For now, it appears that both the New Orleans district, Louisiana's largest, and the nearby St. Bernard public schools could be largely out of commission for the whole school year, state Superintendent Cecil J. Picard said. With officials estimating that more than 230,000 public and private school students from Louisiana had been displaced by the storm. Mr. Picard said it was unclear how many would ultimately return to their original communities and schools. Louisiana was struggling to pick up the educational pieces after its pounding by Hurricane Katrina. Major efforts were under way statewide to place evacuated students in schools, while battered, flood-damaged districts began to assess their situation and plan for repairs and rebuilding. One of Louisiana's most daunting tasks will be rebuilding New Orleans, the state's largest city, and its school system, which was already considered in crisis from problems including financial instability, political infighting, and allegations of corruption. But an initial investigation found that 80 of the city's 126 public schools would likely need to be entirely replaced. That means most of the city's schools are unlikely to reopen in the 2005-06 school year.