KC students could transfer to schools outside of their district under bill passed by MO House

Despite strong opposition from Kansas City area school districts, the Missouri House on Wednesday passed a bill that would allow students to transfer to schools outside of their home district.

Under the bill, which passed 85-69, all public school districts could lose students to other districts. Districts would have the option to accept students coming from other districts.

Students would be able to transfer to eligible schools starting during the 2024-2025 school year. School districts that wish to accept incoming students would have to enroll in an open enrollment program by December before each school year.

Kansas City area school districts and Democrats have criticized the legislation, saying it would drain resources from districts and segregate schools.

“I think we will see that school districts will have to shut their doors. And when that happens, we know what happens to those small communities,” said Kenny Southwick, executive director of The Cooperating School Districts of Greater Kansas City, which represents 32 school districts. “There are some schools that if they lose X number of students or X number of funding from the state, they will be forced into financial failure.”

The legislation now heads to the state Senate. If both chambers pass it, it would go to Republican Gov. Mike Parson’s desk.

The bill would limit the portion of students who can transfer out of a school district to 3%. It would also prevent student athletes from competing for one year after transferring in an effort to prevent swarms of athletes from moving schools for recruiting.

Republicans and school choice proponents have touted open enrollment as a way for parents and kids to have more say over education. They say it would lead to improved classroom instruction.

“I don’t believe artificial boundaries should determine where you go to public schools,” Pollitt said on the floor Wednesday. “I personally believe this is a very pro public school bill.”

State Rep. Maggie Nurrenbern, a Kansas City Democrat, on Wednesday countered that the bill would hurt public school students and schools. She said it would cause school districts to compete against each other instead of working together on policy.

“This legislation, if passed, will continue to segregate students by race, by class and by ability,” she said. “It pits schools against each other.”

Southwick, the cooperating school district executive director, added that the bill will “become a nightmare for school districts trying to make decisions about whether they’re going to do this or not, whether they’re going to take kids and what additional cost it will be.”

“We believe that when we begin to pull students out of their home school districts, that’s a detriment to our community,” he said. “Our funding system is not set up to transfer kids. And the end result is that whatever district they go to, the local taxpayer dollar will be diluted to cover the cost for those other students.”

The Park Hill district is among those in the Kansas City region opposing open enrollment. Spokeswoman Kelly Wachel said admitting out-of-district students would require Park Hill to dedicate more resources and taxpayer dollars to serve those students, expecting that funding received would only cover about half of the per-pupil costs.

“We really have to think about the future of Missouri education systems when these types of bills are coming out. We have to think about what we want for the future of education in Missouri, and this is a route that opens the door to even more destruction of public education,” Wachel said.

Wachel said that open enrollment would make it difficult for suburban districts like Park Hill that rely on local demographic data to determine when to construct new buildings and how to set school boundaries.

“This is a one-size-fits-all approach that really goes against the spirit of public education in Missouri,” she said. “We believe in local control over local communities and know that is what is best for our community.”

Last year, Kansas lawmakers approved an open enrollment bill, as part of the K-12 school funding bill, allowing students to enroll in any public district in the state that has room for them.