La. Admin. Code tit. 28 § I-309

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section I-309 - State Superintendent

A. Appointment

1. The state superintendent shall be appointed by a two-thirds vote of the total membership of the board, subject to confirmation by the senate.

2. The board shall enter into a contract with the state superintendent that delineates the terms and conditions of employment. The length of the contract shall be determined by the board, but may not extend past the end of the term of office of the board members making the appointment, except that the contract may provide that the state superintendent may serve until the succeeding board has made an appointment.

3. Any vacancy in the office of the state superintendent which occurs prior to the expiration of the term of his/her contract shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term by the method of appointment provided herein.

4. The board shall delegate to the state superintendent such of its powers and duties as it deems appropriate to aid the state superintendent in the efficient administration of his/her responsibility for the implementation of the policies of the board.

B. Qualifications. The state superintendent shall possess the following qualifications.

1. General:

a. advanced degree in public administration, education, or related area;

b. background in the formulation and implementation of public policy;

c. strong academic background; and

d. qualifications as are adopted by rule by the board for the position of superintendent of a city, parish, or other local public school board, except that any such qualification may be waived by a favorable vote of at least two-thirds of the authorized board membership.

2. Experience:

a. proven record of success in administration;

b. demonstrated ability to achieve positive results;

c. credibility in his/her current profession; and

d. proven record of team building.

3. Professional skills:

a. proven decision-making skills;

b. proven leadership skills;

c. ability to work effectively with the legislature and executive branches of the government, education, business, and civic organizations; and

d. outstanding interpersonal and communication skills.

C. Compensation. The annual salary of the state superintendent shall be set by the board subject to the approval of the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget.

D. General Authority

1. The state superintendent shall execute and implement those educational policies and programs which are under the supervision and control of the board and shall serve as the administrative head of the LDE.

2. The state superintendent shall have such other powers, functions, duties, and responsibilities as may be provided by law, regulation, and policy.

3. The state superintendent shall administer the recovery school district, an intermediate education unit within the LDE, pursuant to R.S. 17:1990. As the administrative head of the LDE, the state superintendent is the appointing authority for the recovery school district, except as provided herein.

4. The state superintendent may delegate, subject to the approval of the board, the appointing authority conferred upon him/her by law as to the recovery school district to the recovery school district supervising executive. The state superintendent may delegate administrative authority conferred upon him/her by law as to the recovery school district to the recovery school district supervising executive, subject to any restrictions provided by law, rule, or policy.

E. Duties

1. The state superintendent shall establish such divisions within the LDE as are necessary or appropriate to carry out the functions vested by or under authority of the constitution and laws.

2. The state superintendent shall have budgetary responsibility for all funds appropriated or allocated by the state for the day-to-day operations and for the functions of the LDE that are not inconsistent with the functions of the board.

3. The state superintendent, as the administrative head of the LDE, shall oversee the administration and distribution of all federal funds received for the benefit of those phases of education under the jurisdiction of the board, in accordance with policies adopted by the board.

4. The state superintendent may review the responsibilities of the LDE and prepare a plan to restructure and reorganize the LDE subject to the approval of the board and in accordance with Louisiana Revised Statutes 36:645.

5. The state superintendent shall provide staff services within the LDE that are needed by the board to carry out its constitutional and statutory mandates.

6. The state superintendent shall exercise his/her responsibilities for personnel appointments in the following manner.

a. The state superintendent, with the consent of the board, may establish or abolish positions that direct the offices/divisions of the LDE.

b. The state superintendent shall make appointments to senior departmental positions. Senior departmental positions are unclassified positions that compose the superintendent's cabinet and any other senior unclassified position so designated by the state superintendent. Unless otherwise provided herein or in other administrative manuals approved by the board, employees holding such positions shall serve at the pleasure of the state superintendent, in accordance with the law.

c. The state superintendent shall appoint the recovery school district supervising executive with prior approval of the board. The board president shall be notified of any acting appointments taking effect and the board shall be notified of the acting appointment at its next regularly scheduled meeting. Upon appointment approval by the board, the employment of the recovery school district supervising executive will continue unless he/she is removed by the board upon recommendation of the state superintendent or upon voluntary separation from employment.

d. The state superintendent shall employ/appoint and fix the salaries and duties of employees of the LDE, including the recovery school district, subject to applicable Civil Service laws, rules, and regulations, and other applicable laws, rules, regulations, and policies.

e. The selection of appointees to all unclassified positions shall be based on professional, technical, and/or clerical qualifications appropriate to each position.

f. No person shall, on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, handicap, veteran status, or any other non-merit factor, be discriminated against in any employment practice.

g. In addition to the above, the state superintendent shall exercise his/her responsibilities for personnel matters in accordance with the constitution and laws of the state.

7. The state superintendent's responsibilities with respect to local education agencies shall include, but not be limited to:

a. Pursuant to the rules, regulations, and policies adopted by the board, the state superintendent shall offer assistance to local public school officials and the elementary and secondary schools of the state in their efforts to adopt procedures by which:

i. courses of study prescribed by the board will be followed;

ii. teachers will meet the standards prescribed by the board; and

iii. schools will meet the standards for approval, which are prescribed by law or by the board.

b. The state superintendent shall assist the local education agencies and teachers in securing the best possible results from their efforts.

c. The state superintendent shall prescribe the manner and substance of classifications for program cost accounting to be used by local education agencies in the preparation and adoption of annual budgets.

d. The state superintendent shall receive the annual budget of each local education agency and may require the local education agency to operate the schools within the receipts normally expected and set up in the school system budget. This shall include the right to advise school boards participating in the state equalization fund in all matters relating to the preparation and adoption of their budgets and the right to require change when it is clearly evident that the budget fails to comply with the intent and purpose of the state equalization fund.

e. The state superintendent shall receive the annual financial report submitted by local education agencies, as required by law, regulation, or policy.

f. The state superintendent shall identify local school systems as being "academically in crisis" and notify appropriate officials, as provided by law.

8. The state superintendent shall make recommendations to the board for the approval of type 5 charter schools, subject to the policies and processes approved by the board.

9. The state superintendent shall periodically inform the board of areas in which policy development is needed.

La. Admin. Code tit. 28, § I-309

Promulgated by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, LR 34:410 (March 2008), amended LR 37:886 (March 2011), LR 38:3150 (December 2012), LR 39:3262 (December 2013), Amended LR 441995 (11/1/2018), Amended LR 48411 (3/1/2022).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 17.6(A)(10),17:21(C), 17:6(B), 17:21(B), 17:21(D), 17:21(A), 17:1990, 17:24(A), 17:24(B), 17:24(C), 17:24(D), 17:22(2)(f), 36:645, 17:22(6), 17:88(B), 17:88(D), 17:92, 17:10.6(A)(2), 17:3983, 17:43, 17:1945, 36:642(C)(1), and 36:648.1.