Louisiana Seeks Partners to Take Over Failing Schools

State seeks operators to help with turnarounds beyond New Orleans.

Louisiana’s top education officials have launched a nationwide search for organizations to help them turn around academic achievement in 11 chronically failing schools in districts around the state.

In doing so, education leaders must also decide whether to transfer the schools to the state-run Recovery School District , which took over most of the public schools in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. The prospect seems unlikely for both political and practical reasons.

The schools—all deemed “academically unacceptable” under Louisiana’s accountability system for at least five years—are the first wave of what will likely be as many as 48 schools that could be at risk of takeover by the end of the year, said state schools...