LOUISIANA, USA — A new report from the state’s legislative auditor found the Louisiana Department of Education is not monitoring special education programs closely enough and issued a series of recommendations. The LDOE said it agrees with some of the recommendations, though it countered that there were factors not mentioned in the report that may have affected the findings.
The report examines data from the school year beginning in 2015 to the one ending in 2022. In that time period, it said the LDOE did not “conduct desk or on-site reviews for 43 of 100 school systems” regarding their special education programs. Instead, it “required 41 of the 43 systems to complete a self-assessment.”
It also found that “between fiscal years 2012 and 2019, LDOE reduced the number of employees dedicated to special education,” to the point that 6 employees were responsible for monitoring almost 190 school districts and charter schools. The report acknowledged that budget cuts and a ruling requiring more oversight in Orleans Parish likely contributed.
“It helps to give a little more context to why we're seeing some of the same issues crop up at, say, the same school,” said Melanie Bray, Director of Legal Programs and Advocacy at Disability Rights Louisiana.
In a statement to WWL Louisiana, the LDOE said, in part, that the report “did not discover any findings that the LDOE has violated federal regulations,” though “the audit did identify areas where the LDOE can improve its monitoring process.” It also pointed out that “the majority of this audit covers a time frame prior to the current LDOE administration.”
This was the second in a series of legislative auditor reports regarding the LDOE’s monitoring of special education programs. Last year, it released one saying the Department did not handle some formal complaints thoroughly enough. Superintendent Dr. Cade Brumley sent this letter outlining steps the Department was taking to meet the needs of students with disabilities, including the hiring of an “additional complaint investigator.”
For families of students with special needs in Louisiana, Disability Rights Louisiana and Families Helping Families offer resources to help navigate education rights.
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