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Regular Session, 2013
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 149
BY REPRESENTATIVE WESLEY BISHOP
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to reconsider
its decision to close Benjamin E. Mays Preparatory School in New Orleans and to
urge and request the Orleans Parish School Board and the Recovery School District
to study jointly the feasibility of working collaboratively to continue to provide
education services to the students of this school in the Desire community.
WHEREAS, founded in 2009, Benjamin E. Mays Preparatory School is a college
preparatory, open-enrollment charter school located on Higgins Boulevard in the Desire
community of New Orleans; and
WHEREAS, the school's mission is to prepare every student for success in high
school, college, and beyond; and
WHEREAS, the school subscribes to six essential core values: hard work, excellence,
respect, discipline, determination, and leadership; and
WHEREAS, in November of 2012, the state Department of Education and the
Recovery School District recommended that the school's charter contract not be extended
beyond the 2012-2013 school year, and in December of 2012, the State Board of Elementary
and Secondary Education approved this recommendation; and
WHEREAS, though it has only been open a few years, this unique school has
evolved into a true neighborhood institution that is deeply beloved by its students, faculty,
and staff and by the Desire community as a whole; and
WHEREAS, the closure of this school will disperse hundreds of students and disrupt
their educations; and
WHEREAS, there is both a strong need and strong community support for keeping
Benjamin E. Mays Preparatory School open in order to meet the needs of its students, their
parents, and the Desire community; and ENROLLEDHR NO. 149
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WHEREAS, it is appropriate and necessary that the State Board of Elementary and
Secondary Education revisit its decision to close Benjamin E. Mays Preparatory School and
that the Orleans Parish School Board and the Recovery School District collaborate in the
effort to provide education services to this school's students.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the State Board of Elementary and
Secondary Education to reconsider its decision to close Benjamin E. Mays Preparatory
School in New Orleans.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana House of Representatives does
hereby urge and request the Orleans Parish School Board and the Recovery School District
to study jointly the feasibility of working collaboratively to continue to provide education
services to the students of this school in the Desire community and to submit jointly a
written report of findings and conclusions to the House Committee on Education not later
than July 15, 2013.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to the president of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, to the
superintendent of the Recovery School District, to the state superintendent of education, and
to the president of the Orleans Parish School Board.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES