop and evolve over the past decade. The current model of public education in New Orleans remains controversial for many key stakeholders. The Louisiana Legislature debated a measure to return all RSD schools in New Orleans to OPSB control during the 2015 session, but the bill failed to receive approval from legislators. The 2016 session once again saw the introduction of legislation requiring immediate return of schools to the OPSB. However, legislators agreed on a compromise that requires all RSD schools to come under OPSB oversight during a two-year transition phase. This report examines the plan for the unification of schools created by the RSD and OPSB to meet the requirements laid out within the legislation.