Data expert leaves Mississippi Department of Education

The Mississippi Department of Education’s data guru is leaving the agency after working there for little more than a year.

J.P. Beaudoin, the department's chief of research and development, was hired  in August 2015 to oversee six offices, including student assessment, accreditation and educator licensure. MDE spokeswoman Jean Cook confirmed his departure and did not provide further details.

Beaudoin received recent attention for his role in developing standardized test standards and accreditation ratings.

A lawsuit filed in August alleges Beaudoin created a racially and sexually hostile work environment and discriminated against Melissa Hall, who is representing herself in the matter. Hall served as a business systems analyst before Beaudoin fired her, according to the lawsuit.

Hall, who is African-American, said in her complaint that Beaudoin told another MDE employee that the agency “needed to get rid of” a white, female employee “to prevent me (Hall) from later claiming I was the victim of race discrimination.”

The Clarion-Ledger reported in May that Beaudoin continued to serve as CEO for a consulting company since joining MDE. Agency travel records show he lives in Louisiana, where his Baton Rouge-based company, Research in Action, earned $225,104 in MDE contract work before his hire.

Research in Action has had recent contracts with the Delaware Department of Education and the New England Secondary School Consortium.

Contact Mollie Bryant at mbryant2@gannett.com or 601-961-7251. Follow @MollieEBryant on Twitter.