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LOUISIANA TO IMPROVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES IN JUVENILE

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Juveniles confined in all of Louisiana's secure correctional facilities will now receive improved educational services under an agreement reached today between the state, the Justice Department, and private plaintiffs.

The agreement, filed in U.S. District Court in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, resolves claims brought in three related lawsuits pending in federal court before Chief Judge Frank J. Polozola in Baton Rouge. The lawsuits allege that the facilities have failed to provide adequate regular, vocational, and special education services as required by law. As a result of the agreement, the state will take immediate steps to improve all three areas of services. The Justice Department and private plaintiffs are still negotiating with the state over claims that conditions in the facilities subject juveniles to abuse, excessive force, and inadequate protection from harm, and that the facilities are not providing adequate medical care, mental health care, treatment, and rehabilitation.

"It is very important that juveniles confined in correctional facilities continue to receive appropriate education," said Bill Lann Lee, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. "Returning these juveniles to their communities with educational and vocational skills is vital for everyone in Louisiana. Today's agreement is a positive first step to resolve our lawsuit against Louisiana but our work is not yet done. We will continue working to resolve the remaining issues in this case."

The Justice Department began investigating the juvenile facilities in Louisiana in 1996 under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA) and the pattern or practice provisions of the 1994 Crime Act after receiving complaints about conditions. The Justice Department has the authority to investigate public institutions, including juvenile correctional facilities, to ensure that youth are receiving adequate care and treatment. In 1997, the Justice Department informed the state that conditions in the facilities violated the rights of the confined youth. Efforts to settle the case broke down, and the Justice Department sued Louisiana in 1998 to remedy conditions in the facilities. In 1999, renewed efforts to settle, rather than litigate, the case ensued.

"I am delighted that the educational component of this lawsuit has been resolved amicably," said L.J. Hymel, U.S. Attorney in Baton Rouge. "The attorneys for all of the parties to this litigation have worked long and hard in reaching this agreement. With this kind of continued dedication to the remaining issues, I am optimistic that they can be similarly settled."

As a result of the agreement, the state will:

• hire a State Director of Education to oversee educational services throughout the juvenile system;

• decrease class size in regular, special, and vocational education classes;

• hire 21 new special education teachers throughout the system and hire a sufficient number of regular education teachers to meet the new lowered class size requirements;

• improve the qualifications of teaching staff, including efforts to obtain full certification of teachers with provisional or temporary certification and increase teacher pay to reach parity with local school districts;

• hire 26 special education related services personnel, including school psychologists, diagnosticians, social workers, speech therapists, and transition coordinators in addition to 15 additional teacher aides;

• provide pre-vocational or vocational education to all students, build 11 additional classrooms for vocational education, and hire 11 additional vocational education teachers;

• build 35 additional classrooms for regular and special education classes;

• develop a new, system-wide curriculum designed for a correctional environment;

• improve the processes for screening and identifying youth who are eligible for special education services and increase parental participation in special education services and ensure that female youth receive equivalent academic and vocational education services as male youth; and,

• create a quality assurance program for educational services.

The agreement also contains provisions for enforcement and monitoring. When the state has complied with the agreement, it can ask the court to dismiss the education claims in the three related cases.

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