Public school leaders in Baton Rouge are looking to pay a prominent Boston-based consulting firm up to $150,000 to help it figure out how to exit heightened state scrutiny of its special education services.

In spring 2024, State Superintendent of Education Cade Brumley designated the East Baton Rouge Parish school system as a “high-risk district,” triggering additional oversight from his agency, including regular on-site visits as opposed to just reviews of paperwork. And in an apparently first-of-its-kind move for Louisiana, Brumley hired Roxane West, a veteran north Louisiana educator, to serve as his “special master” to ride herd over East Baton Rouge's special education division.

Brumley pointed to a series of detailed complaints from parents outlining recurring problems, giving fo

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