BESE VOTES TO CLOSE CHARTER SCHOOLS IN EAST BATON ROUGE, JEFFERSON PARISHES

Jun 20, 2019

School Systems Provide Information to Families Exploring School Options for 2019-2020

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Citing serious violations of law and policy related to governance, finances and special education, the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education today voted to revoke the charters of Laurel Oaks Academy in East Baton Rouge Parish and Smothers Academy in Jefferson Parish. The revocations, which were initially approved by the board's School Innovation and Turnaround Committee after public hearings earlier this week, take effect for the 2019-2020 school year.
 
Families of students who planned to attend these charter schools during the 2019-2020 school year can locate and view report card information for public schools in their area at louisianaschools.com, or learn about other educational opportunities at louisianabelieves.com/schools.
 
Local school systems will also assist students and families in the transition. Details below.
 

Information for families of Laurel Oaks Academy

 The East Baton Rouge Parish School System will host a special open house for students and families of Laurel Oaks Academy on July 2, 2019, at the Instructional Resource Center, located at 1022 S. Foster Drive in Baton Rouge. The first session will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the second session will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Students and families unable to attend the open house can contact the school system's dedicated transition specialists at 225-922-5416 or 225-922-5578. For additional information, visit ebrschools.org.
 
Students and families can also apply to any of the schools in the Baton Rouge Achievement Zone (BRAZ) through a unified application at EnrollBR.org. The deadline to apply for the 2019-2020 school year is August 1, 2019. For a list of BRAZ schools, visit EnrollBR.org/schools.
 
For more information, contact Dominique Harris at Enroll Baton Rouge at info@enrollbr.org or 225-400-4631, or Brittany Sykes at the Urban League of Louisiana's Baton Rouge Parent Information Center at bsykes@urbanleaguela.org or 225-831-1501.

Information for families of Smothers Academy 

Jefferson Parish families: Jefferson Parish Public Schools will mail each student and family information about the public schools located in their attendance zone along with an invitation for school registration. For additional information, email jppsscustomerfeedback@jppss.k12.la.us.

Orleans Parish families: Students and families interested in any available seats in an Orleans Parish public school should attend a late enrollment event at Dillard University in New Orleans. The events will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day from July 15 to July 19, 2019.
 
Students and families unable to attend one of the late enrollment events at Dillard University can receive information at one of the school system's Family Resource Centers starting July 29, 2019. All available K-12 seats will be granted on a first-come, first-serve basis. For additional information, call 877-343-4773, or email oneapp@opsb.us.
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