The proposed student transfer fix is now on its way to Governor Jay Nixon. In addition to allowing individual school buildings to be accredited instead of districts as a whole, the bill would also allow some students to transfer from unaccredited public schools to private, nonsectarian schools. Republican Rick Stream of St. Louis County handled the bill in the House.
“If we do nothing, if we don’t pass this bill, then the chaos that’s occurring in the transfer program now, which is bankrupting school districts, will continue…we need to address this issue today and now,” he said.
Opponents argued that the so-called private option would be a gateway to using vouchers to funnel money from public to private schools. Governor Nixon has indicated he’ll likely veto the bill.