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Louisiana has shifted from a cyclical approach to monitoring to one based on performance results.
The state identifies potential risks and then sorts districts based on their ranking on those risk factors. Louisiana provides a sample “monitoring report card,” which is a transparent approach tied to the actual needs of districts.
The state will also support identified schools by assigning them a Regional Turnaround Support Manager, which will oversee their improvement. This model allows a strong connection between the school and a state-level leader who can connect them with support and resources.
Louisiana will award a “significant” portion of its 7 percent set-aside for school improvement through a competitive grant process.
The state does not define “significant,” but it does specify that it will prioritize those applications that propose to utilize high-quality external support providers.
The plan does not describe the expectations or specific supports available for schools with low-performing subgroups, or for schools with high levels of out-of-school suspensions.
Louisiana should include more detailed information about what types of planned interventions will be available to directly support the achievement of English language learners and students with disabilities. The state should align its work here with its IDEA State Systemic Improvement Plan, which focuses on literacy and includes several good interventions.
Louisiana has set clear consequences for F-rated schools.
Louisiana requires that any F-rated school offer its students the option to transfer to another school within the district, and it will provide direct student services to students in low-performing schools. Those funds will support enrollment and participation in courses not available at the student’s home school, credit recovery or other acceleration courses, Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses, or transportation to a higher-performing school.
In addition, any Louisiana school that is F-rated for four consecutive years is eligible for placement in the state’s Recovery School District (RSD), which gives the state the authority to invoke a variety of more dramatic school-improvement options. The state does not specify exactly what determines whether schools will or will not be placed in the RSD.
