Bienville Parish School Board building

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Decades-long federal oversight of Bienville Parish Schools has ended. 

All parties agreed on Monday to a joint court filing formally bringing to a close a lawsuit -- U.S. versus Bienville Parish School Board -- that was filed in 1966. The parties agreed to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning the case is permanently dismissed.

“After 60 years, Bienville Parish finally has its school system back. Another one down, more to go. I’m proud to have worked with the Bienville Parish School Board and school system leaders, along with the U.S. Department of Justice, to get this done,” said Attorney General Liz Murrill.

"I feel that our board members voted to do what’s in the best interests of our students and schools. It is imperative that our board members think proactively and make decisions to ensure a better future for our communities. I would like to thank the AG’s office for giving our board an opportunity and the authority to move our school system forward. We will remain committed and continue our efforts to make Bienville Parish a great school system," said Leroy Hamilton, Bienville Parish Schools superintendent.

The dismissal marks another step to bring federal court cases involving Louisiana schools to an end and return decision-making to local communities. Here are other cases decided since last year:

  • April 2025, case dismissed against the Plaquemines Parish School Board.
  • January, case dismissed against DeSoto Parish School Board, which had been in place since 1967.
  • July,  case dismissed against Concordia Parish School Board.
  • August, case dismissed against Bossier Parish School Board