On May 15, 2024, the Legislative Auditor released the second audit in a series of reports about how well the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) is helping students with disabilities who get special education services. The first audit looked at how LDOE handles complaints. This second audit checks how LDOE monitors special education.

The audit found that LDOE needs to do a better job of monitoring to make sure all students with disabilities get a free appropriate public education (FAPE) and that schools follow federal and state laws. Here are some key findings:

1. LDOE did not review 43 out of 100 school systems for at least seven years and asked most of these schools to do a self-assessment instead.

2. LDOE had fewer employees for special education from 2012 to 2019 due to budget cuts and a settlement agreement in Orleans Parish, which made it hard to do timely reviews.

3. LDOE’s way of selecting students for reviews doesn’t make sure all laws are being followed.

4. LDOE doesn’t have rules for how schools should handle and document "informal removals" of students.

5. LDOE isn’t following federal rules on how to calculate and track when minority students with disabilities are disciplined more often than others.

Click here or the image above to access the full report.