Education Reform Group Will Continue to Advocate Student Transfer Rights
June 26, 2015 (ST. LOUIS) – Today, Gov. Nixon vetoed Missouri House Bill 42 (HB42), hard fought legislation that would have expanded options for Missouri students seeking to transfer out of unaccredited schools. The Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri (CEAM) has long championed efforts that ensure all Missouri children have immediate access to the quality education they deserve, and has worked tirelessly with families in failing districts to that end.
“The time has ended for telling families that they must send their children to failing schools,” said Peter Franzen, director, Children’s Education Alliance of Missouri. “Academic success is all too often determined by zip code. But for the Governor’s veto, HB42 would have helped bridge that divide by ensuring no student is trapped in a failed school, which is vitally important to eliminating the educational disparities that put children at a distinct life disadvantage.”
By requiring the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to provide more detailed information on individual schools, HB24 would have provided that each school building would be held accountable for its own success. Students assigned to an unaccredited school building would be able to transfer to another school within the same school district, provided space was available. If space was not available, students would be able to transfer to a school in a neighboring district. Students would also have had the options of attending virtual school and an expanded selection of charter public schools.
Normandy parent, Lisa Thomas, was able to transfer her son to a better district last year and said about the process, “Thank God that he was able to go to Francis Howell North [High School], where he has really accomplished a lot. His grade point average has come up to 3.0. I am very proud of him. It is unconscionable that Gov. Nixon has chosen to act in the best interest of school superintendents, rather than students and their families.”
Since the Missouri legislature passed the bill, CEAMteam has been out talking to parents on the street and at their doors and in just one month, more than one thousand parents have expressed their support and signed a petition urging Gov. Nixon to sign the bill into law.
Throughout the past four years, CEAM has worked closely with thousands of families, providing valuable information and helping them navigate the myriad hurdles they have had to clear in order to ensure their child is able to attend an accredited school. While the organization is disappointed by the Governor’s veto of HB42, it only views it as a setback.
“House Bill 42 represents years of work by advocacy organizations like ours as well as parents from throughout the state,” said Franzen. “While we are disappointed by the Governor’s veto, we are more energized than ever by the support we have amassed and by the growing commitment to our mission. Our work won’t be done until all Missouri children have equal access to educational opportunities they need to be successful. We aren’t going to quit on them.”
