ACT 687

To NOLA‑PS: The Community Deserves Better — And the Data Proves It

For years, our community has received far less than what our children deserve. The instability, the closures, the operator reshuffling, the lack of transparency — all of it has weakened trust and harmed students. Today, we are stating clearly: the community will not accept this any longer.

And the data behind Act 687 makes one thing unmistakable: NOLA‑PS cannot hide behind this new law.   The law requires responsibility — not excuses.

1. The Law Requires NOLA‑PS to Manage Failing Schools, Not Close Them

Act 687 mandates that the district adopt a policy defining and monitoring systemwide overcapacity, using quantitative metrics such as:

• student enrollment projections,

• student demographic projections,

• programmatic seat capacity, and

• facility utilization targets.

When overcapacity is declared, the Superintendent must recommend actions to “mitigate overcapacity,” and those recommendations must consider district accountability policies and academic performance standards.

This means the district is obligated to address academic failure, not simply eliminate schools. The law does not authorize closing schools as a first resort — it requires management, intervention, and corrective action.

2. The Law Requires Annual Transparency — Yet Families Have Not Received It

Act 687 requires the Superintendent to submit a written, data‑based overcapacity report to the School Board every year by November 15.

This report must include:

• the district’s enrollment status,

• demographic projections,

• seat capacity, and

• facility utilization.

These are public‑interest metrics. Families deserve to see them. Communities deserve to understand them. Students deserve decisions based on them.

Yet NOLA‑PS has not consistently provided clear, accessible, community‑centered explanations of these data — even though the law requires it.

3. The Law Gives the Superintendent Power — But Also Accountability

Under Act 687, the Superintendent may implement restructuring recommendations unless the Board rejects them by a two‑thirds vote.

This is unprecedented authority. But authority does not erase responsibility.

The Superintendent must:

• justify decisions with data,

• demonstrate academic need,

• show how actions improve student outcomes, and

• respect the communities affected.

The law does not permit unilateral disruption without evidence. It requires data‑driven justification — something families have not consistently received.

4. The Law Does Not Allow NOLA‑PS to Use Closures as a Default Strategy

Act 687 allows early termination of charter contracts only when addressing systemwide overcapacity — not when a school is academically struggling.

Academic failure requires intervention, not abandonment.

The district must:

• stabilize failing schools,

• provide direct support,

• manage them when necessary, and

• ensure continuity for students.

The law does not authorize closing schools simply because they are difficult to manage. It requires the district to do the work.

5. The Community Deserves Accountability, Transparency, and Respect

The data is clear. The law is clear. And our message is clear:

We will no longer accept instability disguised as policy. We will no longer accept closures without justification. We will no longer accept silence where transparency is required.

Our students deserve better. Our families deserve better. Our neighborhoods deserve better.

We are watching. We are organized. And we will demand — every day — accountability, transparency, and respect.

NOLA‑PS must do better, because the law requires it and the community deserves it.