According to Cunningham, students in the St. Louis City school district are being “locked” in failing schools. By law, students in districts that have lost accreditation can apply to, and must be accepted in, surrounding districts. She says those applications are being refused, “and so, they are not getting their present rights.”
She plans to file a bill that reflects the testimony she heard during the Committee’s hearings. For her, that means seeking legislative approval for private schools to accept students living in districts that have lost accreditation. She says, “…we certainly have excellent ones out there who are willing to take these children and provide them an excellent education, and the other advantage that they noted to us was they’re in the city, or very near the city, so we would not have to spend the money and the time transporting the students out to county districts.”
She also anticipates lawmakers considering the expansion of charter schools, encouraging surrounding school districts to open their own charters in the St. Louis City Limits, expanding online virtual school options for parents who want that to help meet the needs of the number of students who will seek transfer.
For the rest of the article, go to Private school options considered for unaccredited districts’ students
