1. St. Helena Parish School District
Declaration of Unitary Status
Lawrence Hall vs. St. Helena Parish School Board, 1952
Regular School Board Meeting
November 12, 2015

2. Brief History
Lawrence Hall et al., Plaintiffs, United States of America, Plaintiff-Intervener-Appellant v. St. Helena Parish School Board et al., Defendants-Appellees
Hall filed suit in 1952, after he was told that the school district didn't have money to furnish a new school that he and other black residents had built to replace an inferior facility.
Dual system of public education
On July 25, 1969, the Court outlined a Desegregation Plan for the School Board to follow beginning with the school year.
The Plan required steps to assure racial composition of students, faculty and staff that would demonstrate a school intended for black and white students.

3. Brief History
School Board has been under court supervision since that time.
Small, unstable tax base and inconsistent property tax revenues have presented financial challenges for the district.
The School Board faced new challenges in when the Recovery School District gained control of St. Helena Central Middle School due to consistent low performance.

4. MOTION FOR PARTIAL UNITARY STATUS
THE ST. HELENA PARISH SCHOOL BOARD HAS FILED A MOTION TO HAVE THE COURT DECLARE A PARTIAL UNITARY STATUS, IN ORDER TO COMPLY WITH THE ORDERS OF THE COURT.

5. How does a school district end a desegregation order?
To obtain unitary status, a school district must establish that it no longer operates a segregated (dual) school district and that it has eliminated the vestiges of past segregation.
To obtain unitary status, a school district must prove that it has complied in good faith with its desegregation orders for a reasonable period of time.

6. Legal Authority
GREEN V. COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD, 391 U.S (1968) – THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT MADE THE FOLLOWING TWO RULINGS:
POST BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION, 347 U.S (1954), SCHOOL BOARDS HAVE AN AFFIRMATIVE DUTY TO TAKE NECESSARY STEPS TO CONVERT ANY DUAL SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION TO A UNITARY SYSTEM WITH THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION.

7. Legal Authority
Unitary status exists when it is devoid of racial discrimination. Indicators that a school district has achieved unitary status are called GREEN FACTORS:
Faculty/Staff
Transportation
Extracurricular Activities
Facilities
Student Assignment (court will still have jurisdiction in this area)

8. Unitary Status
A declaration of unitary status signals the beginning of the end of federal judicial supervision over the District’s operations.

9. Evidence Court Considers
Faculty/Staff
Evidence Court Considers
St. Helena Parish SD
Percentage of minority employees in the workforce;
Nondiscrimination and equal employment opportunity policy
Factors explaining hiring successes or challenges
Rural school district with low-paying wage for employees is a challenge for retaining qualified employees.
Recruitment, employment and assignment of employees are conducted in a nondiscriminatory manner.
Successful Tax Measure in 2012 that allowed for the salary increase for all employees
A Blue Print to Excellence was created to address the need to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers.

10. FACULTY AND STAFF 2014 STATS
TOTAL NUMBER OF FACULTY & STAFF: 164
TOTAL NUMBER OF SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS: 6
DEMOGRAPHICS:
BLACK FEMALES 93 (56%)
WHITE FEMALES 31 (18%)
BLACK MALES 27 (16%)
WHITE MALES 4 (2%)
OTHER 9 (5%)

11. Evidence Court Considers
Transportation
Evidence Court Considers
St. Helena Parish SD
Transportation provided to all students on non-discriminatory basis.
Free transportation to all students
Contracted bus buses (8)
Owner/Operator buses (10)
School Board-owned buses (1)
Leased Special Needs bus (1)
Bus transportation is a normal and accepted tool used to remedy segregation
The school district has complied with the laws of Louisiana regarding the transportation of students. All students are assigned buses that provide the most geographically feasible routes.

