BATON ROUGE - Last year, the Louisiana Department of Education stepped in to help the East Baton Rouge Special Education Department, hiring a "Special Master" for the district to oversee the department's resources.

The move came after state parents' complaints were never investigated.

"She has come in and audited some of our folders and provided some recommendations and feedback," Executive Director of Exceptional Student Services, Dr. Janet Harris, said.

But now the district is looking to go a step further. The school board is set to vote on a contract for up to $150,000 with the Boston-based firm Public Consulting Group to ensure they're using the most efficient and effective practices for students and parents, while also staying in compliance with state monitoring requirements.

"With the monitoring processes that we're going to develop and implement, those would target any compliance issues, possibly those that we would have with IEP development, implementation of what's prescribed in the student's IEP," Dr. Harris said.

Dr. Harris says the contract will not only aid in compliance management, but it will help student academics as well.

"Also informing us on what professional development may be needed for teachers, what other supports may be needed for those students, in the hopes of them gaining academic achievement," she said.

While the effort seems to be a step in the right direction for the special education department, some parents feel otherwise.

Mary-Patricia Wray has a child with exceptionalities who attended East Baton Rouge Schools in the past.

"This is a school district that has been found out of compliance so often that the state of Louisiana made them the only district in the state of Louisiana that was required to have a special master over special education," she said.

Wray has had her own personal experience with noncompliance in the department, trying to get the services her child needs.

"I would say as a mom in the community who hears a lot from other parents of children with disabilities, they're noncompliance issues have gotten worse," Wray said.

The contract is set to be voted on by the school board during tomorrow night's meeting.