Dear Stakeholders, We are pleased to share updated maps and a summary of the proposed consent order along with related documents. We would also like to remind you about the upcoming Community Forum, scheduled for December 17, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. at the Vidalia Convention Center. We look forward to your participation in this important discussion. Best regards, #cpsbfamily
PROPOSED CONSENT ORDER SUMMARY
The parties to this agreement would be the United States, acting through the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Concordia Parish School Board. The United States Supreme Court has identified six areas, known as the “Green factors,” that must be free from vestiges of the prior de jure segregation before full unitary status can be achieved: (1) student assignment; (2) faculty; (3) staff; (4) transportation; (5) extracurricular activities; and (6) facilities. Courts may also consider other indicia, such as “quality of education” and discipline, as important factors for determining whether a district has fulfilled its desegregation obligations. The DOJ feels that the School Board needs to take certain actions in these areas to remove remaining vestiges. The School Board feels that it has removed all vestiges and that this case should be dismissed. The differences between the parties can be resolved through court action or through a negotiated agreement. Counsel for the United States and counsel for the School Board have developed this proposal which, if accepted by the School Board and implemented over the next three years, would entitle the School Board to seek dismissal of this longstanding matter. It would also eliminate the need for the Court to schedule and conduct a hearing and to decide what steps, if any, must be taken by the School Board before this case can be concluded. The proposed consent order may be summarized as follows.
TRANSPORTATION
The District would be declared partially unitary with respect to transportation. Except to the limited extent transportation is addressed by another Green factor, all claims related to transportation would be dismissed.
STUDENT ASSIGNMENT
Beginning with the 2025-26 school year, the Vidalia and Ferriday school zones would be paired for grades K-8 as follows: • Students enrolled in Kindergarten, grade 1, and grade 2 would attend Vidalia Upper Elementary. • Students enrolled in grades 3, 4, and 5 would attend Ferriday Upper Elementary. • Students enrolled in grades 6, 7, and 8 would attend Ferriday Junior High. For grades 9 to 12, Vidalia, Ferriday, and Monterey would continue to operate high schools but the attendance zones for each of those schools would be somewhat modified. The new proposed attendance zones are shown in the attached attendance zone map. Rising juniors and seniors affected by attendance zone changes can choose to remain at their current schools until the end of the 2026-2027 school year or they can transfer to the new schools to which they have been assigned. Students would be required to attend the schools in the zones in which they reside. All students must register or re-register for the 2025-2026 school year, with ongoing registration requirements for new students. 2 The District would continue to offer Majority-to-Minority transfers, which is when students residentially zoned for a school in which their race is in the majority can ask to transfer to another school in which their race is in the minority. A student attending a school on an M-to-M transfer would be eligible to participate in athletic programs. Free transportation will be provided for M-to-M transfer students. Under the proposal, the District may also approve the following types of transfers: Children of current faculty and staff; health or safety, and hardship transfers. The Concordia Parish Academy of Math, Science, and Technology (CPA) would continue to follow the Court-approved magnet school proposal, with additional outreach to seek greater diversity. The District would develop class assignment policies to further diversity in all classes and would provide course enrollment forms for junior high and high school students.
QUALITY OF EDUCATION
The District would continue to ensure that all students have access to course offerings and academic support opportunities without regard to race. The District would conduct a survey of students in grades 7-12 and their parents/guardians by the end of the 2024-2025 school year to assess interest and barriers in course offerings and academic support. The survey would cover topics such as interest in advanced courses, barriers to accessing them, and interest in alternative methods for course access. Consistent academic support opportunities would be provided across all District schools, and uniform enrichment time offerings would be provided for students in grades K-5 across the District. The District would ensure non-discriminatory service for Gifted and Talented students, including administering universal screeners and providing annual training to faculty and staff. The District would implement non-discriminatory discipline policies, with consistent documentation and alternatives to exclusionary discipline.
FACULTY AND STAFF
The District would, to the extent practicable, assign faculty to each school to achieve a black-to-white faculty ratio goal of within +/-15% of the District-wide ratio of faculty members by race. A plan for voluntary faculty transfers would be developed by the District to support desegregation goals. The Plan may include financial or non-financial incentives, if either are available and appropriate. The District would be required to consider the +/-15% goal when it receives any faculty, staff, or administrator transfer request to another school. The United States would have the opportunity to review and comment on transfer requests and proposed policy changes. The District would, to the extent practicable, be required to assign certified teachers to ensure that the percentage of certified faculty at each school approximates the District-wide percentage within the same grade band. 3 The proposal requires that a Teacher Qualification Plan be developed by the District to increase teacher qualifications at schools with low percentages of certified, highly effective, or experienced teachers, including steps for certification and support through professional development and mentoring. The District would implement a Faculty and Staff Employment Procedure, found in Appendix B, which outlines non-discriminatory hiring procedures. Additionally, the Board would implement a Recruitment Plan, found in Appendix C. An annual anonymous survey of faculty and staff would be conducted by the District by April 15 of each year to identify causes of attrition, and the results would be shared with the United States. A Retention Plan would be developed by the District based on survey results and attrition data, with annual revisions and implementation. Support for new teachers would be provided by the District and would include a uniform induction program, participation in the New Teacher Experience program, and mentorship. Annual training on hiring and anti-discrimination policies would be provided to relevant personnel.
FACILITIES
Under the proposed agreement, the District would be required to maintain school facilities to avoid reinforcing a dual school system, to remedy existing deficiencies, and to report to the United States on these efforts. Ongoing maintenance obligations include annual inspections and timely responses to maintenance requests. An individual would be designated to oversee compliance with facilities-related responsibilities, including planning, construction, and maintenance. Regular inspections and training on maintenance practices would be conducted, with recordkeeping of maintenance requests. A comprehensive needs assessment would be completed by the District by the end of 2025. The Board would be required to notify the United States of all construction, maintenance, or renovation projects costing $150,000 or more, as well as any plans to increase the functional capacity of any particular school, at least forty-five (45) days prior to submitting the project or plan for a Board vote to solicit bids or to obtain final approval to initiate construction of a project that does not require bidding. Ferriday High School would undergo renovations for accessibility and beautification, as planned by the Board in its September 12, 2024 meeting, with objections or comments submitted to the United States for review. A policy for Chromebook distribution to students in grades 7-12 would be established, ensuring a 1:1 distribution and allowing students to take them home. 4
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Pursuant to the terms of the proposed agreement, extracurricular activities must be provided on a non-discriminatory basis, with an annual survey to gauge student interest and efforts to make activities accessible. If sufficient interest in a new sport is shown, the District would be required to assess feasibility and costs and may offer the sport if not cost prohibitive. An analysis of extracurricular spending would be conducted, and guidelines for equitable spending across schools would be developed.
ADDITIONAL TERMS
The District would be required to periodically file annual status reports with the Court and United States and treat documents with personally identifiable information as confidential. A Desegregation Compliance Officer would be appointed to aid compliance with all terms of the proposed agreement and to solicit community input. The District may move for dismissal of all or any part of the desegregation case, no sooner than ninety (90) days after the submission of the District’s November 15, 2027 report to the United States and the Court.