Coker: State needs grace policy for schools

In March, thousands of people across northeastern Louisiana were displaced from their homes after torrential rains led to weeks of flooding. In late April, school districts noted upticks in the number of students registered as homeless. Many had a roof over their heads, but it wasn't their roof.

Ouachita Parish Schools Superintendent Don Coker said members of the Superintendents Advisory Council for the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education have been talking with State Superintendent John White regarding a way to help students, schools and districts who have been affected by major disasters.

He said he hopes the discussion will take place over a matter of months so BESE and the Louisiana Department of Education can develop and clear-cut plan for catastrophic events affecting schools for five, 10 or more days. "Not having to worry about a score hanging over you is a good thing for them," Coker said. The matter is different than the number of adverse weather days already built into the academic calendar.

Coker said the council, which consists of superintendents from around the state, meets to discuss issues on the BESE-set agenda. Afterward, they meet with White to discuss other issues.

Coker said some of the superintendents from South Louisiana were talking about the need for accommodations for districts that had to miss many days of classes because of natural disasters. He said northern Louisiana schools had to take state tests after missing five or more days because of March flooding. Testing took place as scheduled in April and May.

Some students in his district, Coker said, missed many more days because their homes were damaged or roads to their homes were flooded.

That affected students, he said, and will have an impact on student, school and district scores.

"It's hard for a student to concentrate on a test when they aren't living in their own homes," Coker said.

Currently, the state allows for a designation of "severe impact" schools. They would receive a one-year waiver of accountability decisions based on the schools' performance scores. To meet the criteria, schools must have either been closed, due to a disaster, for 18 or more consecutive school days during a given academic year or gained or lost 25 percent or more of its testing population because of a disaster.

Districts have options regarding how severe impact schools can be handled in the accountability processes.

Schools that don't meet that criteria could be called "limited impact" schools.

Districts must apply for the designations by April 15 of the academic year affected.

According to DOE Bulletin 111, "Situations not considered by this policy but that substantially impact a school's accountability results may be addressed by the school district during the established appeal/waiver period following the official fall release of accountability results."

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