Kirkwood Rep Talks Open Enrollment

and severe rain didn't stop Missouri Representative Rick Stream (R-Kirkwood) from coming to the offices at Wednesday as part of a listening tour, where he discussed the impact of the past year's legislative work on local education.

Stream — who is a member of the Elementary and Secondary Education Committee in the Missouri House of Representatives and a former member of the Kirkwood School Board — listened to questions and summarized his agenda for officials from the Kirkwood and Parkway School districts.

During the session, Stream addressed HB 763, a bill sponsored by Stream in response to the . The bill, which failed in the Senate, would have given restrictions to students from unaccredited districts seeking a new school. Stream said the bill was addressing "the obvious problems with the supreme court ruling."

Stream, referring to the July decisions of the Missouri Supreme Court on the Turner vs Clayton case, said he is concerned that public schools like Kirkwood are going to see a "massive influx" of students looking to transfer schools through open enrollment.

"With (Turner vs. Clayton) and a supreme court member retiring this year, it is hard to say what the ruling will be next time," Stream said. "We need to seek legislation that protects schools from the vague ruling of the courts."

Stream said that under the current ruling, students from private schools not affected by accreditation could transfer schools as well, right next to their public school counterparts.

Other concerns, like who is responsible for the students' tuition when changing schools, are also factors in the Turner vs. Clayton case. Transportation, which Stream believes should be the responsibility of the losing district or the parent, is also a major concern.

"The court ruling last year came after a lot of people made plans for their children, but I think this year a lot more parents will start looking around for adjoining districts to send their students," Stream said.

HB 763 also included a provision that would require accredited districts to formulate admissions criteria for prospective transfer students and would give districts power to accept or deny students based on those criteria. Under the current Missouri Supreme Court ruling, no such criteria are necessary, and receiving districts that deny transfer students leave themselves open for litigation.

Stream said that student trasnfers would be a major issue in Missouri for many years if the courts and the legislature can't find a definite compromise soon.

"No matter what, you got to think of these kids that can't get a good education," Stream said. "While this thing spins wheels, kids are missing opportunities and people are leaving the city (of St. Louis) in droves."

Stream said that as long as unaccredited schools didn't get the fix they needed, money would continue to be wasted.

"At the end of the day, nobody wants to see education dollars being spent on lawsuits; it's just a waste of our funds," Stream said.