PRESS STATEMENT
For Immediate Release
Wed., Aug. 6, 2014
Contact: Anne Marie Moy
Today, a preliminary injunction was requested that would allow the five Normandy students listed as plaintiffs in a lawsuit to continue to attend accredited schools while the suit proceeds in the courts. At a hearing in Clayton, St. Louis County Circuit Court Judge Michael Burton concluded that he would take the request under advisement. We hope for a ruling soon.
In the interim, Normandy transfer students remain in limbo. Absent the injunction, students who previously transferred will not be able to continue on in their schools in the coming year, unless the defendant districts willingly reverse their policy not to accept them.
This news comes on the heels of a secretive, last-minute maneuver by the State Board of Education to circumvent Normandy students’ rights to transfer to an accredited district. On Aug. 1, the State Board held a meeting that no one knew about and voted to add “State Oversight” as a fifth accreditation status, in an attempt to refute the lawsuit’s contention that state law, which applies to a district that does not maintain accredited schools, applies to the Normandy Schools Collaborative on the basis that a district is either accredited or students have the right to transfer.
Throughout the past several weeks, the Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri (CEAM) has fought hard to ensure Normandy students continue to be allowed to exercise their rights under Section 167.131 RSMo. of the Outstanding Schools Act.
Throughout this process, we have celebrated several victories as our efforts have prompted some of the school districts previously listed as defendants in the suit to reconsider and reverse their decisions to no longer accept transfer students from the 2013-2014 school year.
While this delay is not the outcome these families had hoped for today, CEAM remains vigilant in our commitment to our goal of ensuring that every Missouri child has access to the high quality education they deserve.
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