PORT ALLEN — When the West Baton Rouge Parish School System fired Melissa Durham in March, her ten special education students were left without a certified teacher for the remainder of the school year, according to a federal lawsuit now pending against the district.

That lawsuit alleges Durham's self-contained classroom at Port Allen High School was staffed for most of the 2025-2026 school year by a paraprofessional and a substitute — not a credentialed special education instructor. Without a qualified teacher, the lawsuit alleges, the students could not receive the minutes required under their Individual Education Plans, a potential violation of federal law.

The district has not responded to questions about the classroom's staffing after Durham's termination.

Durham's case, which WBR Independent first reported in April, began as a state court lawsuit. On May 15, the West Baton Rouge Parish School Board moved the case to the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, represented by the Baton Rouge firm Hammonds, Sills, Adkins, Guice, Noah and Perkins.

The full petition, now part of the federal court record, reveals details that go well beyond what was publicly known when the suit was filed.

What the district's own records show

Before examining what the petition alleges, consider what the district's own budget documents show.

Port Allen High School's special education program received $66 in federal IDEA materials and supplies funding during the 2024-25 school year — the year Durham was teaching there. That figure comes from IDEA Part B financial records obtained by WBR Independent through a public records request.

The contrast with other district schools is stark. Brusly Elementary received $2,421. Port Allen Elementary received $2,056. Caneview K-8 received $1,757. Port Allen High, where Durham's self-contained class served students with significant behavioral and medical needs, received $66.

When WBR Independent requested supply fund records specific to Port Allen High, Port Allen Middle, and Caneview, Superintendent Smith responded in writing that the district had no records matching the request.

The district's overall budget for the current school year allocates $4.5 million for special education instruction — less than the $4.8 million allocated for student transportation. The district's reserve fund balance stands at $16.4 million.

Those numbers form the backdrop for what the full federal petition now alleges.

What the full filing shows

Durham's 43-page petition describes a classroom that was understaffed from the start and a school administration that she says responded to her complaints not with action, but with retaliation.

The lawsuit alleges the district used Kelly Services substitute teachers — without proper special education certification or training — to fill paraprofessional positions in self-contained classrooms, in violation of state staffing requirements under Louisiana Bulletin 1706 and federal Title I regulations. Even with substitutes counted, the petition alleges the district still failed to meet required ratios.

Durham's classroom, the filing states, started the 2025-2026 school year with eleven students on her caseload and one paraprofessional assigned for only half the day. Durham's requests for additional support were denied. Her part-time paraprofessionals were later pulled from her classroom entirely — an action the filing characterizes as retaliation for her reporting of a bullying incident.

The petition describes the broader environment in the district's Special Needs program as one of systemic neglect. Self-contained classroom teachers were denied basic supplies — including tissues, wipes, disinfectant spray, and safety equipment such as shields and gloves for managing students with behavioral challenges. The district's reported response to those requests, according to the filing, was that they needed to "put something in place for that."

Special Needs students at Port Allen High School were denied access to Career and Technical Education courses on the new campus, according to the petition. Funds for Special Needs classrooms and instruction were significantly reduced. A curriculum used in previous years was partially removed.

A student left without protection

Central to the filing is the experience of one student — identified only as Student 1 — whom Durham describes as having advocated for over the course of a year.

The petition alleges that a paraprofessional assigned to Durham's classroom repeatedly bullied and intimidated Student 1, including a December 2025 incident in which the student was reduced to tears. Durham reported the incident as a mandatory reporter. According to the filing, the administration did not investigate — it retaliated.

After Durham's termination, the petition states, Student 1's situation worsened. A schedule change severed the student's access to a second paraprofessional who had provided a measure of protection during lunch. The student, according to the filing, was left eating alone.

Student 1's parents eventually pulled her from school under doctor's orders after the district threatened truancy proceedings, according to the petition. The parents had to obtain a restraining order against those threats.

The filing also describes a separate incident in which Durham sought to transport a different student to the Audrey Hepburn Child Abuse Center in Baton Rouge for a state-requested evaluation following a report of sexual abuse. The Department of Children and Family Services had asked Durham to facilitate the transport because the alleged perpetrator was the only available driver and other family members faced limitations. Principal Williams denied permission. Durham transported the student at the end of the school day under emergency circumstances. According to the petition, the district later used the vehicle incident as one of its stated grounds for termination.

The district moves to federal court

The School Board's decision to remove the case to federal court was filed May 15 — one month after the Board was formally served with the lawsuit.

In its removal filing, the Board argued that Durham's claims under the First and Fourteenth Amendments and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act give the federal court jurisdiction. Attorneys Parris Taylor and Marissa Batiste of Hammonds Sills signed the removal notice.

The filing notes that Superintendent Dr. Chandler Smith — named individually as a defendant — had not been served as of the removal date and therefore did not need to consent to the transfer.

Not the only case

Durham's lawsuit is one of three pending cases alleging retaliation against staff who reported problems involving Special Needs students in the district. Two others — Green v. WBRPSS (C-1049995), involving the involuntary transfer of a Brusly Elementary principal, and Allen v. Lewis et al. (C-1050534), in which a Brusly Middle School paraprofessional was convicted of felony cruelty to juveniles — were detailed in WBR Independent's initial report on this case.

Durham's petition also references a veteran self-contained teacher at another district school who resigned in December 2025 over what the filing describes as "paraprofessional issues and abuse of power."

Durham filed complaints with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, the Louisiana Department of Education, the Louisiana Board of Ethics, and the Louisiana Inspector General's Office before filing suit. OCR confirmed receipt of her complaint on March 19, 2026.

The case is now pending in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana. 

District response

WBR Independent submitted detailed questions to Superintendent Smith, Principal Williams, School Board President Daigrepont, all board members, and the district's legal counsel on May 28, 2026. Smith responded the same morning on behalf of the School Board.

"The School Board is aware of the allegations contained in Mrs. Durham's lawsuit and strongly disputes those allegations," Smith wrote. "Because this matter is in litigation, the School Board will have no further comment on the matter."

Williams and Daigrepont did not respond independently. No other board members or attorneys provided comment. Kelly Services, named in the lawsuit in connection with the staffing allegations, did not respond to a request for comment.

This story is based on court filings that are part of the public record. The allegations in the lawsuit have not been tested in court. WBR Independent will continue to follow this case as it develops.

Part 1 of this series: She reported a student being bullied. The district fired her.