BATON ROUGE — A proposal to set up the rules for an independent St. George School District passed committee in the state legislature Wednesday morning, bringing St. George's decade-plus journey of creating its own school district one step closer to reality.

Sen. Rick Edmonds' SB 234 passed the House Education Committee with nine votes in favor and two votes opposing. The proposal passed the Senate and now heads to the House floor.

The prospective law outlines the operations of the new school district that would operate independently from the East Baton Rouge School District.

Edmonds' proposed law advanced out of committee after new amendments were added to the bill's text.

The amendments added to the bill would allow St. George students to enroll in EBR magnet schools according to rules set by both districts. They also create a process for the division of assets like school buildings. The amended bill also asks St. George to assume some responsibility for employee benefits, including retirement.

St. George's creation is itself rooted in the creation of an independent school district. As far back as 2012, residents of what would become St. George tried unsuccessfully multiple times to create a school district separate from EBR. Other cities that became independent like Zachary, Baker and Central also created their own school districts, most recently in 2005 with Central.

After the city was formally incorporated in April 2024, efforts began in earnest to create a proper St. George School District.

Some critics say the creation of St. George's own school district stands "in the way of progress for kids across East Baton Rouge Parish."

"St. George, since its inception, has continuously and utterly said that East Baton Rouge Parish schools are unfit for their children," EBR School Board Member and President of the Louisiana Democratic Party Dadrius Lanus said during testimony before the committee.

Lanus criticized the committee for approving amendments that would allow St. George students to attend charter schools in East Baton Rouge even after the independent school district was created and enacted.

"This is all done in bad faith," he said. "As the old saying goes, the process has to be just as important as the product. This entire process has been a mess."

Another critic, Southern University political science professor Albert Samuels, called the creation of a St. George School District "another end run around the Supreme Court's mandate in Brown v. Board of Education."

"Fundamentally, that is what this is. That is what this has always been," Samuels said, referring to the majority white demographic of St. George. "Rather than white flight to suburban districts or the creation of private schools, this uses the process of municipal secession to accomplish white flight without having to move."

Despite his fundamental issues with the district's creation, Samuels did commend the amended bill that would see St. George assume some of the financial responsibilities of the transition.

Members of the committee, including Rep. Barbara Freiberg, agreed with Samuels' assessment that previous breakaway districts' creations did not go so smoothly.

"There were a lot of mistakes made with Zachary. Fewer were made with Central. And I'm hoping (for) fewer bumps in the road this time," Freiberg said. "We've improved the process each time. It was not perfect the first time."

Another bill — SB 25 — would put the formal creation of the school district up for a vote with a constitutional amendment.

If SB 25 is passed and signed, this would happen on April 18, 2026.