A St. Louis County judge begins hearing arguments in a case that has the potential to allow thousands of Kansas City and St. Louis students to leave their unaccredited school systems.
(See our own Maria Altman's feature on the issue here).
The hearing, which began Monday, involves a state law that requires unaccredited districts to pay tuition and transportation for students within their boundaries to attend accredited schools.
After the St. Louis district lost its accreditation in 2007, several families in that district that had been paying to send children to the suburban Clayton School District decided they were owed free transfers. They sued when Clayton refused to send the tuition bills to St. Louis.
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled in 2010 in the parents' favor but sent the case back to St. Louis County Circuit Court for further consideration.
