As a part of the New Orleans Public Schools, Lawless opened its doors to African American students on January 27, 1964, as historically the first high school in the Lower Ninth Ward.
[1] Prior to Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, the school had about 900 students.
[1] As of 2007, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials and State of Louisiana education leaders were discussing the level of damage over the school, causing no action to be taken on the school.
State education leaders argued that all of the school was totally destroyed.
On a City of New Orleans website concerning the FEMA Recovery Fund[2] in 2013, announcing the groundbreaking for the new Sanchez Center in the Lower Ninth Ward, Mayor Landrieu also addressed how he worked with the Louisiana Recovery School District to ensure the rebuilding of the $37.5 million Alfred Lawless High School which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.