| Advisory Opinion request regarding whether the Code of Governmental Ethics prohibits the daughter of the Special Education Director for the Allen Parish School Board from providing speech therapy services to the Allen Parish School District. |
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Dr. Kevin Scott LeJeune is the Special Education Director for the Allen Parish School Board ("APSB"). The APSB is in need of speech therapy providers and has consistently struggled to find enough providers to meet the needs of its students. Dr. LeJeune's daughter, Lydia Jantz LeJeune, has an M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology and is considering providing speech therapy services to APSB as an employee or independent contractor.
The administrative structure of service providers for APSB provides a significant degree of separation between Dr. LeJeune's role and speech therapy providers. The line of authority is established as follows:
- Direct Supervision - School Principals maintain direct supervision over the daily activities and on-site services of employees and therapeutic service providers assigned to their respective campuses.
- Clinical and District Supervision - the district-level Pupil Appraisal Speech Pathology Coordinator provides clinical and structural supervision for speech therapists.
- Intermediate Management - the Pupil Appraisal Speech Pathology Coordinator reports to the Special Education Coordinator.
- Administrative Oversight - the Special Education Coordinator reports to Dr. LeJeune, the Special Education Director.
Dr. LeJeune asks whether his daughter, Lydia LeJeune, is permitted to be employed by or contract with APSB to provide speech therapy services to eligible special education students, specifically considering the "critical shortage" of speech pathologists, while he serves as the Special Education Director for APSB.
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La. R.S. 42:1113A(1)(a) states no public servant…member of such a public servant's immediate family, or legal entity in which he has a controlling interest shall bid on or enter into any contract, subcontract, or other transaction that is under the supervision or jurisdiction of the agency of such public servant.
La. R.S. 42:1119A provides that no member of the immediate family of an agency head shall be employed in his agency.
La. R.S. 42:1102(2)(a) defines "agency" to mean a department, office, division, agency, commission, board, committee, or other organizational unit of a governmental entity. "Agency of the public servant" and "his agency" when used in reference to the agency of a public servant shall mean: (vi) For public servants of political subdivisions, it shall mean the agency in which the public servant serves.
La. R.S. 42:1102(3) defines "agency head" to mean the chief executive or administrative officer of an agency or any member of a board or commission who exercises supervision over the agency.
La. R.S. 42:1102(13) defines "immediate family" as the term relates to a public servant to mean his children, the spouses of his children, his brothers and their spouses, his sisters and their spouses, his parents, his spouse, and the parents of his spouse.
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Adopt the proposed advisory opinion.
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| Assigned Attorney: |
Jessica Meiners |
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