Missouri education officials have granted provisional accreditation to the Kansas City School District.
The unanimous vote Wednesday by the State Board of Education means that Kansas City schools no longer will be labeled as unaccredited when classes start next week. That will remove the option for some students to transfer to other nearby schools at the expense of the Kansas City district.
Kansas City schools had been unaccredited since 2012. State education officials said Kansas City students have shown some improvement academically but that many still failed to score as "proficient" on Missouri's standardized tests.
Kansas City schools Superintendent Stephen Green said it can take a while for students scoring below grade level to improve their status, but he believes the district's scores can continue to get better.
