RANKINS v. STATE BD. OF ELEM. & SEC. EDUC.
637 So.2d 548 (1994)
Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.
March 17, 1994.
Plaintiffs assert that BESE exceeded the scope of its authority in adopting the GEE because the legislature did not specifically authorize a graduation exit exam. For the reasons assigned below, we conclude that BESE has authority to establish the GEE as a requirement for obtaining a state diploma.
Article VIII Section 3(A) of the Louisiana Constitution provides that:
The State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is created as a body corporate. It shall supervise and control the public elementary and secondary schools, vocational-technical training and special schools under its jurisdiction and shall have budgetary responsibility for all funds appropriated or allocated by the state for those schools, all as provided by law. The board shall have other powers, duties, and responsibilities as provided by this constitution or by law, but shall have no control over the business affairs of a parish or city school board or the selection or removal of its officers and employees. The Louisiana Supreme Court, in Aguillard v. Treen,440 So.2d 704, 708 (La.1983), concluded that this constitutional provision is not self-executing. Thus, BESE's supervision and control of public elementary and secondary education is not unfettered, but is subject to the laws passed by the legislature.2Id. We therefore look to legislative enactments in search of BESE's authority to establish the GEE. The legislature set forth the general powers of BESE in La.R.S. 17:6. This statute contains numerous grants of specific powers as well as the following general provision:
A. In the exercise of its supervision and control over the public elementary and secondary schools, vocational-technical and postsecondary vocational-technical schools and programs except in colleges and universities, and special schools under its jurisdiction, and in the exercise of its budgetary responsibility for all funds appropriated or allocated by the state for public elementary and secondary schools, vocational-technical and postsecondary vocational-technical programs and schools except colleges and universities, and special schools placed under its jurisdiction, the board shall have authority to:
. . . .
(15) Perform such other functions as are necessary to the supervision and control of those phases of education under its supervision and control.
1. Prior to implementation of the GEE, the only academic requirement for high school graduation was the successful completion of 23 Carnegie units. The required units presently consist of 4 units of English, 3 units of mathematics, 3 units of science, 3 units of social studies, 2 units of health and physical education, ½ unit of computer literacy, and 7½ units of electives. Louisiana Department of Education, Louisiana Handbook for School Administrators (revised November 1992).
2. In answering a certified question from the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Aguillard court discussed the meaning of the phrase "as provided by law" contained in La. Const. art. VIII § 3(A). The court concluded that according to this phrase, "the Board shall supervise and control the public elementary and secondary schools as provided `by the legislature' or `by statute.'" Id. at 708, see also Board of Elementary and Secondary Education v. Nix,347 So.2d 147, (La.1977) (The Louisiana Supreme Court interpreted La. Const. art. VIII § 3(A) to mean that although the legislature shall provide by law for the supervision, control, and budgetary power of the board, the legislature cannot regulate and limit BESE's constitutional grant of power to supervise, control, and budget education.) 3. House Concurrent Resolution 204 of 1989 provides some evidence of the legislature's intent regarding the GEE. In April of 1989, BESE adopted a resolution requiring all Louisiana students, public and non-public, to pass the GEE before obtaining a state high school diploma. In response to this resolution, the legislature adopted House Concurrent Resolution 204 which expresses the legislature's intent to limit the applicability of the GEE to public school students. Following this action by the legislature, BESE adopted a new policy which stated that the GEE would be mandatory for public students and optional for non-public students.
This resolution is significant in that the legislature did not disapprove of BESE's plans to make the GEE a requirement for Louisiana's public school students.
4. Plaintiffs attempt to distinguish the Debra P. case from the present case by noting that "the Louisiana State Legislature has expressed no interest in the implementation of a graduation exit exam which is different from the State of Florida." In light of our conclusions in the first portion of this opinion, this distinction does not affect the application of the Debra P. holdings to the facts of this case.
5. The Fifth Circuit remanded the case to hear evidence on whether Florida's exit exam tested materials actually taught in Florida's public schools and to determine whether the exam had a racially discriminatory impact. Id. at 408. Following the district court's decision on remand, the case was appealed to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Debra P. v. Turlington,730 F.2d 1405 (11th Cir.1984). The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's findings that the Florida students were taught tested skills, that the exam did not discriminate, and that the exam would help remedy the vestiges of past segregation. Id. at 1416-17. 6. Students are afforded four opportunities to take and pass the Science and Social Studies portions of the exam and they have six opportunities to take and pass the other sections.
7. Home study students who return to the public school system in the eleventh grade are not required to take three of the five parts of the GEE and students returning in the twelfth grade are not required to take any part of the exam.
8. Persons obtaining a GED are not required to take any part of the GEE.
9. BESE maintains a policy of optional participation for approved non-public schools.
10. There is no evidence in the record which attempts to set forth the number of non-parochial schools in Louisiana vis a vis parochial schools. Therefore, under the equal protection analysis, the students are classified as public versus non-public.