12. Extracurricular Activities
Evidence Court Considers
St. Helena Parish SD
Extracurricular activities offered to all students on nondiscriminatory basis;
Policy of nondiscrimination and equal educational opportunity
No evidence of unlawful exclusion or denial, student participation, all vestiges of past discrimination eliminated.
There is a written policy of offering activities for all students
The policies have race neutral restrictions.
No student can participate if he/she is suspended.
Students are required to maintain a 2.0 average to participate in any extracurricular activities.
Expansion of athletic department
Full-time Athletic Director
Coaching Supplement revisions
Renovation of gym
Construction of new football stadium
Reestablished boys baseball
New uniforms for most sports
Renovated Band Room

13. Evidence Court Considers
Facilities
Evidence Court Considers
St. Helena Parish SD
Maintenance, repair, and construction of facilities without regard to race to students attending;
Educational and Facilities Plan
St. Helena College and Career Academy
New classroom facility at SHCCA
New Junior Division
New Cafeteria
New Media Center
New football stadium
Resources allocated to facilities without regard to race of students attending;
St. Helena Arts and Technology Academy
USDA application set to begin shortly
Per pupil spending relatively equal regardless of racial composition of school
MFP dollars along with grant funding is allocated equitably among all students.
2012 Tax Measure for construction/renovation of facilities for all St. Helena schools

14. Evidence Court Considers
Serving ALL Students
Evidence Court Considers
St. Helena Parish SD
Academic programs
College and Career Academy
Advanced Placement courses
Accelerated 8th Grade Program
Dual Enrollment
College and Career Coach
Added 7th and 8th Grade
Arts and Technology Academy
Louisiana A+ Arts Integration
Arts and Technology Enrichment Courses
American History in 6th Grade
Added 5th and 6th Grade
Technology
Interactive Whiteboard in every classroom
Four computers in every classroom
Fiber Optics for high speed internet capability
iPads, ActivBoards, online resources
Student Achievement
Most improved district in 2012
Consistent, steady gains during transition to higher standards
Finances
Eliminated $1.5 million deficit
Aligned finances to District Vision

15. District School Performance Score
200 Point System
200 Point System (Grading Scale Change for “D” and “F” only)
Grading Scale Change
New 150 Point System
2011 DPS
2012 Letter Grade
2012
DPS
2013 Annual DPS Letter Grade
2013 Annual DPS
2014 Annual DPS Letter Grade
2014 Annual DPS 58 F
71.8
45.2 D
51.4
Changes to Grading Scale
Grading Scale
Grading Scale
Grading Scale A B C D * F
0-64.9
0-74.9*
0-49.9

16. Student Assignment
THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IS REQUESTING THE COURT TO MAINTAIN JURISDICTION IN THIS AREA.
ZONE JUMPING CONTINUES TO HAVE AN EFFECT ON THE OVERALL ENROLLMENT OF STUDENTS IN THE DISTRICT.
ADDITIONAL STUDENTS RESULTS IN ADDITIONAL FUNDING.
TOTAL OF 1,162 STUDENTS
ST. HELENA ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY ACADEMY HAS 698 STUDENTS.
ST. HELENA COLLEGE AND CAREER ACADEMY HAS 464 STUDENTS.

17. Student Assignment
HOWEVER, THERE IS INFORMATION THAT AT LEAST 65 STUDENTS WHO ARE RESIDENTS OF ST. HELENA PARISH ATTEND SCHOOL OUTSIDE OF THE PARISH.
OTHER SCHOOL DISTRICTS WILL BE REZONING THEIR SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
THIS SHOULD RESULT IN AN INCREASE IN THE STUDENT POPULATION FOR OUR DISTRICT.
COURT JURISDICTION OVER THIS ISSUE SHOULD HAVE POSITIVE RESULTS.

18. CONCLUSION
THE MOTION FOR PARTIAL UNITARY STATUS IS A STEP TO SUBSTANTIALLY CONCLUDE THIS LITIGATION THAT HAS BEEN ONGOING AND EXPENSIVE.
GENERALLY, A COURT WILL NOT DISMISS A CASE UNTIL AT LEAST THREE (3) YEARS AFTER A UNITARY SYSTEM HAS BEEN DECLARED.
CONTINUED REPORTING TO THE COURT AND COURT SUPERVISION OF OPEN ISSUES