Now-closed Lagniappe Academy: A Case Study in Louisiana Charter “Oversight Underinvestment” | deutsch29

Now-closed Lagniappe Academy: A Case Study in Louisiana Charter “Oversight Underinvestment” | deutsch29:

Now-closed Lagniappe Academy: A Case Study in Louisiana Charter “Oversight Underinvestment”

This post features the story of a now-closed New Orleans Recovery School District (RSD) charter school, Lagniappe Academy.

It is an excerpt from a report entitled, System Failure: Louisiana’s Broken Charter School Law,  produced by the Center for Popular Democracy and the Coalition for Community Schools. The report calls for adequate investment in the oversight of Louisiana’s charter schools.

The report is also a call to support a stable learning environment for Louisiana students enrolled in charter schools.

The May 9, 2015, closure of Lagniappe Academy could have been avoided had the state instituted years ago a sound system of auditing schools, complete with the goal of only closing a school as a last resort.

Instead, the state conducted sloppy audits, relied upon whistle blowers to bring fraudulent activity to light, and ignored any sound and stable solution that might have kept the school open and preserved stability in the lives of the school’s 180 students.

Here is the story in full, as reported in the System Failure report:

Lagniappe Academy: A Case Study in Oversight Underinvestment

Lagniappe Academy, a Type 5 Recovery School District charter school in New Orleans, received its 2013–14 annual review from the LDOE, just like every other charter in the state. The review was a good one, with a perfect score of 100 on financial performance, 96 (out of 100) on organizational performance and 82.3 (a “C”) on academic performance. The school seemed on the path to a renewed charter for another 4 to 6 years.

However, as it turns out, Lagniappe Academy is a disturbing example of how the state’s charter oversight system is dangerously inadequate. Thanks, in large part, to brave teachers who came forward and blew the whistle on Lagniappe—and parents who backed up those teachers’ stories with their own experiences —the LDOE eventually found a long list of violations at Lagniappe Academy, the most disturbing of which involved an alarming failure to serve the basic needs of the school’s special education students. In 2014, the LDOE’s annual review of the school, conducted under the framework of the Compact, gave the school a perfect score on all Special Education measures. Below is the special education section of Lagniappe’s 2013-14 annual review (click on image to enlarge):

However, the picture painted by whistleblowers and confirmed by the LDOE when forced to do a more extensive review was of a school illegally depriving special education students of the resources and support they needed. The many violations included:

■ Fraudulent and Inaccurate Documentation of Special Education Services: The school was found to have faked forms and asked staff members to sign forms saying they had provided special education services that they had not provided. Staff members were instructed to move furniture out of a storage room to create a fake special education room in anticipation of a visit from state regulators. The school submitted service logs that falsely suggested that students were provided with special education services on days the school was on break.

■ Failure to Provide an Appropriate Education for Students with Special Needs: The school lacked proper protocols for identifying students with special needs. The school refused to screen students for special education services even when families had a diagnosis from a doctor. The school 

Now-closed Lagniappe Academy: A Case Study in Louisiana Charter “Oversight Underinvestment” | deutsch29: