Legal entanglements stymie students' wishes to leave Kansas City (Mo.) district

Jan 4, 2012 1:04 PM

From The Kansas City Star: The fate of hundreds of students considering a transfer from the Kansas City (Mo.) school district to neighboring systems rests in the hands of lawyers and lawmakers. In other words: No one is going anywhere anytime soon. Kansas City’s loss of accreditation took effect Jan. 1, and an estimated 1,500 families have asked about taking advantage of state law that allows students to transfer out of an unaccredited district. But, as the Missouri General Assembly opens its 2012 session, those transfer rights are tangled in legal and policy disputes.

NOVEMBER 2011....from The Kansas City Star: Missouri Education Commissioner Chris Nicastro has asked the Kansas City school board to consider giving up control of the district Jan. 1. Nicastro has provided the Kansas City board with a draft resolution that, if the board agreed to it, would cede control of the district to a not-yet-created special administrative board. The state Board of Education voted earlier this year to strip the Kansas City district of its provisional accreditation. The district understood at that time that state statute gives it until June 30, 2014, to regain accreditation and avoid a state takeover. But depending on the interpretation of the statute, the state board may not have to wait to assume control.