§4044. Terms and conditions of waivers for low-performing schools

A. The board shall require any low-performing school covered by a waiver to meet certain terms and conditions aimed at improving teacher effectiveness, quality of instruction, and student academic achievement. The governing authority of such school shall:

(1) Ensure the effectiveness of the school's teachers pursuant to Part II of Chapter 39 of Title 17 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.

(2) Ensure the improvement of quality of instruction and student academic achievement by implementing one of the following four intervention options at each low-performing school covered by the waiver:

(a) Turnaround: Put in place new leadership and a majority of new staff, new governance, and improved instructional programs, and provide the school with sufficient operational flexibility such as the ability to select staff, control its budget as approved by the school's governing authority, and increase learning time.

(b) Restart: Convert the school to a charter school. However, every teacher employed in such school prior to its conversion to a charter school, who has been determined to be effective in accordance with the provisions of Part II of Chapter 39 of Title 17 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, shall be given the option to remain at the school or to be reassigned by the governing authority to another school under its jurisdiction.

(c) School Closure: Close the school and place its students in a high-performing school within the district.

(d) Transformation: Hire a new principal and implement a suite of best practices including comprehensive instructional management reform and measures of effective teaching. The board shall not grant a waiver to a district that proposes to use this option for more than fifty percent of the low-performing schools covered by the waiver.

(3) A district that has implemented one or more of the interventions described in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection for its low-performing schools in the two academic years immediately preceding the waiver application is not eligible to receive a waiver for such schools unless both of the following apply:

(a) The school has met its statewide accountability growth target or surpassed the statewide growth average during such two-year period of implementation.

(b) The district agrees to implement any remaining conditions of school intervention as required by the board.

B. A school implementing any of the intervention options prescribed in Paragraph (A)(2) of this Section shall not be subject to transfer to the Recovery School District for the duration of the waiver period. Upon termination of the waiver, a school that has not met its growth targets as established by the school and district accountability system shall be transferred to the jurisdiction of the Recovery School District or the governing authority of such school shall enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Recovery School District which shall govern the operation of the school.

C. A school that entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Recovery School District prior to receipt of a waiver, and which upon expiration of the memorandum of understanding or termination of the waiver has not met its growth targets as established by the school and district accountability system, shall be transferred to the jurisdiction of the Recovery School District.

D. A school under the jurisdiction of the Recovery School District which has been granted a waiver, and upon termination of the waiver has not met its growth targets as established by the school and district accountability system, shall be subject to one of the following actions as determined by the board:

(1) A school that is directly operated by the Recovery School District shall be converted to a charter school. If the school is a charter school, the Recovery School District shall terminate the school's charter and enter into a contract with a new chartering group for the operation of the school. Such schools shall remain under the jurisdiction of the Recovery School District.

(2) The school shall be closed and its students transferred to a higher performing school within the Recovery School District.

Acts 2010, No. 749, §1, eff. June 29, 2010.