§67.  Southeast Baton Rouge Community School Board and school system; creation; membership; qualifications; apportionment; election; powers, duties, and functions; system operation

A.(1)  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, upon the appointment of members of the interim school board as provided in R.S. 17:67.1, there shall be established a separate school system and school board for the Southeast Baton Rouge community in East Baton Rouge Parish.  The school board shall be designated the Southeast Baton Rouge Community School Board.  The board shall be composed of nine members, one from each of the single-member districts provided for in Subsection B of this Section, who shall be electors and shall meet the qualifications for office provided in R.S. 17:52(D) and (E).

(2)  The geographic boundaries of the school system shall be as follows: Commence at a point where the centerlines of Interstate 10 and Interstate 12 intersect; thence proceed in an easterly direction along the centerline of Interstate 12 to its intersection with the Amite River; thence proceed in a southerly direction along the centerline of the Amite River to its intersection with Bayou Manchac; thence proceed in a westerly direction along the centerline of Bayou Manchac to its intersection with Interstate 10; thence proceed in a northwesterly direction along the centerline of Interstate 10 to the point of beginning.

B.(1)  The interim school board shall, within one hundred eighty days of appointment, develop and adopt a plan to divide the geographic area encompassed by the Southeast Baton Rouge Community School System into nine single-member districts, from each of which one member of the Southeast Baton Rouge Community School Board shall be elected. The districts shall be drawn in such a manner that each member of the Southeast Baton Rouge Community School Board represents as nearly as possible the same number of persons, using population figures from the latest federal decennial census.

(2)  Prior to the final adoption of the apportionment plan required by Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, the interim school board shall order a public hearing on the proposed plan and shall cause to be published in its official journal, at least twenty days prior to the date of such hearing, the time and place thereof, a general summary and map of the proposed plan, and the times and places where copies of the proposed plan are available for public inspection.

C.  The initial members of the Southeast Baton Rouge Community School Board shall be elected at the time and place provided by law generally for parish school board members occurring at least one year following appointment and shall take office as otherwise generally provided by law for parish school board members.  Board members and their successors in office shall serve for four-year concurrent terms.

D.  Vacancies on the board shall be filled as generally provided by law for parish school boards.

E.(1)  The organization of the Southeast Baton Rouge Community School Board as well as the board's powers, duties, functions, and responsibilities shall be as generally provided by law for local public school boards. Compensation for board members and reimbursement for expenses shall be as generally provided by law for city, parish, and other local public school board members.

(2)  The Southeast Baton Rouge Community School Board shall adopt rules, regulations, and procedures consistent with law to effectuate this Section and to administer the duties, functions, and responsibilities of the board.

F.  The Southeast Baton Rouge Community School Board shall begin actual operation of providing for the education of students within its jurisdiction on July first immediately following the effective date of this Act. Beginning on July first immediately following the effective date of this Act and thereafter, notwithstanding any provision of law or rule or regulation to the contrary and pursuant to the duty and responsibility placed with the legislature by Article VIII, Section 1 of the Constitution of Louisiana to establish and maintain a public educational system and the authority granted the legislature by Article VIII, Section 10(A) of the Constitution of Louisiana to enact laws affecting parish school board systems in existence on the effective date of the constitution, all lands, buildings, improvements, facilities, and other property having title vested in the public and subject to management, administration, and control by the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board for public education purposes located within the geographic boundaries of the Southeast Baton Rouge Community School System or used to provide student transportation services to such facilities, or both, shall be transferred to, managed, administered, and controlled by the Southeast Baton Rouge Community School Board.

G.  The East Baton Rouge Parish School System shall transfer ownership of at least fifty school buses, each with at least sixty-passenger capacity that are of equal quality, age, and condition to the fleet owned and operated by the East Baton Rouge Parish School System to the Southeast Baton Rouge Community School System, including a sufficient number of accessible buses to be used to transport the students needing special transportation services.

H.  The East Baton Rouge Parish School System shall provide extended school year services, through August thirty-first immediately following the effective date of this Act, to public and nonpublic school students residing within the geographic boundaries of the Southeast Baton Rouge Community School System who qualified to receive such services prior to June thirtieth immediately following the effective date of this Act.

I.  The East Baton Rouge Parish School System and any taxing district created by the East Baton Rouge Parish School System shall be the recipient of all sales and use taxes levied for school purposes collected within the geographic boundaries of the Southeast Baton Rouge Community School System and remitted by the tax collector through June thirtieth immediately following the effective date of this Act.  Beginning on July first immediately following the effective date of this Act, the sales and use tax collector shall remit all sales and use taxes levied for school purposes collected within the geographic boundaries of the Southeast Baton Rouge Community School System, including delinquent payments, to the Southeast Baton Rouge Community School System.

J.  The East Baton Rouge Parish School System shall receive all ad valorem and property taxes levied for school purposes collected within the geographic boundaries of the Southeast Baton Rouge Community School System collected and remitted by the tax collector through June thirtieth immediately following the effective date of this Act.  Beginning on July first immediately following the effective date of this Act, the tax collector shall remit all ad valorem and property taxes levied for school purposes collected within the geographic boundaries of the Southeast Baton Rouge Community School System, including delinquent payments, to the Southeast Baton Rouge Community School System.

K.  For every application made by the East Baton Rouge Parish School System for funding for the school year immediately following the effective date of this Act, which has a due date on or before August fifteenth immediately following the effective date of this Act, the East Baton Rouge Parish School System shall disaggregate the data for the Southeast Baton Rouge Community School System and shall submit two applications, one for the East Baton Rouge Parish School System and one for the Southeast Baton Rouge Community School System.

L.  Consistent with Article VIII of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, relevant to equal educational opportunities, no state monies shall be used to discriminate or to have the effect of discriminating and failing to provide an equal educational opportunity for all students.

Acts 2013, No. 295, §1, eff. when constitutional amendment is adopted.  See note below; Acts 2014, No. 811, §8, eff. June 23, 2014.

NOTE:  See Acts 2013, No. 295, §2, relative to enrollment options for high school students in East Baton Rouge Parish and the inclusion of such students in school system membership counts.

NOTE:  See Acts 2013, No. 295, §3, relative to the creation of the Southeast Baton Rouge Community School System or other school districts.