Baton Rouge Reporter

There were 35,909 Black or African American students enrolled in East Baton Rouge Parish districts in the 2022-23 school year, 2.7% less than the previous year, according to the Louisiana Department of Education.

Data showed that East Baton Rouge Parish districts welcomed 56,552 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, Black or African American students comprised 63.5% of the student body to be the most represented ethnicity in the parish districts.

Among the 11 districts in East Baton Rouge Parish, East Baton Rouge Parish School District recorded the highest enrollment of Black or African American students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of 27,998 students.

The main offices of all districts mentioned in the story are located in cities associated with East Baton Rouge Parish.

The majority of Louisiana students identified themselves as white and Black, representing 48% and 37% of the state student body respectively during the 2021–22 academic year. Hispanic students made up 8.6% of the student body, and other ethnic minorities made up 5.6%.

However, the teaching staff in Louisiana doesn't fully mirror the student body's demographics, with only 22% of teachers identified as Black or Latino.

Louisiana has recently signed a new law that requires a display of the Ten Commandments in all public schools in the state until the beginning of the upcoming school year. This comes after another religious bill that allows public school districts to hire chaplains to work as mental health professionals and counselors.

Critics argue that these laws violate the First Amendment and a lawsuit has already been filed against the proposal. "The First Amendment promises that we all get to decide for ourselves what religious beliefs, if any, to hold and practice, without pressure from the government", stated the ACLU in the lawsuit.

District	% of Black or African American students enrollment	Total enrollment
Recovery School District - Baton Rouge	91.8%	1,688
City of Baker School District	90.1%	1,005
Office of Juvenile Justice School District	79.7%	227
Thrive Academy	78.9%	166
Southern University Lab School	74.7%	783
East Baton Rouge Parish School District	69.1%	40,510
Louisiana Schools for the Deaf and Visually Impaired	61.4%	132
Zachary Community School District	57.2%	5,605
Special School District	44.2%	154
Central Community School District	21%	4,819
LSU Laboratory School	12.9%	1,463