STUDENTS: Requests the Department of Education to study implementation and accountability implications of student nonenrollment determinations.

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Sidney Barthelemy

Louisiana will study and report on creating a uniform process to determine and document when students are nonenrolled due to incarceration or unknown whereabouts, and how counting

Enrolled. Signed by the President of the Senate and sent to the Secretary of State by the Secretary of the Senate.

Summary of SR 156 (Louisiana, 2026)

Purpose and intent

Senate Resolution 156 requests the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) to study the implementation and accountability implications of determining when a student is nonenrolled due to incarceration or unknown whereabouts.

The resolution arises in the context of Louisiana’s updated school accountability system, which emphasizes a three-goal scorecard (Grow, Achieve, Thrive) and a simplified, standardized approach to measuring school and district performance. It notes that currently there is no uniform process for documenting nonenrollment due to incarceration or unknown location, and that such determinations can negatively affect a school’s accountability metrics.

Key provisions and requirements

The study to be conducted by the LDOE must, at a minimum, address:

Establishing a uniform and standardized process for traditional public school systems to determine and document when a student is nonenrolled because of incarceration or unknown whereabouts.
Creating a process that includes documented, reasonable, good-faith efforts to locate and verify a student’s enrollment status, including minimum documentation requirements, timelines, and verification procedures to ensure consistency and accuracy across school systems.
Assessing the effects of counting a student as enrolled for state accountability purposes (as of the date of determination) after good-faith efforts to locate and verify the student’s status, on schools and school districts.

The LDOE must prepare and submit a written report detailing:

the findings of the study,
a summary of the statistics and data needed to conduct the study,
and any relevant data considerations.

The report must be submitted to the Senate Committee on Education no later than February 15, 2027.

A copy of the resolution and the study requirements must be transmitted to the State Superintendent of Education.

Who/what is affected

Directly affects the Louisiana Department of Education (guidance, processes, data collection, and accountability considerations).

Implications for public school systems in Louisiana that currently document or determine nonenrollment due to incarceration or unknown whereabouts.

Schools and districts would be influenced by any standardized process and documentation requirements adopted as a result of the study.

Procedural and timeline aspects

This is a non-binding resolution directing the LDOE to study and report, not a new law or regulatory change.

Deadline for the written report: February 15, 2027, submitted to the Senate Committee on Education.

The resolution was introduced in the 2026 Regular Session; rules were suspended, and it proceeded through the normal legislative process for consideration.

The sponsor is Senator Barthelemy (co-sponsor: Sidney Barthelemy).

Potential impact and implications

If the study leads to a standardized process, it could:

reduce variability in how districts handle nonenrollment due to incarceration or unknown location.
improve accuracy and fairness in school accountability measurements by ensuring consistent treatment of nonenrolled students.
potentially alter how certain students are counted in accountability determinations, which could affect school performance ratings and intervention requirements.

The focus on good-faith efforts, documentation standards, and verification procedures aims to balance accountability with accurate representation of student status.