BATON ROUGE – Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has secured another major victory in another case of federal oversight involving the Bienville Parish School Board.
The case, United States v. Bienville Parish School Board, et al., was filed in 1966 and has been pending in federal court for six decades. On August 17, the parties filed a joint stipulation of dismissal with prejudice. The dismissal means the federal case against the Bienville Parish School Board is over, and the parties agreed to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning the case is permanently dismissed.
“After 60 years, Bienville Parish finally has its school system back,” Murrill said in a press release. “Another one down, more to go. I’m proud to have worked with the Bienville Parish School Board and school system leaders, along with the U.S. Department of Justice, to get this done.”
Bienville Superintendent Leroy Hamilton said the move is “what’s in the best interests of our students and schools.”
“It is imperative that our board members think proactively and make decisions to ensure a better future for our communities,” Hamilton said. “I would like to thank the AG’s office for giving our board an opportunity and the authority to move our school system forward. We will remain committed and continue our efforts to make Bienville Parish a great school system.”
The dismissal is another step in Murrill’s effort to bring decades-old federal court cases involving Louisiana schools to an end and return decision-making to local communities.
In April 2025, following her office’s involvement, the U.S. Department of Justice dismissed its long-pending case against the Plaquemines Parish School Board.
In January 2026, following the involvement of Murrill’s office, the U.S. Department of Justice dismissed its long-pending case against the DeSoto Parish School Board and released the school board from the federal court order that had been in place since 1967.
In July 2026, Murrill secured a major victory before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which ordered the district court to end decades-old federal court oversight of the Concordia Parish School Board.
Earlier this month, Bossier Parish became the latest Louisiana school system to move beyond decades-old federal court oversight after a joint stipulation of dismissal with prejudice was filed to bring the case to a close.
Murrill’s Solicitor General team, led by Solicitor General Ben Aguiñaga and Deputy Solicitor General Morgan Brungard, represented the Bienville Parish School Board’s interests in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Justice throughout the effort to bring the case to a close.
