Discipline for Students with Disabilities in the Recovery School District (RSD) of New Orleans

Abstract

This article focuses on special education in New Orleans post Hurricane Katrina. After Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana's Recovery School District (RSD) took over 102 of the city's 128 schools with the stated goal of creating a 'choice district' for parents. This 'choice district' is made up of RSD direct-run schools, Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) schools, 'open-admissions' charter schools and selective-admissions charter schools. Obtaining entrance into the more selective schools that succeed academically has become a survival-of-the-fittest contest, as special education students are often concentrated in certain schools. This is because of entrance requirements, enrollment caps and the RSD's hands-off approach with discipline proceedings. This article first reviews the legal precedents for special education and then discusses the application of these laws in the decentralized school system within New Orleans. The article was written by a former teacher in the RSD. All too often, students with disabilities are being denied the chance to take advantage of the many innovative educational programs and schools that have been developed in New Orleans since Katrina.