South Louisiana News

There were 48 American Indian or Alaska Native students enrolled in St. Mary Parish's school district in the 2022-23 school year, the same number as the previous year, according to the Louisiana Department of Education.

Data showed that St. Mary Parish's school district welcomed 7,759 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, American Indian or Alaska Native students comprised 0.6% of the student body to be the second least represented ethnicity in the parish districts.

This is the only district within St. Mary Parish, with its head office located in Centerville.

The majority of Louisiana students identified themselves as white and Black, representing 48% and 37% of the state student body respectively during the 2021–22 academic year. Hispanic students made up 8.6% of the student body, and other ethnic minorities made up 5.6%.

However, the teaching staff in Louisiana doesn't fully mirror the student body's demographics, with only 22% of teachers identified as Black or Latino.

Louisiana has recently signed a new law that requires a display of the Ten Commandments in all public schools in the state until the beginning of the upcoming school year. This comes after another religious bill that allows public school districts to hire chaplains to work as mental health professionals and counselors.

Critics argue that these laws violate the First Amendment and a lawsuit has already been filed against the proposal. "The First Amendment promises that we all get to decide for ourselves what religious beliefs, if any, to hold and practice, without pressure from the government", stated the ACLU in the lawsuit.

District	% of American Indian or Alaska Native students enrollment	Total enrollment
St. Mary Parish School District	0.6%	7,759