Dive Brief:
- A lawsuit in New Orleans filed by parents argues Louisiana's new funding formula should be adopted in order to protect the education rights of minority students and those with special needs.
- Previously, both the Lake Forest Charter School and Lusher Charter School in the city filed a federal lawsuit challenging the formula, alleging its unconstitutionality and lamenting shifts in funding allocation for special ed and gifted programs.
- The new challenge filed by parents asks for the Orleans Parish School Board to take swift action in adopting the new formula.
Dive Insight:
Public school enrollment in Louisiana has seen a steady increase since Hurricane Katrina, and since then, funding proposals have caused contention. Right now, tax revenue for education in the state is divided between public schools and is based on enrollment. Schools can currently spend that money however they see fit.
Most recently, a new $390 million plan has divided education leaders, officials and policymakers into two camps and confused many districts, whose leaders are unclear on what, exactly, is being proposed. The proposal is a per-pupil state funding plan that would potentially redistribute funding from gifted students to disabled students, meaning some schools would stand to lose funding. The threats of legal action will likely continue.
