A troubled charter school has sued the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education after it says the state unlawfully took over the school by ousting its board of directors.
Education Explosion Inc. doing business as Impact Charter School filed its lawsuit February 23 in federal court against the BESE. Impact Charter School is located in Baker.
On February 21, the BESE removed Impact’s board of directors. The school says the move constitutes “an excessive state overreach” in violation of state law, Impact’s charter agreement and federal due process rights.
Founder Chakesha Scott has operated the 400-plus student school since it opened more than a decade ago north of Baton Rouge. A state audit earlier this month questioned Scott’s management of the school, accusing her of diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars from the school and a related private foundation to pay for personal travel, a car lease, an in-ground swimming pool at her house and more.
Scott’s husband Eric Scott serves as principal of the school.
The audit also mentioned a potential kickback scheme with a school contractor and said more than $1.5 million diverted to a private philanthropic foundation also led by Scott called Friends of Impact Charter School was meant to support the school. The report says the foundation never has supported the school.
The school previously sued the state to block the release of the audit. Attorneys for the school also have claimed the audit is defamatory and inaccurate.
In addition to removing the Impact board, state Education Superintendent Cade Brumley also put a new board in place.
All of this is happening just weeks after the BESE renewed Impact’s charter through 2031.
In the complaint, Impact says the removal of its board and replacement with state-appointed officials strips the school of its governance autonomy. It says the BESE’s actions “exceed the scope of its authority and lack proper due process, causing irreparable harm to Impact, its students, staff and the community.”
Impact is a B-rated pre-K through eighth-grade free public charter school which, according to the complaint, “has consistently met the performance and operational standards outlines in its charter agreement and Louisiana’s Charter School Law.”
In the complaint, the school says the BESE’s decision to install its own officials violates Impact’s contractual rights, deprives the community of proper representation and jeopardizes the stability of the school.
“The removal of Impact’s governance structure was done without sufficient justification, exceeding BESE’s statutory authority, and violating Impact’s right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment,” the complaint states.
The school accuses BESE of violation of due process, violation of the Louisiana Charter School Law, violation of federal non-profit governance laws and violation of the U.S. Constitution’s Contract Clause.
It seeks to have the court declare BESE’s removal of the Impact Board of Directors unlawful and issue preliminary and permanent injunctions keeping BESE from implementing the removal of the board, appointing and installing the state-selected board as well as interfering with Impact’s governance and operations. The school also seeks compensatory damages, attorney fees and court costs.
Impact is being represented by Ronald S. Haley Jr. of Haley & Associates in Baton Rouge.
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana case number 3:25-cv-00163