BATON ROUGE — A judge says that East Baton Rouge Parish School District Superintendent LaMont Cole can leave the state pending his trial on bribery and corruption charges tied to a wider state probe of corruption in the East Baton Rouge Parish government. 

Cole's more lenient bond conditions were granted during a Thursday hearing in Judge Carson Marcantel's 19th JDC courtroom.

Cole posted a $15,000 bond and was released after turning himself in at the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on Aug. 6. Cole has since called for his indictment to be thrown out, questioning the case's legality.

According to court records, Cole's legal team said that, as superintendent, he is scheduled to attend multiple out-of-state conferences in Boston, Chicago and Washington, D.C., in September and October.

His lawyers argued that, since Cole has no criminal history, he is not a flight risk and that he is not a threat to the community.

"He is a public official that requires him to travel extensively within the United States," the motion to amend Cole's bond conditions says. "It's not practical for every time Mr. Cole needs to travel to seek prior judicial authority."

Minutes from Thursday's hearing say the court granted the request to lift Cole's travel restrictions defined by his initial bond; however, the attorney general's office says this is not the case and that he was only granted the restrictions lifted for three specific conferences.

Court records note that Cole was not present in the courtroom, but his lawyers were present.

Cole is due in court for an arraignment on Oct. 29.