The Natchitoches Parish School Board officially enacted its 2026–2027 Student Handbook at its June 9 meeting, making changes to classroom regulations, campus medical access, and curriculum funding. The board also finalized a transparent employee salary schedule, and accepted key educational grants.
The board voted unanimously to approve the 2026–2027 Student Code of Conduct Handbook. Because of the vast wave of education bills remaining on Governor Jeff Landry’s desk, the handbook functions as a living document that will likely return for legal updates in two months.
The newly ratified handbook cements several major operational changes:
- Zero-Tolerance Cell Phone Seizures: Staff will strictly target unauthorized cell phones and smartwatches. On a first offense, the device will be seized immediately and held until the end of the day, requiring a parent or guardian to physically pick it up. Finalized handbooks will be pushed directly to all student iPads.
- Mandatory 90-Day Placement for THC Vapes: In compliance with state Act 497, any student caught with marijuana, THC, or chemical cannabinoid derivatives on school property shall face a mandatory recommendation for a 90-day alternate placement on the first offense. The rule applies strictly to all students, including those with medical marijuana cards.
- Weapon Policy Adjustments: In accordance with shifting state frameworks, the mandatory two-semester expulsion policy for possessing blades now applies strictly to grades 6–12, and the minimum illegal blade length has been raised from 2 inches to 2.5 inches.
- Complete Hair Color Freedom: In a major policy shift, all restrictions on student hair color have been completely expunged. The handbook committee adopted parent feedback stating that hair color is “an adult problem and not a child problem” that should never act as a barrier to classroom learning.
- Dress Code and Uniform Relaxations: Students are now permitted to wear navy or red undershirts to match uniform tops, relaxing a rigid white-only mandate. Natchitoches Junior High was also released from a legacy rule requiring hard-to-find gold jackets, aligning them with standard district jacket colors. A new safety clause explicitly dictates that under extreme weather conditions, no student jackets may be confiscated by staff.
A late update was added to page 17 of the handbook to satisfy House Bill 684, formally outlining the district’s crisis intervention and de-escalation resources for parents. The text publishes facts regarding the district’s use of a non-violent crisis intervention model as a last-resort preventive measure, and highlights the availability of sensory calming rooms and “calming corners” across district campuses (including verified sensory rooms at Weaver, L.P. Vaughn, and NJH) which are integrated into student discipline and special education plans.
The board also authorized the Outpatient Medical Center (OMC) to expand its school-based health clinic footprint to Natchitoches Junior High. Funded entirely through a federal grant at zero cost to the school board, the expansion ensures continuity of care for students moving up from the elementary level. The clinic provides wellness checks, sick visits, immunizations, and prescription medications directly on campus under strict parental consent to boost attendance and aid working parents.
The board formally accepted several long-standing annual grants from the Rapides Foundation, headlined by an unexpected $47,000 funding increase for the Effective Schools Grant, bringing the total award to $189,333.
District curriculum coordinators noted the increase reflects proper fund management in prior years. The new funding will be heavily allocated toward professional learning and teacher stipends, focusing on three core areas:
- K-5 Math Capacity: Building teacher capacity for the district-wide launch of a brand-new primary math curriculum, Eureka Math².
- K-2 Early Literacy: Boosting student performance ahead of Louisiana’s rigid new K-2 literacy and “Dibels” accountability metrics.
- Social Studies & Secondary Support: Targeted professional development for social studies and specialized allocations for new teachers in grades 6-12.
Additionally, the board renewed the Youth Volunteer School District Grant, adding two new campuses to the service-learning diploma program, and the Healthy Behavior School District Partnership Grant (held since 2011). The Healthy Behavior grant provides $1,500 allotments per school based on a mandatory “School Health Index” to purchase non-consumable wellness assets—including PE equipment tied to active curricula, vaping prevention lifeskills programs, outdoor picnic tables, basketball goals, and high-demand pickleball sets.
The board officially passed its 2026–2027 employee salary schedule. The document features an overhaul of internal language to maximize clarity and erase a controversial small-print legacy clause that forced teachers to manually subtract $1,500 from their base pay before applying contract multipliers.
The schedule also finalizes a brand-new $3,000 annual stipend for teachers and paraprofessionals entering the newly launched “SmartSteps” program—a specialized, self-contained K-2 classroom designed to serve students experiencing severe maladaptive behavioral and emotional issues. Staff will be trained holistically alongside mental health professionals and social workers. Finally, a standardized $600 stipend was codified for campus club coordinators, to be distributed as a lump allotment to principals based on overall school enrollment metrics.