School boards must use the latest federal census to reapportion, unless they authorize a special census, and any school board districts they create must be compact, contiguous, and generally based on whole precincts.
§71.3. Procedure for accomplishing reapportionment; special election districts; effective date of same A. Each of the parish and city school boards shall use the latest federal decennial census as the basis upon which to accomplish reapportionment, provided however, that each of said school boards may authorize the taking of a special census to use as a basis for reapportionment. To this end, each of said school boards may employ qualified firms to take such special census, and may employ such other consultants, attorneys, etc. as it deems desirable in order to assist such board in such reapportionment. B. Each of said boards, after determining the number of members of said board after reapportionment is to be effective, may create such school board election districts as it deems desirable. These districts need not be coterminous with other districts that may be created by any governing authority, but any such school board election districts created as a result of this Subpart shall be compact and contiguous. The boundaries of such election districts shall contain whole election precincts established by the parish governing authority under R.S. 18:532 or 532.1. The board may provide that all or part of its members shall be elected from such districts and may provide that one or more of its members may be elected at large. C. Repealed by Acts 1980, No. 285, §9, eff. July 14, 1980. D. The school board election districts provided for herein shall be for the purpose only of electing school board members and shall not be for the purpose of levying taxes or issuing bonds. The creation of such election districts shall not affect existing tax or bonding districts and same shall remain in full force and effect as otherwise provided by law. E.(1) The boundaries of any election district for a new apportionment plan from which members of a school board are elected shall contain whole precincts established by the parish governing authority under R.S. 18:532 or 532.1. (2)(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 17:71.3(E)(1) or any other law to the contrary, if a school board is unable to comply with applicable law regarding redistricting and reapportionment, including adherence to traditional redistricting principles, in the creation of its redistricting or reapportionment plan through the use of whole precincts, the school board may, in the creation of its redistricting or reapportionment plan, divide a precinct into portions which are bounded by visible features which are census tabulation boundaries. No such precinct shall be divided into more than two school board districts. No school board district shall contain more than three divided precincts. The division of any precinct as a result of the boundary between different school systems crossing the precinct shall not be counted towards the limitation on the number of divided precincts allowed in each school board district. (b) Any plan adopted by a school board in contravention of this Subsection shall be null and void by operation of law, and no election shall be conducted using any ballot based on such a null and void plan. The secretary of state shall promptly notify the school board that the plan is null and void by operation of law. Any plan that is null and void under this Subsection may be declared valid by a court of competent jurisdiction upon petition of the school board. The fact that a plan is null and void by operation of law pursuant to this Subsection or is declared null by a court of competent jurisdiction shall not affect the validity or legality of any actions taken by, ordinances or regulations adopted by, or contracts entered into by the school board elected pursuant to the null plan. (3) Repealed by Acts 2001, No. 760, §2. (4) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection or any other law to the contrary, whenever the reapportionment of a school board created by the legislature after January 1, 1995, cannot be accomplished through the use of whole precincts and the number of members of the school board is equal to the number of members of the governing authority of a municipality having the same geographic boundaries as the school board, the reapportionment plan of the municipal governing authority shall be the reapportionment plan of the school board. Reapportionment as used in this Paragraph includes the initial apportionment of the school board. Added by Acts 1968, No. 561, §1. Amended by Acts 1970, No. 319, §1, emerg. eff. July 13, 1970 at 2:00 P.M.; Acts 1975, No. 432, §1; Acts 1982, No. 558, §1, eff. July 22, 1982; Acts 1992, No. 925, §1; Acts 1993, No. 286, §1, eff. June 2, 1993; Acts 1996, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 52, §1, eff. May 7, 1996; Acts 1996, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 87, §1, eff. May 10, 1996; Acts 2001, No. 760, §§1, 2; Acts 2003, No. 1020, §1; Acts 2010, No. 824, §1, eff. June 30, 2010; Acts 2022, No. 303, §1, eff. June 10, 2022.